Editing Cavalcade (play) (section)

==Background and production==
During the run of his successful comedy ''[[Private Lives]]'' in London in 1930, Coward discussed with the impresario [[Charles B. Cochran|C. B. Cochran]] the idea of a large, spectacular production to follow the intimate ''Private Lives''. He considered the idea of an epic set in the French revolution, but in an old copy of the ''[[Illustrated London News]]'' he saw a photograph of a troopship leaving for the [[Boer War]], which gave him the idea for the new play. He outlined his scenario to Cochran and asked him to secure the [[London Coliseum|Coliseum]], London's largest theatre. Cochran was unable to do so, but was able to book the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]], which was not much smaller,<ref>Herbert, p. 1354</ref> provided Coward could guarantee an approximate opening date.<ref name=m166>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 166–1567</ref> Coward and his designer [[Gladys Calthrop]] inspected Drury Lane and found it adequate in terms of the size of its stage and its technical facilities, although two extra [[hydraulics|hydraulic lifts]] had to be installed for quick changes of scenery, and unlike the Coliseum it lacked the revolving stage Coward wanted.<ref name=m166/><ref>Coward, p. 233</ref> While Calthrop began designing hundreds of costumes and twenty-two sets, Coward worked on the script, which he completed in August 1931.<ref>Lesley, p. 159; and Morley (1974), p. 208</ref>

Rehearsals began the following month.<ref>Coward, p. 235</ref> With four hundred cast and crew members involved in the production, Coward divided the crowd into groups of twenty and assigned each a leader. Because remembering individual names would be impossible, everyone was given a colour and number for easy identification, thus allowing Coward to direct "Number 7 red" to cross downstage and shake hands with "Number 15 yellow and black". Extras were encouraged to create their own bits of stage business, as long as it did not draw attention from the main action of the scene.<ref>Morley (1974), p. 209</ref>

''Cavalcade'' premiered on 13 October 1931, starring [[Mary Clare]] and Edward Sinclair as the Marryot parents and featuring [[John Mills]], [[Binnie Barnes]], [[Una O'Connor (actress)|Una O'Connor]], [[Moya Nugent]], [[Arthur Macrae]], Irene Browne and Maidie Andrews in supporting roles. Despite a brief delay caused by a mechanical problem early in the first act, the performance was a strong success, and the play went on to become one of the year's biggest [[West End theatre|West End]] hits, running for 405 performances. The play closed in September 1932.