The Fred Karno produced Moses and Son was a touring sketch written by Fred Karno, Fred Kitchen, and Harold Gatty, with music by Dudley Powell. It was first performed on Monday 18th December 1905 at Bordesley Palace, Birmingham. There were 52 stops on the original tour which ran until 9th March 1907 at the Empire Theatre, Belfast. There was a revival later that year, with much of the original cast, which started in November 1907 and had 33 stops on the tour until September 1908.
This article details analysis of these two tours over an estimated 1,175 performances, and further details can be found here on the cast list and tour dates for the original 1905-07 tour and the 1907-08 revival.
The production was billed as “Presented by Fred Karno’s No.1 Company, including Fred Kitchen. Supported by a Stupendous Cast of Hebrew Artistes.” Fred Kitchen in his autobiography states that he had the original idea for the sketch. The rehersals and auditions were held at the Old Vic near Waterloo Station just south of the Thames, an area of London where many stage performers lived and sought work.
The selection of the cast, however, was a bit of a problem. Karno put an advertisement in one of the Jewish papers and applicants were to apply at the Victoria [Old Vic]. Hundreds turned up, and though the cast for the new sketch was a fairly large one, – running to about sixty people, – there were enought would-be and had-been performers in the theatre that day to have cast a dozen such sketches, and to have provided the audience as well
… We were a good company, and “Moses and son” was one of the most successful sketched I ever played in, or Karno ever produced. It was popular with the Jewish race themselves, too. When we came to the Holborn Empire to open there with it for a month, on the first night the theatre was packed to overflowing with Jews, who, I honestly believe, had come with the full expectation that they were going to see a show burlesquing their religion and their race. What they would have done about it I don’t know; but I do know they went away delighted, for the sketch had been written in anything but a hostile spirit.
Fred Kitchen, “Meredith, we’re in” (published 2012), p.159/160
Kitchen reported that when one production clashed with the Jewish Black Fast, on Friday 28th September 1906, that the cast did not perform. Their places were somehow taken by the backstage crew which gives a rare insight into the trades travelling and involved with a production of this type; including “night-valets, chauffeurs, horse-minders, wardrobe-women, scenic artists and property men.”
Rosa Abrahams was a member of the cast on both tours and her father, David Abrahams of the Rosa Troupe, was indeed Jewish. But, Rosa herself, like her mother, was actually an Anglican. Other artists were also not Jewish. In particular Fred Karno’s son Fred Westcott Junior appeared in a number of productions, as did Albert Bruno who was described as not Jewish when taking the lead role in place of Fred Kitchen. Aggie Morris appeared under the more Jewish name Leah Morris until just over half way in the original tour.
The listings generally have just over 40 members of the cast on tour each night, despite Kitchen claiming 60, and the definition of a ‘sketch’ stretched to encompass three scenes with substantial numbers of jokes and comic business. Indeed, reviews of early productions saw it in need of editing. The production was part of a broader music hall bill each night with other acts, and should have been within legal limits of around 20-25 minutes in length. It seems to have often broken this limit and complaints were made by the Theatrical Managers’ Association when it was at the Holborn Empire, and agreement was made to curtail the performance subsequently. It is unclear if this was kept to outside of London.
The sketch was set at the bank of Moses and Son, who are a family of wealthy Jewish bankers. Many of the reviews at the time state that it was a positive portrayal, clearly aware as Fred Kitchen was that humour of this nature could be seen as offensive. The plot does not seem to contain any malice but does play to Jewish sterotypes of the time. It starts with Mr Moses lending millions to foreign governments, showing the scale of his business. Into the office comes the star of the show Perkins, played by Fred Kitchen and in some performances Albert Bruno. He is the general cleaner but in a series of misunderstandings Rebecca Moses, the daughter of Mr Moses, falls in love with him after first thinking Perkins a multi-millionaire and then finding he is not (she still loves him after). The scenes move from the offices of Moses and Son in the City of London, to the London Stock Exchange, and then the ballroom of the Moses Mansion in Park Lane. Around this central plot were a number of songs, dances and comedy.
A small token spade guinea coin was produced as a promotional souvenir of the original tour, probably as a play on the banking theme of the production. On one side it shows a portrait of Fred Karno with the words “Fred Karno’s Comedians”, and on the other a shield with “Moses and Son 1905-6” surrounded by the words “Fred Karno’s Grand New Production.”
The boundless energy of Fred Kitchen was said to hold the production together, and we can imagine him running around the stage from one gag to the other. Some traces of the script and individual jokes are repeated in newspaper reviews, but the full script has not survived (unless you know otherwise and can share a copy!).
When the original 1905-07 production ended it was followed by a new sketch starring Fred Kitchen as Perkins, called “The Bailiff”. This was an eventual smash hit and gave Kitchen his catchphrase “Meridith, we’re in”, the signal given by Perkins to his sidekick and by now fellow bailiff, when they thought they had gained entrance to a particular property. The sketch revolves around numerous failed attempts and harebrained schemes to do so. By late 1907 “Moses and Son” was revived with much of the original cast, and was sometimes played as a double bill with “The Bailiff”. This makes it more difficult to identify the exact stops on the tour and cast lists, especially as “Moses and Son” essentially fizzles out as “The Bailiff” took the more prominent theatres and many of the cast members. “Moses and Son” was revived again a couple of times in later years, but not with the original cast.
Visit the dedicated tour pages to find out more details on the cast and tour dates for the original 1905/07 tour and the 1907/08 revival.
Reviews (with fuller details of production): Music Hall and Theatre Review 22/12/05, p.14, The Era 23/12/05, p.22; Music Hall and Theatre Review 29/12/1905, p.15; Manchester Evening News 06/02/06 p7; The Stage, 08/02/1906, p17; Empire News & The Umpire, 11/02/06, p.4.
Other sources
Crump, David, Fred Karno. The Legend Behind the Laughter, Brewin Books, 2021
Kitchen, Fred, Meredith, We’re In! The life story of Fred Kitchen told by himself, Frederick Simon Kitchen-Dunn, 2012