Showboat - Souvenir Brochure, 1951
Title
Showboat - Souvenir Brochure, 1951
Date
19 March 1951
Description
Full souvenir brochure for Nottingham Operatic Society production of Show Boat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II.
What's the story?
This item contain images of white performers in blackface. Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and continuing in American life and overseas, including the UK, through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humour and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes.
The Our Theatre Royal digital archive includes Blackface materials for the benefit of scholars seeking to better understand the role racial performance has had in shaping Western culture. Text courtesy of Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in HTC Collections — Dorothy Judith Berry (dorothy-berry.com)
First produced in 1927, Show Boat written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II follows the lives of a group of performers, stagehands and other workers on a Mississippi river show boat.
This souvenir brochure forms part of a collection of Theatre Royal material that belonged to Kathleen Davis (nee Beales), 1922 to 2014.
During World War Two, Kathleen worked for a company, whose work included developing pictures taken of productions at the Theatre Royal. This sparked an interest in the Theatre Royal and performing in general.
She took singing lessons and joined the Nora Morrison School of Dance, which led her to becoming a member of Nottingham Operatic Society, who regularly performed at the Theatre Royal.
Kathleen became a leading light of the society, which led to offers to sing and perform in London and the possibility of a professional career. However, Kathleen, now having met her husband Louis through NOS, chose to remain in Nottingham.
Kathleen continued to sing locally, performing with other groups at Nottingham’s Co-Op theatre and in Beeston. In the mid-1970s, Kathleen was performing around the Midlands area enjoying singing in working men’s clubs.
We would like to thank Kathleen’s son, Glyn Davis, for loaning and donating the programmes, scrapbooks, photographs and other ephemera from his mother’s collection to the Theatre Royal archive.
We are also grateful to him for sharing some of his own Theatre Royal memories of standing in the wings as a little boy and watching his Mum perform on our stage.
The Our Theatre Royal digital archive includes Blackface materials for the benefit of scholars seeking to better understand the role racial performance has had in shaping Western culture. Text courtesy of Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in HTC Collections — Dorothy Judith Berry (dorothy-berry.com)
First produced in 1927, Show Boat written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II follows the lives of a group of performers, stagehands and other workers on a Mississippi river show boat.
This souvenir brochure forms part of a collection of Theatre Royal material that belonged to Kathleen Davis (nee Beales), 1922 to 2014.
During World War Two, Kathleen worked for a company, whose work included developing pictures taken of productions at the Theatre Royal. This sparked an interest in the Theatre Royal and performing in general.
She took singing lessons and joined the Nora Morrison School of Dance, which led her to becoming a member of Nottingham Operatic Society, who regularly performed at the Theatre Royal.
Kathleen became a leading light of the society, which led to offers to sing and perform in London and the possibility of a professional career. However, Kathleen, now having met her husband Louis through NOS, chose to remain in Nottingham.
Kathleen continued to sing locally, performing with other groups at Nottingham’s Co-Op theatre and in Beeston. In the mid-1970s, Kathleen was performing around the Midlands area enjoying singing in working men’s clubs.
We would like to thank Kathleen’s son, Glyn Davis, for loaning and donating the programmes, scrapbooks, photographs and other ephemera from his mother’s collection to the Theatre Royal archive.
We are also grateful to him for sharing some of his own Theatre Royal memories of standing in the wings as a little boy and watching his Mum perform on our stage.
Type
Brochure
Location of item
Private Collection - Glyn Davis / Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Private Collection - Glyn Davis / Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Researcher: David Longford
