Photograph, The "Q" Theatre Guild, Blossom Time, 1959

Historical information

The "Q" Theatre Guild was formed out of the Kew Light Opera Company in 1957. It marked the transition of the company that had initially been directed by Lance Nicholls to one directed by Beatrice Oakley. It continued to perform in the Kew Recreation Hall, but, with its demolition in 1960, and the opening of the new Kew City Hall in Cotham Road, moved its productions to that venue. Productions of the "Q" Theatre Guild included The Geisha (1957), Maritana (1958), They All Do It (1959), Blossom Time (1959), Love's A Luxury (1959), There And Back & The Bohemian Girl (1960), Die Fledermaus (1960), Gay Rosalinda (1961), The Land Of Smiles (1961), Kisses For A Kid & Hansel And Gretel (1961), Die Fledermaus (1962), Monsieur Beaucaire (1964), Macbeath or The Beggar's Opera, and So To Bed.

Significance

The scrapbook of annotated photographs, programmes, and newspaper reviews of which this item is a part was assembled by Marion Tilley, wardrobe mistress for, and performer in, productions by the Kew Light Opera Company and the "Q" Theatre Guild. It is significant as a remarkably complete document of theatre performances in Kew, Victoria during the 1950s and 1960s. The scrapbook, and the items individually catalogued within it, have artistic and aesthetic significance within the history of performing arts in Victoria in the middle of the 20th Century. They have social significance in that they reveal socio-cultural values and preoccupations during the period. The records also act as a history of arts activities in the Kew Recreation Hall and later in the Kew City Hall as entertainment and community arts and music precincts.

Physical description

Faded photograph of Jeanette Rayment in full costume in the Royal Botanical Gardens to promote The "Q" Theatre Guild's performances of Blossom Time during the Moomba Festival of 1959. The performances took place in the Alexandra Gardens. Rayment played the role of Therese in the production.

Inscriptions & markings

Marion Tilley, the creator of the scrapbook, wrote the following underneath the photograph: "Jeanette Rayment, Botanical Gardens, promoting Blossom Time."

Other parts of this item

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