This case contains programmes for productions that featured prominent entertainers who visited Dunedin during the 20th century.
Sir Harry Lauder (1870-1950) was a Scottish music hall and vaudeville theatre singer and comedian of international fame. Typically dressed in a kilt and carrying a cromach, he was the first Scottish recording artist to sell a million records, and, at his peak, the highest paid performer in the world.
Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) was a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer who became the most celebrated ballet dancer of her time. The company she formed in 1911 was the first to tour ballet around the world.
Dame Sybil Thorndike (1882-1976) was an English actress who toured internationally in Shakespearean productions, often appearing with her husband Lewis Casson. Bernard Shaw wrote Saint Joan especially for her and she starred in it with great success.
Saint Joan. George Bernard Shaw. His Majesty’s Theatre, Dunedin, Jan. 24-26, 1933.
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Noel Coward (1899-1973) was an English playwright, actor, director, composer and singer famed for his flamboyance and wit. During World War II he toured widely, having been tasked by British intelligence to use his celebrity to influence public and political opinion in favour of aiding Britain. His travels brought him to Dunedin in 1941, in which year his London home was destroyed by German bombs.
Cicely Courtneidge (1893-1980) was an English actress of stage and screen, comedian and singer. Produced by her husband Jack Hulbert, Under the counter was a highly successful comedy concerning the post-War black market in luxury goods, which struck a chord with audiences after the privations of war.
Under the counter. Book by Arthur Macrae; lyrics by Harold Purcell; music by Manning Sherwin. St. James Theatre, Dunedin, Sept. 18, 1948.
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The Cambridge Circus was a group of seven ex-Cambridge students who successfully toured New Zealand in 1964. The show included pre-fame appearances by John Cleese and Graham Chapman (later members of Monty Python), and Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie (later members of The Goodies).
Cambridge Circus (featuring John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie). New Zealand tour, 1964.
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