The Crew Variety Shows
Introduction
Dealing with crew recreation, mainly when Caronia was at sea for several days at a time, was the preserve of several very talented people. Shows were not only put on in “The Pig”, the crew bar, they were also organised for the passengers in the main theatre.
Of course, this was another outlet for members of the gay community to come out of the shadows. I've often described their quite amazing knack of getting big burly blokes into “dressing up” and the photos below prove that Crew Shows were no exception. LGBT
Caronia's theatre was often busy way into the wee small hours, long after the passengers had viewed their film or presentation that evening. Some of the bigger shows were the work of talented impresarios. You'd barely believe that their show productions were all done in their “spare time”!
Everything for the shows was built by hand on board, with the ship's carpenters and painters constructing stage backscenes. Anyone with sign writing skills was always useful. All the publicity and programmes were produced by the printers, in off-duty hours.
Blurred Lines
Often, if passengers got wind of something going on, they would volunteer to come and perform with the crew. Another area where the passenger and crew demarcation line would blur. Members of the ship's orchestra would turn up for rehearsals, so it was all a very collaborative affair.
There were absolutely no boundaries when it came to crew ranks. It didn't matter if you were a lowly plate pantryman or a high-flying purser, it was only your ability to entertain that mattered. I understand that one or two on-board romances started this way.
On the long cruises there were several periods when the ship was traversing large expanses of tropical waters and crew shows were a wonderful diversion away from going stir-crazy. Any display of an entertaining talent would soon get you “enrolled”.
