insistence that they should wait for two years before marrying. They complied with this injunction and did not marry until February 1916. Soon after the outbreak of war, Hulbert joined the army. Courtneidge continued to appear in her father's productions in the West End and on tour. These were revivals of The Arcadians and The Pearl Girl and three unsuccessful new shows, The Light Blues, My Lady Frayle and Oh, Caesar! (all 1916). The failures put her father temporarily out of business, and as no other producer invited her to star in musical comedy, she turned instead to music hall Variety shows. The Times later wrote that this was the first step in a new career as "a comedienne specializing in cameo character sketches". After an early variety engagement in Manchester, the critic of The Manchester Guardian wrote of her "pleasant voice and much charm of manner" in sketches and songs: "one may express a preference for Miss Courtneidge as the hospital sister, presented with all the bright graciousness which properly belongs to the character, over her more elaborate representation of the Flying Corps 'knut'." Courtneidge later recalled of her first years on the halls, "When I started, my name was in such small print you could hardly read it. Music hall is the toughest thing in the world. ... I often used to get the bird, and I've had pennies thrown at me many a time." Nevertheless, she mastered the genre, according to her biographer Derek Pepys-Whiteley: Courtneidge and Hulbert partnership Having discovered that she seemed more suited to comedy than romantic leads, Courtneidge continued to perform in variety and made her debut in pantomime in 1918. She and Hulbert planned to work together in "light-hearted humour and burlesque, in revue and musical comedy". Their first revue was Ring Up, by Eric Blore and Ivy St. Helier, at the Royalty Theatre in 1921; they received good notices, but the material was weak, and the show was not a great success. Courtneidge returned to variety, appearing at the London Coliseum in 1922. In 1923, Courtneidge and Hulbert appeared in The Little Revue, produced by Hulbert. The Times wrote of the show, "there is no reason why it should not have a dozen successors, all as good." There were, in fact, five successors, described by Pepys-Whiteley as "a series of uninterrupted successes throughout eight years, in which both partners had star