Kathleen Courtney - Postcard, 1911
Title
Kathleen Courtney - Postcard, 1911
Date
20 March 1911
Description
Promotional postcard of Kathleen Courtney, performer in 1911 touring production of The Quaker Girl.
What's the story?
Kathleen Courtney performed in the musical The Quaker Girl at the Theatre Royal, which ran from 20 to 25 March 1911 and was produced by George Edwardes.
First performed in 1910, The Quaker Girl, was a very popular early twentieth century musical by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and music by Lionel Monckton. Therefore, it is likely that this 1911 production was the first time the show had toured the UK.
Reviewing the show on 21 March 1911, the Nottingham Evening Post wrote …
“Miss Kathleen Courtney makes an attractive and vocally excellent Mathilde …”
This postcard forms part of a large scrapbook collection donated to the Theatre Royal archive by Diane Meadwell from Sandiacre. Her great grandfather was Bernard Hill, the former landlord of The Sun Inn on Parliament Street and who later became the Stage Door Keeper at the Theatre Royal. Bernard’s daughter Edith also worked at the Theatre Royal as an usherette.
Whilst in his stage door job, Bernard collected a large number of postcards of the numerous artists who performed at the venue, many of which he got them to autograph, as well as writing the date and if necessary, the show on the reverse, making the future archivist’s job that little bit easier. We have then been able to cross-reference this information with the list of Theatre Royal shows being compiled by volunteer researcher Lynn Whitley.
We are grateful to Diane for sharing her family memories with us and for donating such a valuable resource to the archive.
First performed in 1910, The Quaker Girl, was a very popular early twentieth century musical by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and music by Lionel Monckton. Therefore, it is likely that this 1911 production was the first time the show had toured the UK.
Reviewing the show on 21 March 1911, the Nottingham Evening Post wrote …
“Miss Kathleen Courtney makes an attractive and vocally excellent Mathilde …”
This postcard forms part of a large scrapbook collection donated to the Theatre Royal archive by Diane Meadwell from Sandiacre. Her great grandfather was Bernard Hill, the former landlord of The Sun Inn on Parliament Street and who later became the Stage Door Keeper at the Theatre Royal. Bernard’s daughter Edith also worked at the Theatre Royal as an usherette.
Whilst in his stage door job, Bernard collected a large number of postcards of the numerous artists who performed at the venue, many of which he got them to autograph, as well as writing the date and if necessary, the show on the reverse, making the future archivist’s job that little bit easier. We have then been able to cross-reference this information with the list of Theatre Royal shows being compiled by volunteer researcher Lynn Whitley.
We are grateful to Diane for sharing her family memories with us and for donating such a valuable resource to the archive.
Type
Postcard
Location of item
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Researchers: David Longford / Lynn Whitley
