Vesta Tilley's guest appearances

Vesta Tilley

Museum of Femininity 

Famous People You've Never Heard Of

Hazel Stainer

and their sibling

William Morris

Lucian Freud

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Oskar Schindler

Leonard Bernstein

Robert Louis Stevenson

Tim Shaw

Antony Gormley

Jodi Picoult

Gertrude Stein

Josephine Baker

Charlie Chaplin

Beth Chatto

Edmonia Lewis

Jasper Johns

OwlTail

Vesta Tilley was possibly the most famous male impersonator of all time and a huge star of the Victorian Music Hall.  The girl from Worcester, who was treading the boards from the age of 3 was also the wife of an MP and "Britain's best recruiting sergeant" during WW1.In this episode Ann-Lindsey Wickens tells us what it's like to portray this iconic figure, and Vesta's history is told - in brief by Chris Jaeger, author of "Vesta" the one woman play about Lady De Fries as she became.And we also hear from Jessica Dannheiser, composer of "Orchestral Portraits:  Seven Pioneering Women" about the inspiration Vesta provided.  Huge thanks to Jessica and to Audio Network for permission to use this music.To find out more about Vesta Tilley &amp; Music Hall:http://www.britishmusichallsociety.com/http://www.vestatilley.kk5.org/http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/To find out more about our guests:http://www.jessicadannheisser.com/Twitter: @jessdannheiserhttps://www.godauk.org/chrisjaegerhttps://www.worcesterfestival.co.uk/Twitter: @chrisjaegerWFhttps://katapultproductions.co.uk/https://www.golr.org.uk/Host:  Lottie WalkerEditor:  Jacob TaylorAnd a note from us:Thank you for listening.   If you'd like to help us in our work in keeping the podcast going and the memories of all these lovely people alive, do please consider becoming a patron.  It's really easy to do, just go to :https://www.patreon.com/bluefiretheatreif you're more comfortable with a one off donation you can do this via our website:https://www.bluefiretheatre.co.uk/or buy us a coffee on:https://ko-fi.com/bluefiretheatreEven the smallest donation helps us get our shows on the road and keep the lights on in the studio and we are so grateful for all your help and support.And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you!Find us at:https://twitter.com/famous_heardhttps://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tchttps://www.facebook.com/bluefirepodcast

Vesta Tilley was possibly the most famous male impersonator of all time and a huge star of the Victorian Music Hall.  The girl from Worcester, who was treading the boards from the age of 3 was also the wife of an MP and "Britain's best recruiting sergeant" during WW1. In this episode Ann-Lindsey Wickens tells us what it's like to portray this iconic figure, and Vesta's history is told - in brief by Chris Jaeger, author of "Vesta" the one woman play about Lady De Fries as she became. And we also hear from Jessica Dannheiser, composer of "Orchestral Portraits:  Seven Pioneering Women" about the inspiration Vesta provided.  Huge thanks to Jessica and to Audio Network for permission to use this music. To find out more about Vesta Tilley &amp; Music Hall: <a href="http://www.britishmusichallsociety.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.britishmusichallsociety.com/</a> <a href="http://www.vestatilley.kk5.org/welcome/4533599270" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.vestatilley.kk5.org/</a> <a href="http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/</a> To find out more about our guests: <a href="http://www.jessicadannheisser.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.jessicadannheisser.com/</a> Twitter: @jessdannheiser <a href="https://www.godauk.org/chrisjaeger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.godauk.org/chrisjaeger</a> <a href="https://www.worcesterfestival.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.worcesterfestival.co.uk/</a> Twitter: @chrisjaegerWF <a href="https://katapultproductions.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://katapultproductions.co.uk/</a> <a href="https://www.golr.org.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.golr.org.uk/</a> Host:  Lottie Walker Editor:  Jacob Taylor And a note from us: Thank you for listening.   If you'd like to help us in our work in keeping the podcast going and the memories of all these lovely people alive, do please consider becoming a patron.  It's really easy to do, just go to : <a href="https://www.patreon.com/bluefiretheatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/bluefiretheatre</a> if you're more comfortable with a one off donation you can do this via our website: <a href="https://www.bluefiretheatre.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.bluefiretheatre.co.uk/</a> or buy us a coffee on: <a href="https://ko-fi.com/bluefiretheatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://ko-fi.com/bluefiretheatre</a> Even the smallest donation helps us get our shows on the road and keep the lights on in the studio and we are so grateful for all your help and support. And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media.  We'd love to hear from you! Find us at: <a href="https://twitter.com/famous_heard" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/famous_heard</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bluefirepodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/bluefirepodcast</a>

Jolly Good Luck!  Ann-Lindsey Wickens & Chris Jaeger talk about Vesta Tilley.  With Jessica Danheiser

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hazelstainer.wordpress.com/2020/11/13/unfinished-business-vesta-tilley/

This episode is also available as a blog post: <a href="https://hazelstainer.wordpress.com/2020/11/13/unfinished-business-vesta-tilley/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://hazelstainer.wordpress.com/2020/11/13/unfinished-business-vesta-tilley/</a>

Unfinished Business – Vesta Tilley

Ella Wesner

Part 2 of the Museum of Femininity's Male Impersonator SeriesIn this episode we examine the lives of two very different women.Ella Wesner was a former ballerina who lit up the American Stage with her charismatic male impersonator act, she is also well known for a scandalous affair.Vesta Tilley was raised in the Music Hall and started impersonating men at the age of just 6! She went on to be an icon of this profession and was instrumental in military recruitment campaigns during the First World WarFor lots of interesting images follow us on Instagram @themuseumoffemininity SourcesJust One of the Boys: Female-to-Male Cross-Dressing on the American Variety ...By Gillian M Rodgerdragkinghistory.comhttps://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/vestatilley Some audio recordings of Vesta singinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHM7iGR6hl0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf3LsGQPxSU

Part 2 of the Museum of Femininity's Male Impersonator Series In this episode we examine the lives of two very different women. Ella Wesner was a former ballerina who lit up the American Stage with her charismatic male impersonator act, she is also well known for a scandalous affair. Vesta Tilley was raised in the Music Hall and started impersonating men at the age of just 6! She went on to be an icon of this profession and was instrumental in military recruitment campaigns during the First World War For lots of interesting images follow us on Instagram @themuseumoffemininity  SourcesJust One of the Boys: Female-to-Male Cross-Dressing on the American Variety ...By Gillian M Rodger <a href="http://dragkinghistory.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dragkinghistory.com</a> <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/vestatilley" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/vestatilley</a> Some audio recordings of Vesta singing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHM7iGR6hl0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHM7iGR6hl0</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf3LsGQPxSU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf3LsGQPxSU</a>

Male Impersonators: Ella Wesner and Vesta Tilley