Harry Rickards and the Tivoli Theatre

Harry Rickards was an English music hall performer who became one of Australia's most successful theatre entrepreneurs. Although Rickards isn't very well known, his theatre chain, The Tivoli, is a magic word in Australian Theatre History.

Below is a letter dated 1893 on Harry Rickards' stationery. I'm not sure if it's signed by Rickards or by his brother Jack Leete. The Tivoli circuit was a family affair and Jack managed a lot of the business side.

This is a picture of Harry Rickards from an early 20th Century magazine. It outlines all the theatres he operated in Australia. These included the Tivoli in Sydney, The Opera House in Melbourne, and theatres in Adelaide and Brisbane. As you can see, Rickards had no problem with self promotion.

Finally, below is a 19th Century postcard of the New Opera House in Melbourne. It was later called the Tivoli and was run by Rickards. A shopping mall now stands on the site.

Frank Van Straten's book on the Tivoli called Tivoli, covers everything you want to know about the history of this legendary theatre chain.

Pantomime.

Pantomime was one of the major forms of entertainment for the Australian people in the 19th Century and J C Williamson pantomimes were for decades the highlight of the year for families in the capital cities. Every Xmas, Williamson would produce a lavish show with opulent sets, huge casts, elaborate choruses and dance productions.


Xmas 1883 saw Aladdin come to Melbourne. It starred J C Williamson's wife, Maggie Moore as the principal boy.








Everything about the pantomime experience was special, including the programmes, which detailed the names of cast and crew, the libretto of the panto and beautiful colour prints of the scenes.




10 years later Sydney was treated to Cinderella. Once again a huge production which featured a transformation scene showing the "wealth produce and progress of Australia.' Here is a part of the programme.

The nationalistic theme echoed the concerns of the community of the time. 1895 was the time of Federation debates and a rise in Australian nationalism. The pantomimes reflected the cultural concerns of colonial society and in many ways contibuted towards shaping political and social opinion.



Unfortunately pantomime is a fading art form, particularly in Australia, but in the 19th century it was the epitome of style, class and Christmas cheer.

More information about Australian pantomime.

Jean Jarrott

Some years ago I was sent some information about a woman called Jean Jarrott. Jean was an Australian performer who featured in Queensland WEA productions such as And so to Bed and The Insect Play in the late 1930s.

Here she is in Judgement Day, 1938, as Madame Carelli.

During World War 2 she performed for the Red Cross and with the Brisbane Repertory Society, which was being run by Barbara Sisley, a famous name in amateur theatre. Below is a programme of one of her shows.

I particularly like the war bonds ad on the back.

It says for her future happiness, invest in War bonds

In the 1950s, Jean travelled the world and when she returned to Australia she continued to work for Brisbane repertory. Her career contined through to the 1970s when she appeared in Australian TV serials such as " Until Tomorrow."

Here is Jean performing in the 1950s.

Jean was a talented and generous actress and a fixture in social and theatrical circles in Brisbane. She passed away in 2002.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and other articles

I've just started writing articles for Suite101.com. My profile includes a picture of me and also a list of the articles I have written.

Of the three articles, I think the most interesting was about De Groot,the man who opened the Harbour Bridge, illegally.

I cant believe he was charged with damaging a ribbon worth 2 pounds. Apparently bits of the ribbon are in the bowels of Mitchell Library.

Here's a lovely photo of our wonderful bridge courtesy of Adrian Ng.



It's so beautiful no wonder De Groot was so eager to open it.

My grandfather used to tell stories about travelling by ferry from Manly and watching the bridge being built above him. It must have been an incredible sight. It still is . A true engineering marvel.

Winifred Atwell

Winifred Atwell was a hugely popular star in Australia in the 1950s, everybody knew her. She was also a very talented musician and performer. I was lucky to get these candid snaps of her, some of them are on my website, but these are not.

Winfred's father was a pharmacist and she was supposed to follow the family path, but she was lured by music and succumbed to its siren song.

She played in the US, studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and wowed them with her boogie tunes in the clubs there. She headlined the Palladium and the music charts, and finally came to Australia to stay.

Above is a signed copy of a programme from Chequers in Sydney. In the pages of the programme she is asked a series of questions one of them is,

"What do you hate?"

She answers

"Colour prejudice and new shoes."

Winifred Atwell died in 1983 in Sydney.

La Motogirl

This curious postcard is of 'la motogirl'

She was brought to Australia by Harry Rickards, of the Tivoli Circuit in 1906. Her Manager, Fred Melville, accompanied her.

La Motogirl was taken from her cabinet on stage and left there to dance, sing, play the violin and perform other comedic feats. It was said that she was run by electricity, and sparks flew from her limbs as she performed.

The audience were allowed to look at La Motogirl and encouraged to decide, 'Is she real?"

A young American lady named Doris Chertsey may have also been part of the act.

Maude Beatty

While looking through my trunk full of theatre programmes yesterday I found a letter signed by Maud Beatty.

Maud was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1878. Her parents ran the Theatre Royal in that city. She and her younger sister, May, were soon recruited by Pollards Lilliputians, a famous children's theatre troupe.

Maud was famous as a teenager for taking the male lead roles in productions such as Paul Jones. According to Peter Downes, who wrote the definitive book on the pollard company, The Pollards, Maud's physique and voice made her suitable for such roles.

Here is a picture of Maud in tights from an old cigarette card.

By 1904, when the letter below was written, Maud had been to London and was performing at the Theatre Royal, Brisbane doing a variety turn.

In the letter she thanks an admirer for sending her some flowers. So she was obviously a very polite, well brought up lady. Nobody seems to know when Maud died, but she was still performing in 1919 with JC Williamson. Her sister May, two years younger, died in 1945.