Dancers from Kenneth Duffield’s 1924 musical Healo

Before it was technically possible to photograph live theatre performance photographs were posed. This 1924 example from Moore’s studio (established in 1923 by a relation of Mignon Kekwick), shows her leading Morna Dobbie, Maxine Tolley, Nancy Atkins, Christabel Hill-Smith, Asthore Symon and Eileen Duffield in the Act 1 costumes from Kenneth Duffield’s musical Healo: knee length black satin frocks with lace, bare backs and arms, with wristlets and feature collars. 
Jean Nicholls, who designed the costumes, also designed the sets with Wylton Todd. This amateur charity show was enhanced by the professionals Louise Larsson as dance-mistress who directed this photographed cohort from Nora Stewart’s ballet school; and by William Cade as musical director. Critics were impressed by the season at Adelaide’s Theatre Royal from 24 May 1924 for one week. The large cast of social elite were friends of Kenneth Duffield (an old scholar of St. Peter’s College, who had written the school song.)  One friend named his racehorse Healo then in 1938 named its filly Christabel, remembering the lead performer of Healo, Mrs. Hill-Smith.  
Healo was professionally produced by JC Williamson’s at Adelaide’s Theatre Royal in December 1926, then as Hello Healo by the Tait Brothers at Sydney’s Palace Theatre 12 to  23 February 1927.

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