Beverly Graham Interview: The Sign of Four Shop & Her Love of Musicals
Title
Beverly Graham Interview: The Sign of Four Shop & Her Love of Musicals
Date
26 July 2018
Description
Oral history interview with Beverley Graham, a keen amateur dancer, and also a long-time supporter, valued audience member and active participant of the Theatre Royal.
What's the story?
Beverley Graham was born in 1953 in Kirkby-in Ashfield in Nottinghamshire.
From having attended dance schools from an early age, Beverley has always had a passion for theatre and performing. This has developed into a genuine love for the Theatre Royal, which shines through in her interview.
She has attended numerous shows over the years, more so since becoming a Premium Member of the Theatre Royal in 2013. She is also a regular participant in the venue’s dance classes and has even performed on the stage.
In this interview Beverley shares her love of seeing musicals at the Theatre Royal. She has a particular fondness for seeing Crazy for You at the Theatre Royal in October 2017 and in particular its star Tom Chambers.
Beverley’s love of musical theatre comes from her own enjoyment of dancing and performing as a child. Here she remembers buying her dance shoes from The Sign of Four shop, which used to be next to the Theatre Royal, which was when she first became aware of the venue:
I’d always been aware of it, right from the very start from when I started my dancing at 7, because we came to get our dance shoes from the Sign of Four, which was actually within sight of the theatre. I would just stand and look up at the theatre because I just loved the old buildings, loved the opulence of them and the character of them and just used to want to be on the stage dancing, singing, whatever, on stage here in Nottingham.
I don’t know why I didn’t come to the theatre. We went to other theatres on occasion. We weren’t a pantomime family, which was a shame, because I think in our limited knowledge of pantomimes, it was always the amateur one, which were always very slapstick and very “over the top”. Whilst, of course, professional ones aren’t. They’re absolutely wonderful. But we didn’t know that, because we didn’t come to see them. So it’s been probably the last 25/30 years that I actually started coming to the theatre. I can’t even remember what the first one was, if I’m honest, because there’ve been so many since then that you lose track of what you actually came to see originally.
I love musicals because within my performing, I was singing as well as acting and dancing, so musicals have always been my favourite. Although having said that, we do come and see plays, we come to concerts, but it’s always the musicals that win in the end. There’ve been so many good ones. In recent years, for instance, Crazy for You. I loved that one because I like Tom Chambers. I’m not allowed to say that in front of my husband, by the way.
In a forum posting on 21 February 2012 on nottstalgia.com descriptions and memories were shared of The Sign of Four Shop:
“The Sign of Four was such a loss to the City of Nottingham. It was absolutely packed with stuff in there; as well as jokes, the shop sold dance costumes / shoes, fascinating stage make-up (handy being as the shop was across the way from the Nottingham Empire).
Nellie who served behind the counter, spoke with an upper-class accent yet was easily approachable. She genuinely cared for the customers, especially the young girls attending dance classes; a lovely lady, she was most knowledgeable about what the girls needed.
When the shop was closed entertainment was still available: by being able to read the descriptions on some of the most bawdiest of saleable items displayed in the shop window.
'Guaranteed a laugh even when closed', could easily have been the shop's motto.”
Please click on the related link below to hear an interview with child performer Sue Spencer in the Pantomime The Pied Piper in 1968. She often frequented The Sign of Four to purchase jokes to play on cast members.
From having attended dance schools from an early age, Beverley has always had a passion for theatre and performing. This has developed into a genuine love for the Theatre Royal, which shines through in her interview.
She has attended numerous shows over the years, more so since becoming a Premium Member of the Theatre Royal in 2013. She is also a regular participant in the venue’s dance classes and has even performed on the stage.
In this interview Beverley shares her love of seeing musicals at the Theatre Royal. She has a particular fondness for seeing Crazy for You at the Theatre Royal in October 2017 and in particular its star Tom Chambers.
Beverley’s love of musical theatre comes from her own enjoyment of dancing and performing as a child. Here she remembers buying her dance shoes from The Sign of Four shop, which used to be next to the Theatre Royal, which was when she first became aware of the venue:
I’d always been aware of it, right from the very start from when I started my dancing at 7, because we came to get our dance shoes from the Sign of Four, which was actually within sight of the theatre. I would just stand and look up at the theatre because I just loved the old buildings, loved the opulence of them and the character of them and just used to want to be on the stage dancing, singing, whatever, on stage here in Nottingham.
I don’t know why I didn’t come to the theatre. We went to other theatres on occasion. We weren’t a pantomime family, which was a shame, because I think in our limited knowledge of pantomimes, it was always the amateur one, which were always very slapstick and very “over the top”. Whilst, of course, professional ones aren’t. They’re absolutely wonderful. But we didn’t know that, because we didn’t come to see them. So it’s been probably the last 25/30 years that I actually started coming to the theatre. I can’t even remember what the first one was, if I’m honest, because there’ve been so many since then that you lose track of what you actually came to see originally.
I love musicals because within my performing, I was singing as well as acting and dancing, so musicals have always been my favourite. Although having said that, we do come and see plays, we come to concerts, but it’s always the musicals that win in the end. There’ve been so many good ones. In recent years, for instance, Crazy for You. I loved that one because I like Tom Chambers. I’m not allowed to say that in front of my husband, by the way.
In a forum posting on 21 February 2012 on nottstalgia.com descriptions and memories were shared of The Sign of Four Shop:
“The Sign of Four was such a loss to the City of Nottingham. It was absolutely packed with stuff in there; as well as jokes, the shop sold dance costumes / shoes, fascinating stage make-up (handy being as the shop was across the way from the Nottingham Empire).
Nellie who served behind the counter, spoke with an upper-class accent yet was easily approachable. She genuinely cared for the customers, especially the young girls attending dance classes; a lovely lady, she was most knowledgeable about what the girls needed.
When the shop was closed entertainment was still available: by being able to read the descriptions on some of the most bawdiest of saleable items displayed in the shop window.
'Guaranteed a laugh even when closed', could easily have been the shop's motto.”
Please click on the related link below to hear an interview with child performer Sue Spencer in the Pantomime The Pied Piper in 1968. She often frequented The Sign of Four to purchase jokes to play on cast members.
Type
Oral Interview
Location of item
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Interviewers: Sue Threakall & Julia Holmes
Transcriber: David Chilton
Transcriber: David Chilton
