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A
mateur theatre in my family can be traced back to the
1800s.
As one of the new Australian pioneers, George Flay of
Gympie was an accomplished musician. George could play any
instrument and became musical director
for the “Gympie Amateur
Minstrel Company”. As
you can see from the
newspaper insert,
all this happened
in 1889.
I would
have loved to
have seen Mr
John Foster’s
eccentric
dance in all-
black tights.
It is worth
mentioning
minstrel shows
were looked
upon as the
most respectable
of popular theatre
entertainment. The
clergy and their families
were often seen in the
audiences. The concert was a success and money was raised
annually for a local hospital
Another thespian relative was Henry George Flay, Harry to
all who knew him. He had a great experience as an amateur actor
in Miss Horniman’s rep company at
the Gaiety Theatre Manchester in
1912. Alas six years later Harry was
killed in the Great War.
It is ironic that on the corner of
the site of the Gaiety Theatre which
was purchased with money from the
selling of tea now stands a coffee shop
“Oh, admirable art”
Annie Horniman had established the Abbey Theatre in
Dublin and in 1908 developed the first British regional repertory
theatre in Manchester at the Gaiety Theatre. She became a well-
known figure in Manchester holding court at the Midland Hotel.
Annie wore exotic clothing and openly smoked cigarettes, which
were considered scandalous at the time. It is worth mentioning
she joined the occult society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn and the hexagram was seen on all the Gaiety programmes.
The plays produced
included the classics
and Shakespeare, and
she introduced works
by contemporary and
local
playwrights.
Those local writers
formed the “Manchester
School of Dramatists”
which included Harold
Brighouse of “Hobson’s
Choice” fame.
Dame Sybil Thorndike
was a member of the
Gaiety Company along
with
her
husband
Lewis Casson, who
also directed as well
as performed.
He
directed
“Beauty
and
the
Barge”
a farce with
Sybil
taking
the role of
Ethel Smedley
and my uncle
Harry took the
role of Alf.
Unfortunately
I’ve not been
able to find a
review of the
production.
At this time
to be involved
in
theatre
p e r f o r m i n g
on stage was
considered as a
sin by the God-
fearing moralist
members
of
society.
For
that
reason
Harry could not
allow his name
to go into the