A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Salad Days

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  5w, 7m

Book and Lyrics by Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds
Music by Julian Slade

Newly acquired BA gowns hang heavy on the shoulders of Jane and Timothy. Having got this far, what on earth do they do next? They could get married, of course (so they do), but how can they make a living? In a London park one breathlessly warm sum…

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    5w, 7m
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for all audiences

Details

Summary

Newly acquired BA gowns hang heavy on the shoulders of Jane and Timothy. Having got this far, what on earth do they do next? They could get married, of course (so they do), but how can they make a living? In a London park one breathlessly warm summer day they encounter a tramp who trundles round a mobile mini-piano. Even tramps need a holiday now and then, and he invites the young graduates to look after his business interests for a month at Σ7 per week plus whatever they can collect. The piano is not just any old mobile mini; those who hear it find themselves dancing, even against their better judgment. On this gentle thread of story is strung a series of revue-type scenes providing rich opportunities for versatile comedy players who can also sing and dance. For the chorus

Originally, nothing! The production which ran for 2,283 record-breaking performances at the Vaudeville had a cast of twelve, plus a pianist, who between them played fifty-five roles of assorted lengths - the star of one scene being required, perhaps, to do no more than walk on in the next. Needless to say, there is every opportunity for an imaginative producer to use a much larger cast.

The Scenes
A park backcloth or drapes can be used throughout. Other scenes are represented with simple cut-outs, insets or drop cloths, or played in front of running tabs

Act I The University grounds. The breakfast-room at Timothy's home. A London park. A beauty parlour. A room at the Foreign Office. An office in Scotland Yard

Act II A night club. A park café terrace. A dress shop. The park. A flying saucer

History
Salad Days premiered in the UK at the Theatre Royal, Bristol in June 1954, and transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London on August 5, 1954. The show ran for 2,283 performances, making it - at the time - the longest-running show in musical theatre history.
Jane and Timothy Dawes meet in a park, soon after their graduation, to plan their lives. They agree to get married, and do so in secret, but Timothy's parents have urged him to ask his various influential uncles — a Minister, a Foreign Office official, a General, a scientist — to find him suitable employment. He and Jane, however, decide that he must take the first job that he is offered. A passing tramp offers them £7 a week to look after his mobile piano for a month, and, upon accepting, they discover that when the piano plays it gives everyone within earshot an irresistible desire to dance!

After attempts by the Minister of Pleasure and Pastime (Timothy's Ministerial uncle) to ban the disruptive music, the piano vanishes, and Timothy enlists his scientific Uncle Zed to take them in his flying saucer to retrieve it. When it is found, the tramp reappears to tell them that their month is up and the piano must be passed on to another couple. He also reveals that he is a hitherto unknown uncle of Timothy (whose parents had referred to "the one we don't mention"). Timothy and Jane look forward to the future with confidence.
Major Roles (showing the original doubling)
Jane
Timothy's mother/ Heloise/ Asphynxia Lady Raeburn/ a cabaret dancer/Marguerite
Fiona/ a beauty-parlour assistant/ a shopgirl
Aunt Prue/ a manicurist/Rowena
Timothy
  • Time Period 1950s
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

8 Classic British Musicals to Perform
by Cathy Thomas
August 5, 2019

Music

Music Samples

Piano
Double Bass
Drums

There is no special arrangement for two pianos. For productions accompanied in this way, both pianists should play from the published piano/vocal score, the second using it as the basis for improvisation to give added depth and colour.
  • Vocal DemandsEasy
  • Orchestra Size Small/Combo

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

    Please submit a license request to determine availability.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!

Double Bass
Drums

N.B. The Piano Vocal Score is available to purchase from our shop page.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Author

Dorothy Reynolds

Author

Julian Slade

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