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Author Topic: 'Top of the Bill' ?  (Read 633 times)

Offline Ashgard

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'Top of the Bill' ?
« on: Tuesday 01 January 13 21:53 GMT (UK) »
I am looking at a poster from Feldman's Theatre, Blackpool, 1938 as it has a connection with my family. ' Rockin' the Town, a merry, musical mirthquake in 18 scenes. Performances twice nightly at 6.20 and 8.45pm.' 13 Acts are named on the poster, from 'Pepino's Circus of performing dogs, ponies and monkeys' to stars of Musical Comedy.  I wonder if Rootschatters  can answer questions arising from this poster.?   1) Did each performance include an interval?  2) At what point did the 'Top of the Bill' appear?   3)  Why is the name at the bottom of the bill printed in lettering the same size as the 'Top of the Bill'  (other acts are smaller)?   4) In the pecking order was the  'bottom of the bill 'second to the' top of the bill' or had  he/she very little 'pulling power '?

A bit vague but I would appreciate any help.
Anne

Offline GrahamSimons

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Re: 'Top of the Bill' ?
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 02 January 13 09:58 GMT (UK) »
Not quite the answer you are looking for, but you might find a search of The Stage archive at https://archive.thestage.co.uk/ productive.

Another useful search is for reports in The Era which is indexed in the British Newspaper Archive.
Simons Barrett Jaffray Waugh Langdale Heugh Meade Garnsey Evans Vazie Mountcure Glascodine Parish Peard Smart Dobbie Sinclair....
in Stirlingshire, Roxburghshire; Bucks; Devon; Somerset; Northumberland; Carmarthenshire; Glamorgan

Offline Ashgard

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Re: 'Top of the Bill' ?
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 02 January 13 13:37 GMT (UK) »
Having probs posting again , so here goes.

Thanks Graham.  Will follow up your kind suggestions. 
As you may guess, I'm interested in the person -'bottom of the bill'.  My father's aunt "ran off" with her (big family scandal).  We've traced them through shows in Aus., N.Z., USA, etc.  Great Aunt died during this run at B'pool and her partner then disappears.  So I'm wondering how 'popular' she was at this point.  She was very 'big' in the 1920s.  I can't name names for protocol reasons.

Anne
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