The Lady Composer in Demand
The next phase of Dring’s career finds her contributing musical numbers to the intimate revues produced by Laurier Lister on London’s West End. Her lyricist for many of these songs is Charlotte Mitchell, and her work appeared side-by-side with the revue numbers of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann. Additional information on these revues is found in The Lord Chamberlain’s collection in the British Library. A representative example of these songs is “Snowman,” which is discussed in detail. Other songs appeared in Seán Rafferty’s Child’s Play, produced at the Players’ Theatre, and numerous other compositions are documented, including the soundtrack for six episodes of the cartoon series, Little Laura. Dring also began to appear more frequently as a performer, in particular with The Kensington-Gores, a trio she formed with Margaret Rubel and Alan Rowlands. During the latter part of this period, Dring published many piano pieces, suitable for various grade levels, from beginner to concert pianist. One of the most popular of these collections is Colour Suite, which receives an extended discussion.