Privates on Parade

Privates on Parade
Written byPeter Nichols
Date premiered17 February 1977
Place premieredAldwych Theatre
London
Original languageEnglish
SubjectBritish army ENSA group after World War II
GenreComedy
Setting1948, South East Asia

Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts is a 1977 farce by English playwright Peter Nichols (book and lyrics), with music by Denis King. The drama draws upon Nichols' own experiences in the real-life Combined Services Entertainment, the postwar successor to ENSA, Entertainments National Service Association. The play is noteworthy for, inter alia, a series of musical numbers, performed by the male lead, parodying the style of such performers as Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Carmen Miranda.