Billy Rough

Content Warning: Readers should be aware that this essay examines nineteenth-century texts and performances that include racist, discriminatory, and derogatory language. Such language is reproduced or discussed only where necessary to understand the historical sources and the social contexts in which they were produced. The essay critically analyses these materials and does not endorse the … Read more

George ‘Geordie’ Lackie (1886–1947) was a Dundee character comedian who performed regularly in and around the city during the first few decades of the twentieth century. Although largely forgotten today, his story tells us much about the touring life of a Scottish performer during this period, particularly through a remarkable collection of ephemera held by … Read more

In the printed culture of Dundee’s 19th-century music hall and theatre posters, one name stands above all others: J. Durham & Son. Operating in the city from 1835 until 1972, the firm became one of Dundee’s most enduring and influential printworks, leaving behind a remarkable visual record of changing styles in commercial and theatrical design … Read more

Vesta Tilley is an artiste, but she is more than an artiste. She is a judge of masculine foibles and weaknesses, of the masculine mind and masculine tendencies —in fact, she is man’s interpreter to man himself. ‘The King’s Theatre’, Evening Telegraph & Post, 4 November 1913, p.4. When modern audiences think of gender performance, … Read more

When researching nineteenth-century theatre, it can initially be difficult to distinguish between a playbill and a poster. In many respects, the two served similar purposes, functioning both as advertising materials and as programmes that provided details of performers and performances. The principal difference between the two formats was their size. Two examples from the ‘Mapping … Read more

…the most successful caterer of amusement for the public that has ever appeared in Dundee… ‘Dundee Music Hall’, The Illustrated Sporting and Theatrical News, 22 August 1868, p13. His name is perhaps rather forgotten today, but for nearly thirty years William McFarland dominated Dundee’s entertainment environment. From 1866 until his retirement in 1891, McFarland’s management … Read more