Cressie Leonard - Postcard, 1908
Title
Cressie Leonard - Postcard, 1908
Date
26 December 1908
Description
Promotional postcard of Cressie Leonard, appearing in Cinderella, the Theatre Royal Pantomime for 1908.
What's the story?
Cressie Leonard appeared in Cinderella, the Theatre Royal Pantomime, which ran from 26 December 1908 to 6 February 1909.
Cressie Leonard was an Irish born comedian and music hall artist, and frequent Pantomime performer. She often performed alongside her brother Billy Leonard.
In a second review of Cinderella in the New Year the Nottingham Evening Post gave a very enthusiastic review of the show on 5 January 1909 …
“The pantomime is characterised by a very dainty prettiness, and it is unquestionably funny. It would be necessary to go back many years to recall a ‘principal boy’ who has secured such a measure of success as that achieved this by Miss Cressie Leonard, the representative of Prince Peerless.”
Cressie Leonard signed this postcard in 1909, enabling researchers to know that this was part of the 1908/1909 Pantomime season.
In August 2022, having seen Cressie’s listing on our archive, the Theatre Royal Nottingham was contacted by Richard Derrick, as Cressie was one of his wife’s great aunts.
Richard was able to supply more detail about Cressie’s life and career, including her pioneering flying exploits in South Africa. We thank Richard for supplying the following rich and detailed information about Cressie.
Cressie Leonard (1881-1961) had a career on the stage from 1900 to her last stage appearance in 1925.
She started in musical comedy going on three long tours of South Africa in her 20s.
Her panto career started in 1906 and lasted until 1915. She starred in major pantos at Newcastle Theatre Royal in 1909/1910; Glasgow Theatre Royal in 1910/11, with Harry Lauder where he first sung his hit ‘Roamin in the Gloamin’); Liverpool Court Theatre in 1911/2, with George Robey; and London Aldwych Theatre in London in 1915/6
Twenty years after her appearance in the Theatre Royal Nottingham panto, the Nottingham Journal on 28 December 1928 wrote, “probably the best panto of the comparative modern times if you do not mind going about 20 years back was Cinderella in the days of Cressie Leonard & Madge Vincent. Cressie Leonard was one of the most delightful principal boys we ever had’.
Although Cressie never performed again at the Theatre Royal, she did perform in Nottingham again. This time at the Hippodrome in May 1916 and January 1917 (the latter time with her younger brother Billy) and at the Empire in March 1918.
Her younger brother Billy Leonard appeared at the Theatre Royal Nottingham in six productions: Katja the Dancer, September 1926; No No Nanette, March 1927; Open Your Eyes, Aug 1929; The Dubarry, April 1932; Lady Behaves, April 1942 and Arsenic and Old Lace, July 1944. His career lasted from 1900 until the 1940s.
He started in a music hall act with his older brother Alf called the Norman Leonard Trio, which ran from 1900 to about 1916. They performed at the Nottingham Empire five times in this period. Billy then performed in about twenty musical comedies in the West End usually as the second or third lead
Another interesting fact about Cressie Leonard is that she was one of first passengers in an aircraft in South Africa.
The first flight in South Africa happened in 1910, a year before one of Cressie’s tours of the country. John Weston Aviation Company of South Africa did much to popularise flight in the country by touring the main centres and offering flights to the public. One of John Weston’s passengers in July 1911 at Johannesburg’s Turffontein racecourse in a biplane was Cressie Leonard, who later recalled, “I had dressed for the part in a close-fitting jersey costume, with no motor scarves to vex the propeller … The crowd roared and I could hear the distant clapping from the stand like rushing leaves”.
Over sixty years later in an edition of The Stage on 23 May 1974, Georgie Wood wrote ‘We watched Cressie Leonard helping our publicity by being the first lady to fly over Johannesburg”.
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.
Cressie Leonard was an Irish born comedian and music hall artist, and frequent Pantomime performer. She often performed alongside her brother Billy Leonard.
In a second review of Cinderella in the New Year the Nottingham Evening Post gave a very enthusiastic review of the show on 5 January 1909 …
“The pantomime is characterised by a very dainty prettiness, and it is unquestionably funny. It would be necessary to go back many years to recall a ‘principal boy’ who has secured such a measure of success as that achieved this by Miss Cressie Leonard, the representative of Prince Peerless.”
Cressie Leonard signed this postcard in 1909, enabling researchers to know that this was part of the 1908/1909 Pantomime season.
In August 2022, having seen Cressie’s listing on our archive, the Theatre Royal Nottingham was contacted by Richard Derrick, as Cressie was one of his wife’s great aunts.
Richard was able to supply more detail about Cressie’s life and career, including her pioneering flying exploits in South Africa. We thank Richard for supplying the following rich and detailed information about Cressie.
Cressie Leonard (1881-1961) had a career on the stage from 1900 to her last stage appearance in 1925.
She started in musical comedy going on three long tours of South Africa in her 20s.
Her panto career started in 1906 and lasted until 1915. She starred in major pantos at Newcastle Theatre Royal in 1909/1910; Glasgow Theatre Royal in 1910/11, with Harry Lauder where he first sung his hit ‘Roamin in the Gloamin’); Liverpool Court Theatre in 1911/2, with George Robey; and London Aldwych Theatre in London in 1915/6
Twenty years after her appearance in the Theatre Royal Nottingham panto, the Nottingham Journal on 28 December 1928 wrote, “probably the best panto of the comparative modern times if you do not mind going about 20 years back was Cinderella in the days of Cressie Leonard & Madge Vincent. Cressie Leonard was one of the most delightful principal boys we ever had’.
Although Cressie never performed again at the Theatre Royal, she did perform in Nottingham again. This time at the Hippodrome in May 1916 and January 1917 (the latter time with her younger brother Billy) and at the Empire in March 1918.
Her younger brother Billy Leonard appeared at the Theatre Royal Nottingham in six productions: Katja the Dancer, September 1926; No No Nanette, March 1927; Open Your Eyes, Aug 1929; The Dubarry, April 1932; Lady Behaves, April 1942 and Arsenic and Old Lace, July 1944. His career lasted from 1900 until the 1940s.
He started in a music hall act with his older brother Alf called the Norman Leonard Trio, which ran from 1900 to about 1916. They performed at the Nottingham Empire five times in this period. Billy then performed in about twenty musical comedies in the West End usually as the second or third lead
Another interesting fact about Cressie Leonard is that she was one of first passengers in an aircraft in South Africa.
The first flight in South Africa happened in 1910, a year before one of Cressie’s tours of the country. John Weston Aviation Company of South Africa did much to popularise flight in the country by touring the main centres and offering flights to the public. One of John Weston’s passengers in July 1911 at Johannesburg’s Turffontein racecourse in a biplane was Cressie Leonard, who later recalled, “I had dressed for the part in a close-fitting jersey costume, with no motor scarves to vex the propeller … The crowd roared and I could hear the distant clapping from the stand like rushing leaves”.
Over sixty years later in an edition of The Stage on 23 May 1974, Georgie Wood wrote ‘We watched Cressie Leonard helping our publicity by being the first lady to fly over Johannesburg”.
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
