Sepia Saturday 199: 19 October 2013

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Alan at Sepia Saturday says:

 Hey, let's put on a show! The desire to dress up, lark around in public, utter words that you would not normally recognise, is as old as the hills - or at least as old as a string of Judy Garland films. Sepia Saturday 199 celebrates the theatre, be it professional or amateur, serious or comic, situated below a proscenium arch or behind a kitchen table. Dressing up, dressing down, acting daft or acting dreadfully - they all form part of the script for Sepia Saturday 199 (post your posts on or around Saturday 19th October 2013 and add a link to the linky list below). Our archive theme image was taken in 1914 in Waterford in Ireland and it has been suggested that it might be the cast of an amateur performance of the Pirates of Penzance.
It's going to be a quick one this week and I'm afraid there's nothing from my own collection as I fear I have run out of material.

Thankfully the State Library of Queensland collection at Picture Queensland is chock full of treats....

Chorus line girls, Cremorne Theatre, ca..1926


Aren't they just lovely?

There's something to be said for a good hat I always say.

And a beautiful smile too of course.

Although of course if you were in the audience one would hope you would take notice of this lantern slide.
Lantern slide used in early cinema

I hope you enjoy other performances on Sepia Saturday ..it gives me reason to live...well perhaps that's exaggerating it a bit....but  the great news is that you can leave your hat on while you're on the net...

Comments

Liz Needle said…
Great photo. They look like a dance troupe. Very popular when I was a kid. I bet they were tap dancers.
October 19, 2013 at 10:36 PM
Little Nell said…
Great fun. I've got the Tom Jones version, but I like Joe Cocker's too, and what a bevy of beauties in that first shot.
October 20, 2013 at 12:32 AM
Anonymous said…
Nice hats indeed! I can think of some warning slides to be used in modern cinemas nowaday.
October 20, 2013 at 2:11 AM
Helen Killeen Bauch McHargue said…
Great hats. I had a very tall boyfriend once and when we'd go to the theatre you could hear people mutter when we sat down...his head blocked views all around. He'd settle himself a bit and then slide way down in his seat after which you could hear a collective sigh of relief.
October 20, 2013 at 2:28 AM
La Nightingail said…
I'll bet Liz is right about the gals being tap dancers. Tap dancing was very popular back then. And I love the lantern slide. Programs for our melodramas always include little tidbits like that. My favorite is the one about smelling salts being available for those who forget what's happening onstage is only make believe.
October 20, 2013 at 5:15 AM
Postcardy said…
I wonder whether those hats were the style or whether they had some other meaning.
October 20, 2013 at 10:46 AM
21 Wits said…
Second try, blogger is eating up my comments tonight. Some post some don't. Okay, I simply adore the hats, whatever the meaning. In the first photo I can just feel the happy vibes they shared. Great song too!
October 20, 2013 at 11:44 AM
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Liz. Yes, I wish I could tell you more about them. If I went to the QPAC archives I might have a bit more luck pinpointing exactly who they were....
October 20, 2013 at 6:02 PM
Alex Daw said…
It's a bit naughty but I love it!
October 20, 2013 at 6:03 PM
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Little Nell. Short and sweet, as they say.
October 20, 2013 at 6:04 PM
Alex Daw said…
Tee hee. There's absolutely nothing you can do really about being tall is there?
October 20, 2013 at 6:06 PM
Alex Daw said…
You sound like you have a lot of fun Gail!
October 20, 2013 at 6:07 PM
Alex Daw said…
Yes, I want to look at them more closely too. They look like they are poppies or pansies on them don't they? And they look like little moons or something.
October 20, 2013 at 6:09 PM
Alex Daw said…
Glad to be of service Karen ! :)
October 20, 2013 at 6:12 PM
Alex Daw said…
Here's a link to the program file held at UQ's Fryer Library....http://www.library.uq.edu.au/fryer/ms/ftpf8.pdf
October 20, 2013 at 6:19 PM
Anonymous said…
I enjoyed the hat theme . Well done.
October 21, 2013 at 8:42 AM
Anonymous said…
enjoyed this but my coomment just sinks and doesn;t re-appear !!!!!
October 21, 2013 at 8:45 AM
Alex Daw said…
It's okay - I reached out and grabbed it and pulled you in.
October 21, 2013 at 8:57 AM
Tattered and Lost said…
The note about the hats reminds me of what it was like to go to the movies in the earlyl '60s and get stuck behind a woman with a beehive. At least hats could come off. A beehive was just stuck there blocking the view.
October 22, 2013 at 4:23 PM
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