We have just finished our last day of research for In Plain Sight: A Story of Gwen Lally!
Working with our two fantastic volunteer researchers, Jacob and Grace, our research has seen us visit the Bradford City Library, Bradford Local Studies Library, and the West Yorkshire Archive Service.
We set out to find information on Gwen Lally, the 1931 Bradford Pageant (and pageants in general!), theatre criticism of the period, LGBTQIA+ history. This information will contribute to the script, the actors' development of the character, and help Heifer Productions team get a real understanding of what life might have been like for Lally in the thirties.
We've consulted a range of incredible primary sources relating to the Bradford Pageant in particular including newspaper clippings, postcards, scripts, advertisements, committee minutes, and photographs. We've taken advantage of a wide range of information resources and tools, ranging from microfilm to digitised news archives and have amassed a substantial body of research.
We've made a number of interesting (and sometimes surprising) discoveries along the way: apparently pageants were a risky venture - there were numerous injuries reported over the course of the Bradford Pageant including a septic puncture wound caused by a wooden sword! Also, interestingly - our play's central character, Gwen Lally only ever played one female character on stage in a production of Dinner Together and that was Vesta Tilley - a famous male impersonator!
Tickets for the show are now on sale, why not see how we put the research to use?
Performances:
Saturday 20 August, 2:00pm
Saturday 20 August: 6:00pm
Tickets:
Pay as you feel!
Tickets available here: https://tinyurl.com/3bxpkj99
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