BMHS Conference 2023 How the Music Hall Worked 1840-1918 ^expired

British Music Hall Society Weekend Conference 2023: How the Music Hall Worked 1840-1918

Speciality Acts, Families, and Agents and Circuits (including Continental ones) are our principal topics this year.
Early-bird tickets on sale at just £40 for the whole weekend, including teas and coffees, with early booking strongly advised as there are only 80 places. From Monday 11th September the price goes up to £55 members and £65 non-members. We had a tremendous response to our call for prospective speakers and are expecting speakers from as far afield as Sweden, Finland, America and New Zealand. The packed weekend will feature academics, museum curators, performers, archivists and other expert enthusiasts, plus walks, an archives discussion, a film screening, and two exhibitions. The full line up is below - you’ll find lots to inform and entertain you, so don't delay, book today.

20-minute Talks:
Dance at the South London Music Hall in the late C19th - Jane Pritchard MBE, Curator of Dance at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Co-curator of Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, 1909–1929 and editor of the accompanying book who lectures widely and has undertaken extensive research on dance in Britain in the late long 19th Century.
Léotard in London - Dr Kate Holmes, an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. Her recent publications include the book Female Aerialists in the 1920s and Early 1930s: Femininity, Celebrity and Glamour and 'Experiencing Leotard's Sensational Body: Risk, Morality and Pleasure above the British Stage' in the Journal of Victorian Culture.
Aerial Skirmishes: Flying Children and Competitive Adults in the 19th Century Music Hall - Charlie Holland, former Programme Director at London’s Circus Space (now the National Centre for Circus Arts) and compiler of the book ‘Strange Feats and Clever Turns’ on speciality acts in the music hall.
How Music Hall navigated the waves of social reform to protect children from moral dangers between 1890 to 1920 - Chris Beddoe, professionally a campaigner against child trafficking and exploitation who has several generations of music hall ancestors in her own family history.
Unusual Speciality Acts - Alan Stockwell MBE, a professional puppeteer for over forty years, whose most recent books are ‘Perils of the Victorian Stage’ and ‘Jeopardy within the Victorian Theatre’.
"Cleverer than God", Paul Cinquevalli, Music Hall Juggler - Erik Åberg, PhD student at Stockholm University of the Arts and the foremost authority on Cinquevalli.
Songs related to Speciality Acts - John Baxter, amateur folksinger, a visiting academic specialising in interdisciplinary studies at the Open University, currently undertaking a major project to explore the intersection of folksong and songs written for the Halls.
Celebrated but Forgotten: Female Magicians in Northern Europe 1880s-1890s - Pauliina Räsänen, PhD researcher at the University of Turku, Finland.
Visual Representations of Speciality Acts in B&W Periodicals – Alison Young, from a Music Hall family and vice-Chair of the BMHS, gives regular talks on various aspects of music hall history. She is a recipient of a Society for Theatre Research Award for her blog ‘Music Hall Alice’.
‘The king in his counting house’: H.T. Rossborough’s management of the Britannia Music Hall, Glasgow. - Dr Paul Maloney, an Honorary Research Fellow of the School of Culture and Creative Arts at Glasgow University, author of Scotland and the Music Hall, 1850-1914 (2003), and The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall and Cosmopolitan Entertainment Culture (2016.
Ethnic representation in Music Hall - Dr Steve Ward CF, author of eight book on circus and a member of the Circus Research Network and the Circus Arts Research Platform.

6-minute Talks:

American Vaudeville Acts in the UK: The Case of the Three Keatons - Lisa Stein Haven PhD, Professor of English at Ohio University Zanesville whose research interest is silent film comedy, and author of five books.
Brixton's four legged actors - Tracey Gregory, a Lambeth historian with a special interest in Brixton and its rich history as a home of entertainment and entertainers.
‘Stage Door Johnnies’ - Matt Fletcher and Kevin Butler, members of Out There Actions, which specialises in relentlessly accessible performance in public spaces, usually exploring carefully researched historical themes. Matt is a Devon-based academic and writer, while Kevin is a seasoned actor from Southampton.
An example of the intertwined world of music hall families - Brian O’Gorman, grandson of Joe O'Gorman (snr.).
Intriguing agents: Richard Warner of London and Rosinsky of Paris - Charlie Holland
The history of the 'Big Boots' routine - Paul Goddard, Deputy Curator at the Grand Order of Water Rats, historian and performer, known for his work on stilts.
A Copyright On Murder - Heather Tweed, writer, researcher and artist with a long held interest in 19th century Music Hall and Circus.
Illuminating the stage: carbon arcs and limelights - John Holden, chairman of the Historic Lighting Club.
The Red Letter at the Music Hall - Dave James PhD, a Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University in Film and Media, and Dr David Huxley
The Family of the Great Vance - Wendy Campbell, Eunice and Alfred’s two times Great Granddaughter

Walks
Astley’s Amphitheatre, the Canterbury (the first grand music hall), and their neighbours. Led by Charlie Holland
Kennington families. Led by Alison Young

Discussion
Useful archives and how to get the most out of them.

Exhibitions
Portraits of Acrobats, Aerialists and Others, 1850s – 1900s
Jugglers on the British Stage, 1880 – 1918, including posters, props, photos, and programmes.

Stalls
British Music Hall Society
Circus Friends Association.

Content subject to change. We thank Gerald Glover, BMHS joint-Founder, for a generous donation towards the event's costs.
Accessibility: Since we booked the museum, the lift to the first floor, where the event will take place, has broken and may not be fixed beforehand. There are two flights of ten steps.
Conference co-organisers: Charlie Holland and Alison Young, for the British Music Hall Society. Academic adviser: Dr Sophie Nield.