PETER USTINOV IN THE NETHERGATE

Here's a fine shot of Peter Ustinov having a wee chuckle to himself in the Nethergate.
The 2 shops in the background are the Civil Service Stores and Patterson's shoe shop.
Peter Ustinov was rector at University of Dundee from 1968 to 1974, the era the photograph was taken.
It's quite an amusing image because Peter was really world famous at the time, what with his numerous film awards, his plays, books, his witty one-man shows etc etc etc - a gigantic list of achievements and a colossal all-round entertainer - and here he is in the city centre with a bench all to himself, none of the locals aware of his presence!
Photo by DC Thomson.

ON THE STREET GUIDE - 1989

I've already raided this magazine for its content on quite a few previous posts, and so this is me just getting round to putting the front cover up on view now.

From 1989 - it's "On The Street" - a local what's-on guide given away free.

Jock Ferguson was the main contributor at the time, with some assistance from P.Ireland, D.Ireland & Paul Clementsmith, the publication being designed and produced by The Graphix Studio in West Port.

It was stuffed with theatre reviews, gig reviews, cinema listings, humour, events, the usual kind of thing you'd expect in a local entertainments mag - and of course, lots of adverts.

Many thanx to Jock.

VIEW DOWN LOGIE STREET

I don't have the exact year this scene was captured but this is what the view down Logie Street was like around the late 60s-early 70s, a lot of which has since disappeared.

The car in shot is a Ford Escort which were introduced in 1968 so the picture wouldn't be any earlier than that.

The Astoria Theatre can be seen in the middle of the photo but it's difficult to make out if it is still open for business or closed down. According to the Tele supplement I posted up 2 days ago, the Astoria shut its doors in 1971.

Ach well, at least the Logie Bar is still in the same spot today, so that's something that hasn't changed!

Photo from Gordon C.

WHITEHALL THEATRE AD - 1970

Let's find out what was going on at the Whitehall Theatre in April 1970...
First up was "The Lex McLean Show". Lex, you may recall, was a Scottish comedian/actor, full of Glasgow patter, who cropped up on the telly quite a lot around this period. Looks like he had a sizeable team with him for the Dundee performance.
Next was a musical called "Viennese Nights" featuring Marion Studholme.
A crime drama followed it, one entitled "Meet Mr Callaghan". This starred Neil McCallum who was in the TV series "Vendetta". Was he the brother of U.N.C.L.E. agent, David?
Final week had a local production running, "The Student Prince", an operetta presented by the NCR.
This ad appeared in the Courier on Saturday, 11th April 1970.

THE WIZARD OF OZ PANTO - 1966

The Thomson-Leng Amateur Musical Society staged "The Wizard Of Oz" panto in 1966.

Not many amateur societies had attempted to do the Wizard Of Oz on stage back then but Dundee's lot made a big effort for their production at the College Of Education. A total of 7 set changes took place during the 3 hour show, much to the enjoyment of the public and critics.

In the photos, starting at the top, we have the Tin Man, James Graham, being squeezed into his metallic attire by Innes Dalgety.

Next are Mary Ralston & Irene Dand in the good witch - wicked witch costumes.

The middle image is Roger Buist being made up as the Scarecrow, with a little help from David Henderson & Jean Baillie.

Not sure which part the next 4 lassies played - Munchkins? Anyway they are - Sandra Bruce, Noeleen Hogg, Vivien Wood & Janet Ferguson.

Finally, a selection of the cast in full costume making quite a kaleidoscopic eyeful on stage!

By the way, I have all the names of those in the final shot, so if anyone thinks they may recognise someone, point them out and I'll let you know.

WILDCAT - BONAR HALL - 1988

Wildcat theatre company received this rave review in local mag, Street Life, in November 1988.
The show they put on at the Bonar Hall was for Wildcat's 10th anniversary, and they really went to town with their production of "Fancy Rappin'".
It was a storming satirical rock drama filled with a variety of music styles and the main theme being a typical 80's youthful pastime - putting the boot into Thatchers loadsamoney society!
Meriting a well deserved round of appaws..!!
You'll probably need to click on the image to read the large version.

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. 

MORGAN ACADEMY'S HMS PINAFORE - 1968

Dundee High School did Gilbert & Sullivan in the 60's, as did the Grove, and joining them was Morgan Academy who performed HMS Pinafore in their school hall in 1968.

Everything seems to have gone alright on the night, and along with the review of the show above, there are quite a few of the pupils named in the write-up too, so you may even be able to spot an old shipmate in there!

Click the review pages to read the enlarged versions.

DUNDEE HIGH SCHOOL'S HMS PINAFORE - 1965

Dundee High School used to (and maybe still does) put on an opera every 2 years.

Their choice for 1965 was Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera "HMS Pinafore".

Along with the everyday scholarly task of swotting up for their Highers, the pupils who got through the auditions also had to learn around 2 dozen songs for the show, so practice sessions actually began way back in May 1964.

Come 15th June '65, and over a years worth of rehearsals later, the real concert got underway at the College of Education.

The show was given very good reviews in the Courier and Journal, and it ran for 3 nights.

Mind you, the local reporters must have missed the final performance, because on the last night, one of the guys on stage stumbled and fell into the scenery, then one of the singers shouted out "Hooray!" during the wrong part of the song, and to top it off, during the curtain call one of the girls dresses split up the back!

Ah well, life's not always plain sailing!

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.

JOE JORDAN PHOTO EXHIBITION - 1987

 

One of Retro Dundee's contributors, Joe Jordan, had a photographic exhibition at the Rep back in July 1987.

At the time, Joe (AKA The Bear), had just ended his lengthy stint as assistant at Dundee Photography Workshop where he helped organise exhibitions in Scotland and Russia.

So when the Rep asked Joe to present a solo exhibition, he didn't hesitate.

He also had a collection of 15 cameras, putting them to good use with images ranging from urban graffiti to Scottish scenery.

STEPS FILMS - APRIL 1989

A little glimpse at what was showing at the Steps in April 1989.

Not much in the way of family films, but looking through the list it reminded me that I bought the COLORS soundtrack on vinyl back then. I had a look to see if I still had the album in my collection and I do, so I plucked it out to get a reminder of the content. If there are any old b-boys & fly-girls out there, then here's the tracklist lowdown...

ICE T "Colors" - DECADENT DUB TEAM "Six Guns" - SALT 'N' PEPA "Let The Rhythm Run" - BIG DADDY KANE "Raw" - ERIC B & RAKIM "Paid In Full" - KOOL G RAP "Butcher Shop" - 7A3 "Mad Mad World" - ROXANNE SHANTE "Go On Girl" - MC SHAN "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Waste" - RICK JAMES "Everywhere I Go".

Some classic old school hip hop in there... and this was around the time the word "Yo" started to infiltrate our language.

Yo...I'm outta here!!

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.

THE STEPS THEATRE - 1979

This is the same top of the Wellgate Steps area in the previous photo only in it's brand new transformation into the Wellgate Centre, Library and Steps Theatre. The image taken in 1979.

I used to go to the Steps Theatre quite a lot in the late 70's/early 80's for it's cinema. They used to show quite a lot of obscure French films, art house movies and underground stuff in general. The most commercial they got would probably be Woody Allen pictures.

Mind you, as a consequence of putting on such arty stuff the place would be pretty empty a lot of the time. All you'd see was rows and rows of bright green seats and hardly any audience! In fact the only one time I remember it being packed to capacity was when they showed a 2 hour Loony Tunes cartoon extravaganza. Bugs, Daffy, Droopy and the rest of them. Now that WAS entertaining!

The graphic is their well known ident which they used in their adverts. 

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.