The best-loved music hall act of all time? Wilson, Keppel and Betty. Image uncredited
Music Hall legends Wilson, Keppel and Betty were given a much-welcomed extra exposure on Sunday 30th January on Talking Pictures TV’s THE FOOTAGE DETECTIVES, where newly-discovered film is restored and aired.
For those unaware of these legendary figures, they graced music hall and variety stages from the 1930s until 1962, with their most-repeated signature piece being an eccentric sand dance in a sequence known as Cleopatra’s Nightmare which has become legendary in music hall history.
THE FOOTAGE DETECTIVES’ highlight was the airing of film discovered by Wilson, Keppel and Betty biographer Alan Stafford (His book is entitled TOO NAKED FOR THE NAZIS) with the famous trio in 1949, in rehearsal for a pantomime at no other venue than the illustrious Dudley Hippodrome. Aside from giving us the only known colour footage of the famous trio, the film was a fascinating overview of preparation and rehearsals for a major regional pantomine, quite probably unique as a film record of a time sadly long-gone.
You can catch up with the programme by watching it on the channel’s on-demand service, Talking Pictures TV Encore, which you can find at http://tptvencore.co.uk Episode 11 is the one you’ll need to select.
You can see a trailer in the Twitter link below
Apparently I'm THE Wilson, Keppel and Betty expert!
Delighted to be presenting the TV premiere of colour film of the trio in panto at Dudley Hippodrome this Sunday on @TalkingPicsTVhttps://t.co/QYhEHQnUOw
As mask mandates return to attempt to head off a Winter wave of new Covid variant Omicron, the theatre industry once again braces itself for cancellations and no-shows.
Brave producers getting shows out to the public are experiencing considerable resistance as the new variant causes a change in people’s behaviour, especially as regards being in a large hall with many hundreds of others at close range and feeling as though they have little control of their situation.
We really must all salute the courage and optimism of producers, working against a headwind of ever-morphing risk, to bring employment to creatives and entertainment to audiences.
Theatres who produce their own pantomime make a huge investment in order to financially front-load their year ahead, and the news that pantomime bookings are significantly down across the board will cause difficulty for all those brave venues trying to service their local communities and their creative community too.
But things can change very rapidly these days, and it is still hard to see how this new variant will act – and in what ways it will be different from the last prevalent variant. The incompetent UK government’s about-face in asking us to all wear masks again is too littl, too late yet again – it’s doomed to failure, thanks in most part to their abject lack of responsibility or leadership by example over the last 18 months. They really are an utter waste of space.
The sudden requirement for theatre audiences to wear masks again has reportedly caused a wave of requests to theatres for refunds. How theatres deal with this will be yet another thorny issue for producers, theatre owners and their hard-working and under-praised box office staff who have to square the circle with the public.
The plain fact is that that the mask requirement is patently unenforceable, even by the nicest and most eagle-eyed front of house staff. It is simply not doable for a handful of staff to enforce mask-wearing of hundreds of people – and of those who actually bother to comply, a fair proportion will be using the masks as a chin guard after 10 minutes – that, I can guarantee you.
Current audiences will mostly be those who calculate their own risk and of those around them and feel it “worth the gamble”.
However, I sincerely feel for all those parents and grandparents who feel genuinely unsure about taking their little ones to experience the joy and fun of pantomime, feeling desperately uneasy within themselves but feeling an obligation to act in a certain way for others, causing them untold stress and perhaps even illness.
Personally, I won’t be back inside a theatre until the case numbers have dropped significantly. But I am looking forward to getting back to the theatre we all love.
Have a very happy Christmas, and please enjoy theatre if you feel able, but please wear your masks (properly) and by respecting others, I sincerely hope that others will respect you, so that we can all have the Best Available Christmas once more.
Image Credit: detail from a picture of Babes in the Wood at the Theatre Royal in Manchester in the pantomime season 1883-84, from the London Illustrated News.
Manchester Histories are getting into the Christmas spirit with an in-person and online event celebrating Pantomime on Wednesday December 15th at 1.00pm UK time.
Lasting an hour, the free event will feature Dr Claire Robinson & Dr Victoria Garlick who will give illustrated talks about the growth of theatre in Manchester and the importance of their pantomimes during this period, from the major theatres of central Manchester to those of the Broadhead circuit in the outlying districts.
Those attending the limited ticketed live version of the event at Manchester Central Library will have the chance to enjoy a special display of theatre archive prepared just for this event, as well as some festive mince pies – although hopefully not all at the same time!
Here’s a bit of good cheer for all you young at heart Panto-holics! If you can’t go to the Panto, then this year the Panto will be coming to You!
The National’s drafted-in production of DICK WHITTINGTON which has been sadly curtailed for live performance, has – in the nick of time- been recorded for broadcast via the National’s YouTube channel from 23 to 27 December.
The National said “In honour of all the theatres that have been forced to cancel their Christmas pantos, we’re sharing DICK WHITTINGTONfor FREE from 3pm (UK time) on 23 December until midnight (UK time) on 27 December.
Freshly updated for 2020 by Jude Christian and Cariad Lloyd, this hilarious and heartfelt new version of the classic tale is packed with the cheekiest of jokes, the chattiest of animals, the awesomest of songs and the messiest of silliness.
As you enjoy watching the show, please support a theatre near you by making a donation or booking tickets for 2021.”
When the notice about Tier 3 status and closure became a reality last week, the cast and technical team worked tirelessly to bring forward the projected filming date so that they could just get the show “in the can” before the curtains fell yet again, and the NT along with London’s world-leading West End theatres, experienced their first ever “dark Christmas”.
So this year, although Covid-19 is the real villain, we can all still raise a laugh thanks to this most British of entertainments! Hooray!
You can find the National Theatre’s YouTube channel here
With the pantomime season now in full swing, let’s journey back to a time when pantomimes opened on Christmas Eve and the biggest, like those at the London Palladium, ran until the following Easter.
In this short film from the BBC Archives, we see preparations of props, scenery and costumes, together with some rehearsal footage of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK presented at the Wimbledon Theatre by legendary pantomime and ice-show impresario Tom Arnold.
