Press Clippings for the week ending
Saturday, 20 December 2003
A random selection of cuttings
from newspapers and magazines
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'Monster Fairs' in and around London, 1851 'Several speculations of this kind are in the field. At the Hippodrome, Bayswater, more than twenty-six acres have been allotted for booths and shows; at Battersea park, upwards of fifty acres have been arranged for a fair; at Kennington Common, Stepney Green, and Primrose Hill Park, similar arrangements are in progress.' (The Literary Gazette, and Journal of the Belles Lettres, London, Saturday, 3 May 1851, p.319b)
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King Doo-Dah,
'Biggest, brightest best, and jolliest pantomime ever produced at "The Brit," is the Hoxtonian verdict upon Mr. Crauford's latest Christmas production, King Doo-Dah. Indeed, the fourteen scenes that are utilised in telling the story are so full of good things that it would be quite impossible to do justice to them in the space at our command. The ever-popular Albert and Edmunds troupe, assisted by Mr. Fred Lawrence and the Montrose Bros., very clever and humorous acrobats, keep the fun at boiling point from start to finish. Mr. H.G. Sharplin made an imposing figure as Cerberus, his magnificent voice delighting the vast audience. Miss Josephine Henley looked a dapper little Prince, and Miss Emmie Ames a charming Princess. Her first song, "Matilda," in which she introduces several mechanical toys with excellent effect, brought down the house. Miss Lily Sharplin's imitations of Marie Collins, Bessie Wentworth, and Billie Barlow, were the best we have seen. The same young lady also fetched the audience with a clever descriptive song, "The Language London Talks." The Imperial Russian Troupe of Singers and Dancers are an innovation in pantomime. Their singing and dancing were so excellent that they scored one of the greatest successes of the evening. Miss Emma Chambers, as a high-class domestic, was quaint and humorous, and Miss Kate Sharplin sang sweetly as Titania. In fact, there was not a mediocre character in the whole show. The flying ballet, concluding with a shower of gold, was really magnificent, as was the grand transformation scene. The pantomime does the greatest credit to the talents of the Britannia's popular stage manager, Mr. Bigwood, and is a distinct score for Mr. Crauford.'
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'My Daily Mail' by Marie Tempest, London, 1902
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Marie Tempest (1864-1942), English singer and actress
(photo: Alfred Ellis & Walery, London, circa 1897)
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'I don't know if all members of the theatrical profession are plagued – there is no other word for it – with appeals from all sorts and conditions of people, craving small, or large donations for this, that, and the other object; I know I am. Every morning there are several more or less piteous appeals, and really one would need to be made of steel or granite, or something equally hard, to resist the touching calls upon one's charity. They are not all touching, although they are intended to be. Just the other day, for instance, I received a tea-bedimmed letter signed, "A Poor Widow, with twins to support, who dyed young." The same post brought an impassioned appeal (I'm sure it was written in a passion, the writing was so awful) for pecuniary assistance from a gentleman who declared that he had played with me in King Lear, at the Lyceum, and who, "for the sake of old days," etc., etc., etc. Yet the fact that I never played either at the Lyceum or in King Lear mattered not at all. Yet another from my Daily Mail: "I have only one arm, having lost both in the service of King and country," and a third begins, "This is penned on a bed of sickness, from which I am not expected to recover unless I am in a position to obtain an immediate and continuous supply of oysters and champagne, which must be dry, the doctor says." Just one more, and I've done. It is a six-sheet letter, thickly covered with hieroglyphics, and signed, "Paralysed from birth." I felt inclined to recommend the writer to apply to Messrs. Barnum and Bailey, but I didn't.'
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Winifred Ward at the Victoria Palace, |
Winifred Ward (fl. early 20th century), English male impersonator
(photo: Protheroe, Bristol, England, circa 1911)
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Victoria Palace
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© John Culme, 2003