Evans, Will

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

Evans, Will (1875–1931), star of British music-hall and pantomime, son of an acrobat and clown with whom he made his first appearance in 1881 in Robinson Crusoe at Drury Lane. He then toured with his father's troupe, returning to London in 1890 to appear on the ‘halls’ with his wife and, after her death, as a solo eccentric comedian. He specialized in ‘scenes of domestic chaos’, of which the most popular were ‘Building a Chicken House’, ‘White-washing the Ceiling’, and ‘Papering a House’. For many years he imported the same style of knockabout humour into kitchen scenes in Drury Lane pantomimes. He was part-author of Tons of Money (1922), which became the first of a long series of Aldwych farces. Evans also collaborated with R. Guy Reeve in the farce The Other Mr Gibbs (1924) and was the author of many of his own music-hall songs and sketches.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Evans, Will." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Evans, Will." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-EvansWill.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Evans, Will." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-EvansWill.html

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