[Is this the look l should be going for?]
I don’t think you could ever describe my dress sense as being that of a ‘dandy’ and get away with it.
By its very definition, the term refers to a man who is unduly concerned with looking stylish and fashionable. Whereas my daily ‘uniform’ would appear to be a white shirt, blue jeans and a jumper.
My much more in vogue husband is going to have to help me dress up a bit for this coming Sunday – even if it’s just adding a colourful neckerchief to my humble ensemble. Unlike the image above, l dont have the hair or moustache to go with it.
A good friend of ours is the local author and wit Bill Keeling, who this coming Sunday, January 18th, will be actively supporting an event at Bath’s Theatre Royal entitled A Dandy Evening.
According to the event blurb, you are invited to “join Theatre Royal Bath, WIG! and author of The Gay Street Chronicles, William Keeling, for an evening of games, readings and romanticism. Come and party in our historic and exclusive 1805 rooms!
Enjoy a Victorian parlour party at Theatre Royal Bath. With raucous parlour games and partying hosted by Bath Drag House WIG! legends Mother and Yugi Hoe, and a reading from The Gay Street Chronicles by author William Keeling.
Just like any other Dandy, William’s character Belle Nash had no other concern than to cultivate ideas of beauty and satisfy their passions, feelings and thoughts!
I think this will be the third book involving the hilarious adventures of Beau Nash’s grandson, Belle. This one’s entitled ‘Belle Nash and the Unholy Stench.’
DRESS CODE is Dandy Chic by the way!
You are invited to book tickets and come along and join in via https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/events/a-dandy-evening/
It’s the latest in a line of happenings in support of a new performance space the theatre wants to establish – operating alongside the main theatre stage, the Ustinov and The Egg. A brand new community theatre venue called Venue 4.
Here’s a Q & A explanation of why this new venue is so important.
What is Venue 4?
The Theatre Royal Bath will transform existing street-level offices, situated between the Garrick’s Head Pub and The Egg on its St John’s Close site, into Venue 4: a 40-seat, fringe-style performance space for community groups.
With dressing room facilities, easy-to-use sound and lighting equipment, and a dedicated foyer, the accessible space will provide more opportunities for local performers.
The project is expected to cost around £1.8m. Strong fundraising progress has been made, and public support is now needed to ensure Venue 4 opens in 2027.
Why is it happening?
Theatre Royal Bath wants to grow the number of local people who have a story to tell, and the skills and confidence to share that story. The Theatre’s growing Engage adult participation programme will be based in Venue 4, led by Katherine Lazare, Head of Community Engagement.
Engage is the Theatre Royal Bath’s adult participation programme for everyone aged over 18, and continues a long history of community participation at the Theatre Royal Bath. Venue 4 will provide the space for more Engage groups, regular debut performance opportunities and partnerships with community groups
How Engage started:
The Engage programme was first established following the landmark community staging of Ben Hur at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2010.
The project saw over 100 local people both performing and working behind the scenes on an epic production, which was memorably the subject of a BBC One Imagine documentary hosted by Alan Yentob.
The Ben Hur project was first conceived when the Trustees of the estate of the late Beryl Billings, whose stage name was Margot Boyd, contacted the Theatre Royal.
Actress Margot Boyd (West End, RSC, BBC Radio 4’s The Archers), who was born and educated in Bath, always kept a strong affection for the city. When she died in 2008 at the age of 94, she stated in her Will that she wanted to encourage local people to experience the excitement of being involved in theatre.
The Miss Beryl Billings Charitable Trust funded the project, and subsequently the Engage programme at the Theatre Royal Bath was established, continuing today as a dedicated programme supporting adults from all backgrounds and levels of experience to get involved in theatre. The Miss Beryl Billings Charitable Trust are also a keystone funder of Venue 4, alongside local philanthropist Andrew Fletcher, OBE.
Who will benefit from Venue 4?
By offering paid learning opportunities in this new space, we want to sustainably grow community outreach. Bursaries and no-cost and low-cost venue deals will support grass-roots performers and amateurs. Local audiences will also get to access a varied and hyperlocal programme at a low face value ticket price, making it easy to take a punt on new work. Theatre Royal Bath is a charity, and our goal is to provide creative opportunities for local people, funded by our commercial profits in the West End and on tour.
PS. Click on https://www.instagram.com/p/DTQGDwgAvfn/ to let the Theatre Royal’s Development Co-ordinator, Matilda Dickinson, tell you more.
PPS. I did a Wyatt’s Place podcast with Bill Keeling some time ago, which you can access on Spotify via https://open.spotify.com/episode/59L4jDKOF0RohgfW0BZBYI?si=72ad8b9941b64608
