4 MYSTERY ACTS - 1980's

Here we have a sequence of photos that were taken at various venues in town around the mid/late 80's period, the acts of which managed to slip through the net undocumented. So I thought I'd throw this one open to you lot out there to see if you can identify any of the above - whether from memory or by research.

The top one featuring somebody sporting the cowgirl look - both the act and the venue needs to be known. Any ideas?

Next one down with the female trio, was taken at Sessions. Were they backing singers or the main act?

Third image is also at Sessions, this time featuring a jazz quartet. Recognise any of the musicians?

Lastly, this picture of another group of jazz musicians was snapped at The Rep. Difficult to tell from the back but I was wondering if the saxophonist on the left might be a young Tommy Smith? Can't say for certain though because of the camera position. Do you know who's in the line-up?

See how you get on anyway.

Photos by The Bear.

DUNDEE JAZZ FESTIVAL - SUMMER 1988

July 1988 saw another installment of the annual Dundee Jazz Festival.
Here is the events list published in Street Life magazine.
There were 3 parts to the festival - the main big acts with the likes of Remmy Ongala, Donald Byrd, Humphrey Lyttleton etc. Then there was a secondary late night line up featuring local acts such as Dougie Martin and Jimmy Deuchar. Finally there was the Jazz Village which was basically lots of gigs taking place around the city pubs.
Being spoilt for choice was courtesy of the reliable Platform Jazz team.
If I was still in Dundee back then, I'd have been along to the Rep like a shot to catch Donald Byrd!

BETTY & BOABY'S MACBETH - REP - 1988

There was a wee twist on The Scottish Play when Betty & Boaby presented their version of "MacBeth" at Dundee Rep in Jan/Feb 1988.

Betty being Elaine C Smith, and Boaby played by Tony Roper.

Both Elaine and Tony are well known Scottish celebs now, but Tony has been acting on stage in Dundee since at least the 70's, appearing at the Rep when it was still in Lochee Road, in plays such as - A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE - THE RECRUITING OFFICER and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST.

He also directed a play at Lochee Rep back in 1977 - AN INSPECTOR CALLS - so he's no stranger to the city.

Local mag, Street Life, managed to have a wee chat with Elaine when she was at the Rep doing B&B's MacBeth, and the items above were the first of a 2 part interview spread over a couple of issues of the magazine in 1988.

It also contains a review of the play - and judging by the write-up, it sounded a bit of a hoot!
The 2 top items are, an original ad published in the local press and the original theatre programme.

Click on the images to read enlarged versions. 

JOANNA LUMLEY AT THE REP - 1980'S

Leaping forward a couple of decades from the old Rep in Nicoll Street to their purpose built theatre in Tay Square, here's a couple of plays featuring Joanna Lumley.

The first one is from March 1985 and is the Ibsen penned play - "Hedda Gabler".

The photo was taken at the Rep and has Joanna with actor, Richard Clews.

The second play is by Chekhov - "The Cherry Orchard" - and was running at the Rep in March 1989.

The review was written by our local cultural guide, Jock Ferguson, who seems to have found the pace of the play - Absolutely Ponderous!

Click on review to enlarge.

REP THEATRE - OUTSIDE & INSIDE

1st pic - This was the main entrance to the original Rep Theatre in Nicoll Street. It had been here since 1939 until a fire in May 1963 completely destroyed the interior, forcing the Theatre Company to move into new temporary premises in St Columbus church in Lochee Road, a picture of which can be seen in the January 2009 Retro archives.

2nd pic - This is part of a mural commissioned by the Rep and painted by the guy in the photo, Richard Demarco. It's called "The Spirit Of Culture Descending Upon Dundee" and features a selection of local landmarks compressed into a kind of semi abstract skyline of the city.

This was actually thought "lost" in the 63 blaze, but apparently it was rescued and stored away until as recently as 2004, when it was rediscovered!

3rd pic - This then is the aftermath of the '63 Rep fire. Not much remaining inside. The gal sitting in amongst the charred debris is a student member of the Rep, Norma Longmiur.

PHOTO FINISH REVIEWS - 1963

Not only was the original Rep programme for "Photo Finish" kept, but here are the original reviews too.

Top one is a photo taken at the Rep of the play in full flow which appeared in the Tele on 26th April 1963.

Under it is a caricature of 4 of the actors in the play, published in the Peoples Journal the same weekend.

Then 5 reviews for you to dip into, from the Courier, Scotsman, Tele, Glasgow Herald and Journal.

All the reviews have the exact same opinion of the play, giving it a big thumbs up, while sharing one wee criticism that they thought the play went on just a touch too long - running for 3 hours!

Click on reviews to read large version.

DUNDEE REP PROGRAMME - 1963

I have a few original 60's Rep Theatre programmes in my collection.

So plucking an example out for Retro, this one here is for a play written by Peter Ustinov called "Photo Finish", which ran for a couple of weeks in April 1963.

You may recognise a couple of the actors in the play who later went on to be well known faces on TV - namely Hannah Gordon and Glyn Worsnip.

Also, if you look closely, you'll see a young Brian Cox listed as being assistant stage manager.

The Rep Theatre back then was in Nicoll Street.

Talented all-rounder Peter Ustinov became Dundee University Rector a few years later in 1968, a position he held till 1974.

Then lo & behold, our very own Brian Cox was inducted into the same role just earlier this year!

Quite a versatile wee troupe!

You may need to click onto the images to read the large versions.

CLUB FEET FASHION - EARLY 80'S

These photos were put up on display at the Rep Theatre last year when the play about Billy Mackenzie "Balgay Hill" was running.

They were taken at Club Feet in the early 80's and were sent to the Rep by Tony Cochrane who used to DJ there.

The images above are a bit on the fuzzy side because they were just taken in the passing from the Rep wall using a mobile, so it's not the original photos that are blurry. They do give you a good reminder though of the kind of gear that was worn to the club.

At least some people made an effort!

That's Billy's bruv on the dancefloor in the top picture.

DUNDEE JAZZ FESTIVAL - 1987

This review of the Dundee Jazz Festival at the Rep, comes from an NME dated June 1987.
The acts mentioned are - TOMMY SMITH'S FORWARD MOTION - COURTNEY PINE - TAM WHITE - TED HAWKINS - STAN TRACEY - and Dundee's own, HAVANA SWING.
Plenty well known names on the bill that year.
The piece was written by local music journalist, Bob Flynn.
I think you should be able to read it ok as it is, but anyone struggling can click onto the image to view the large version.

REP THEATRE LEAFLET #2 - 1963

On the flip side of the Rep Theatre leaflet is the list of plays that were on offer during April & June 1963. However, because of the fire in May that year, the 2 June plays wouldn't have taken place, and I'm not sure if the May plays fared any better.
So in date order we have -
9 April - LORD ARTHUR SAVILE'S CRIME by Oscar Wilde.
23 April - PHOTO FINISH by Peter Ustinov.
7 May - PICNIC by William Inge.
21 May - THE REHEARSAL by Jean Anouilh.
4 June - THE ASPERN PAPERS by Michael Redgrave.
18 June - THE CARETAKER by Harold Pinter.
Incidentally, one of the assistant stage managers for the 2 April plays was a young Dundee chap some of you may have heard of - yes, it was Brian Cox. Still learning his craft back then!
Click the image to enlarge.

REP THEATRE LEAFLET #1 - 1963

The Rep Theatre was based in Nicoll Street (off Ward Road) when this leaflet was printed. It has general info about the theatre on this side and on the other side it contains the plays that were scheduled for the period between April & June 1963.
There is an additional poignant historical aspect to the leaflet - this would have been the very last such item of literature advertising the Nicoll St Rep because in May that year the theatre was destroyed by a fire and the company had to find new premises. To add insult to injury, earlier in 1963 the theatre had just been given a facelift with the wallpaper, staircase and hangings all specially designed for its new look, and in the foyer they had a mural painted by Scottish artist, Richard Demarco. The whole lot going up in flames only a few months later.
In the mid 80's, the premises reopened as a college annexe, and I think it still is to this day.
You can click the image to read it.

BUILDING THE REP THEATRE

The top picture was taken in the summer of 1979 and shows the foundations being put in place for the new Rep Theatre - with the view looking out over Tay Square onto South Tay Street.

Building was completed in 1982 and the 2nd image is a photo of the interior which was taken in '82 when everything was all brand new and ready for business in April that year.

THE REP THEATRE - LOCHEE ROAD

When the old original Rep Theatre in Nicoll Street burnt down in the early 60's, this church in Lochee Road became the Rep's 2nd home. It was only supposed to be a temporary base, but it remained in use right up until the opening of their present theatre in Tay Square in 1982.

Under the photos are some items pertaining to Lochee Rep, the advert being 2 plays performed in 1966.

I can remember visiting the Lochee Road Rep in the late 60's as a special school treat when my class went to see a "marionette show".

Being primary school age, we were used to string puppets on TV with shows such as Thunderbirds, Stingray, Joe 90 and them all, so needless to say the show was a big hit with the kids.

They had to construct a small puppet stage onto the main stage for them to perform. All the drapery & cloth surrounding it was black, as was the puppeteer's clothing. This was to keep the puppeteers hidden during the performance of course, which meant we could concentrate on the puppet action better!

Read the 1968 article above for more details.

I also recall my parents going to see John Cairney do his show at Lochee Rep, a play about Robert Burns which was also very popular at the time.

On the final night of the performance, however, he created a little confrontation afterwards, which you can read in the above clipping dated 1967.

UNIVERSITY WAIFS

The Waifs was the name of Dundee University's theatre group who formed in the 1960's.
They called themselves this because they didn't have a permanent theatre home-base at the time, having to rehearse and perform at various venues outside the University.
The item at the top is dated November 1965, and is an announcement about The Waifs first full-length production titled "Les Justes". A play by Albert Camus, directed by Brian Clarke, and on at Lochee Rep.
The other items are from another Waifs performance and is the programme to accompany a play called "The Fire Raisers" which they put on at the Rep in 1966.
In amongst the pages you'll be able to spot Robin Soans, who went on to become a well known actor.

Click items to enlarge.

Thanks to Martin Dudley.