BANTOCK, [Ernest] Leedham [S] (b London, 1870; d Richmond, 15 October 1928).

A useful character man in George Edwardes's companies for 20 years, appearing in secondary roles in such London pieces as A Gaiety Girl (1893, Harry Fitzwarren, t/o Bobbie Rivers), An Artist's Model (1895, t/o James Cripps), The Geisha (1896, Arthur Cuddy), San Toy (1894, t/o The Emperor), The School Girl (1903, t/o Tubby Bedford), A Country Girl (1902, Douglas Verity), The Cingalee (1904, t/o Boobhamba) and Lady Madcap (1906, Col Layton) as well as in America and Australia (Hopkins in In Town, Bertie Boyd in The Shop Girl, Dawson in Gentleman Joe, Sir Lewis in A Gaiety Girl). Bantock also worked as both a director (notably for Marie Lloyd's only venture into the musical theatre, The ABC (1898) and as an author, collaborating on the libretti for several successful musical comedies composed by Howard Talbot, the most fruitful of which was George Edwardes's production of The Girl Behind the Counter. He also won an inter-national hearing with the mini-musical The White Chrysanthemum, produced by Frank Curzon, and with The Belle of Brittany, mounted by Tom B Davis, both of which, like The Girl Behind the Counter, won good runs in town and country in Britain and several overseas productions.

1905 The White Chrysanthemum (Howard Talbot/w Arthur Anderson) Criterion Theatre 31 August

1906 The Girl Behind the Counter (Talbot/w Anderson) Wyndham's Theatre 21 April

1907 The Three Kisses (Talbot/w Percy Greenbank) Apollo Theatre 21 August

1908 The Belle of Brittany (Talbot/w P J Barrow) Queen's Theatre 24 October

1909 The Persian Princess (Sidney Jones/Greenbank/w Bar-row) Queen's Theatre 27 April

1917 Physical Culture (w Harold Simpson) 1 act Metropolitan 30 April

British Musical Theatre | Authors

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