Wednesday 23th October 2024: PICTORIAL PERFECTION: GABRIELLE RAY AND THE ART OF THE THEATRE POSTCARD
at 2pm
By Richard Burnip
The Edwardian era saw the new fashion in picture postcards elevated to an art form in its own right. This was especially true for the major postcard companies such as Rotary, Philco and Beagles whose studios produced striking images of plays, musicals and the popular stars of the stage. This lecture looks at the golden age of postcards through the medium of one of the most photographed women of her day, the actress and dance Miss Gabrielle Ray.
From her star-making role in The Orchid, the debut production of the new Gaiety Theatre in 1903, through to some of the biggest hits of the Edwardian era including The Dollar Princess and The Merry Widow, ‘Gabs’ worked alongside many of the greatest and best-loved stars of early musical theatre. Postcards of her sold in their thousands, and the main challenge for the photographers was to find ways to capture the extraordinary vitality and energy she brought to the stage. A visually stunning story of a defining age in the late history.
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www.theartssocietycranleigh.org
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Richard Burnip took a BA Hons in English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester, followed by an acting diploma at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama. He combines acting, writing and lecturing. He has lectured in many venues including the National Army Museum and the Museum of London, and is currently presenting a variety of virtual lectures online. Richard has contributed to, among others, The Journal of Popular Film and Television, The Sherlock Holmes Journal, and the P G Wodehouse journal Wooster Sauce. A specialist in voice work, he has narrated numerous documentaries and 150 audiobooks.
