Cinderella - Leaflet, 1971
Title
Cinderella - Leaflet, 1971
Date
1971
Description
Leaflet front for Cinderella, the Theatre Royal Pantomime for 1971.
What's the story?
This production of Cinderella starred Dickie Henderson, and Arthur Askey, with Alan Haynes, Tommy Osborne, Pauline Whitaker, plus Cinderella's ponies.
Arthur Askey (1900 - 1982) was a celebrated British comedian. He had served in the army forces during World War 1 and performed in army entertainments, later appearing on the early form of television during the 1930s.
He became famous for his work on radio, notably Band Waggon in the 1940s, however he was also a notable and much-admired Pantomime dame throughout his career.
Although not clear on the poster, for this production of Cinderella it is likely that he played Baron Hardup, rather than donning an ugly sister frock.
With performers like Arthur Askey and Jack Tripp at the venue, as well as contemporary performers like Andrew Ryan, the Theatre Royal can justifiably claim that it has had and still has some of the most notable performers who have played the classic role of the Pantomime Dame.
Paul Hough, Creative Learning Manager at Nottingham’s Broadway Cinema, remembers seeing this 1971 Theatre Royal Panto as a young boy and has kindly shared those memories for our archive …
“This was to be my first pantomime and the fact that we had to travel all the way from Belper to Nottingham (a huge distance of 20 miles!) made it even more exciting for me as a 10-year-old boy.
The tickets and coach were organised by the local Miner’s Welfare Club and after a halfway stop at the Rose and Crown, Morley for refreshments, we arrived excitedly at the Theatre Royal.
We were quickly shown to our seats and I remember thinking how posh everything was and that I must be on my very best behaviour for my Granny, who’d treated us to this special night.
Cinderella didn’t disappoint, we had performing ponies, songs, banter and jokes from the two big stars – Arthur Askey as Baron Hardup and Dickie Henderson as Buttons. I still remember one of the jokes Buttons asking the Baron about his car, a Rolls Canardly:
“What’s a Rolls Canardly – surely there’s no such thing” and the Baron proudly telling Buttons “Oh yes there is – it rolls down hills and can ‘ardly get back up the other side!
I watched open mouthed and wide eyed at the glamour and grandeur both on stage and of the theatre, both of which I’d never experienced before.
I’m sure at some point Arthur Askey sang his ‘Busy Bee’ song and that the stage innuendos went down well with the adults but right over my innocent head.
The journey home was eventful, the bus over heated due to a snapped fan-belt which was fixed with a quickly donated pair of lady’s tights, met with more innuendo from the passengers, and then being woken up when we finally reached home.
Great memories that have stayed with me for nearly 50 years!”
Judith Leonard also went to see the pantomime. Here are her memories:
"It was my treat from my Grandma too. I was 8 at the time. I remember Arthur Askey as Buttons and Dickie Henderson as Barron Hardup. I remember the banter between them and a lot of corpsing and laughter. My Grandma was disgusted because she said it was unprofessional. We all loved it. I caught a sweet that Arthur threw out to the audience but wasn't allowed to eat it until we got back home. Happy days."
Arthur Askey (1900 - 1982) was a celebrated British comedian. He had served in the army forces during World War 1 and performed in army entertainments, later appearing on the early form of television during the 1930s.
He became famous for his work on radio, notably Band Waggon in the 1940s, however he was also a notable and much-admired Pantomime dame throughout his career.
Although not clear on the poster, for this production of Cinderella it is likely that he played Baron Hardup, rather than donning an ugly sister frock.
With performers like Arthur Askey and Jack Tripp at the venue, as well as contemporary performers like Andrew Ryan, the Theatre Royal can justifiably claim that it has had and still has some of the most notable performers who have played the classic role of the Pantomime Dame.
Paul Hough, Creative Learning Manager at Nottingham’s Broadway Cinema, remembers seeing this 1971 Theatre Royal Panto as a young boy and has kindly shared those memories for our archive …
“This was to be my first pantomime and the fact that we had to travel all the way from Belper to Nottingham (a huge distance of 20 miles!) made it even more exciting for me as a 10-year-old boy.
The tickets and coach were organised by the local Miner’s Welfare Club and after a halfway stop at the Rose and Crown, Morley for refreshments, we arrived excitedly at the Theatre Royal.
We were quickly shown to our seats and I remember thinking how posh everything was and that I must be on my very best behaviour for my Granny, who’d treated us to this special night.
Cinderella didn’t disappoint, we had performing ponies, songs, banter and jokes from the two big stars – Arthur Askey as Baron Hardup and Dickie Henderson as Buttons. I still remember one of the jokes Buttons asking the Baron about his car, a Rolls Canardly:
“What’s a Rolls Canardly – surely there’s no such thing” and the Baron proudly telling Buttons “Oh yes there is – it rolls down hills and can ‘ardly get back up the other side!
I watched open mouthed and wide eyed at the glamour and grandeur both on stage and of the theatre, both of which I’d never experienced before.
I’m sure at some point Arthur Askey sang his ‘Busy Bee’ song and that the stage innuendos went down well with the adults but right over my innocent head.
The journey home was eventful, the bus over heated due to a snapped fan-belt which was fixed with a quickly donated pair of lady’s tights, met with more innuendo from the passengers, and then being woken up when we finally reached home.
Great memories that have stayed with me for nearly 50 years!”
Judith Leonard also went to see the pantomime. Here are her memories:
"It was my treat from my Grandma too. I was 8 at the time. I remember Arthur Askey as Buttons and Dickie Henderson as Barron Hardup. I remember the banter between them and a lot of corpsing and laughter. My Grandma was disgusted because she said it was unprofessional. We all loved it. I caught a sweet that Arthur threw out to the audience but wasn't allowed to eat it until we got back home. Happy days."
Type
Leaflet
Location of item
Private Collection - Trevor Lee
Rights
Private Collection - Trevor Lee
Contributor
Researcher: David Longford
