Midnight Follies First Edition 1921
The Whitehall Room within the Hotel Metropole became the site of one of the first true cabarets in London that transformed London’s nightlife in the 1920s. On the 2nd November 1921, the ‘Midnight Follies’ was inaugurated at the Metropole with a show that was called a ‘super dansant.’ With glorious costumes designed by Dolly Tree it became an overnight hit with all of smart London flocking to see the show designed to ‘brighten London.’
The Cabaret Follies
When Jack Hylton’s Cabaret Follies show made its debut in London in the autumn of 1922 it was one of four big cabaret shows that made a Brighter London, the others being located at the Grafton Galleries (Midnight Revels), Murray’s Club (Murray’s Frolics) and the Hotel Metropole (the Midnight Follies). At first its status and popularity amongst London’s high society was unassailable, but when Jack Hylton relinquished control at the end of 1923, it floundered and ceased to be by the summer of 1924.
Hotel Metropole
The Hotel Metropole that opened in 1885 became one of London’s major hotels but after World War 1 it flowered with new vigour. The Restaurant des Ambassadeurs, the Café Anglais and the Whitehall rooms blossomed through the 1920s and the famous Midnight Follies cabaret created a brighter London.
New Princes Frivolities First and Second Edtions
The first cabaret show at the New Princes Restaurant in Piccadilly was staged in February 1924 and became a regular feature of London’s Jazz Age nightlife for many years to come as the New Princes Frivolities.
Continue reading New Princes Frivolities First and Second Editions
