Aimée Roberts, English variety theatre actress and singer, appears in The Flood, a spectacular melodrama, London Hippodrome, 1906

Aimée Roberts (active 1906-1921), English variety theatre actress and singer and dialect comedienne
(photo: unknown, UK, probably 1906)

Aimée Roberts’s first appearance seems to have been as Lucie Gray in The Flood, a spectacular melodrama set in Ripplemere, a picturesque Cumberland village, which was produced at the London Hippodrome on 19 March 1906. The piece, which included an inundation of 300,000 gallons of water, was written by Arthur Shirley, with music by Clarence C. Corri. Other cast members were Hal Forde as Harry Darvill, Bert Gilbert as Wilkins, Cecil Morton York as Zambarro, J. Windham Gulse as Peter Peel and Simeta Marsden as Rosie Tynge, supported by a chorus of huntsmen, show folk, village yokels and a bridal party.

‘The Flood. NOVEL SPECTACLE AT THE LONDON HIPPODROME.
‘Stage realism has gone far in these modern days, but never further than in The Flood, a melodrama now occupying the boards at the London Hippodrome. It secured a signal and well deserved success.
‘The Hippodrome water-shows in the past have been many, but none has equalled in completeness, picturesqueness, and effect Mr. Frank Parker’s latest spectacle. To being with, the setting provided is delightfully pretty and realistic, a lake district village furnishing the scene of Mr. Arthur Shirley’s cleverly-devised little melodrama. A rustic wedding, a crown of bucolic revellers, the village inn, a happy bride and bridegroom, acclaimed by cheering yokels, a breezy ”mine host,” and a scowling villain – these and other familiar elements conjure up pleasant memories. In such company the old playgoer feels young again – or, at any rate, younger.
‘Moreover, the marriage festivities, the hilarious villagers, the rustic dances interrupted by the coming of scarlet-clad huntsmen, and the other well-contrived incidents make a bright and spirited show, while threats and portents of storm serve to create the right melodramatic atmosphere and whet the appetite for the Hippodrome’ newest ”sensation.”
‘After the revels, the deluge. Warnings go forth, rumblings of distant thunder are heard, the purple lights that play upon the rocky heights in the background change to darker hues, the lightning flashes – and then down come the rain. It is no ordinary, everyday rain. It is a torrential, tropical downpour, which sweeps everything – and everybody – before it, and the terrified villagers, whose shrieks are realistically disconcerting, fly for their lives. For the mountain dam has burst, the gentle cascade has become a surging, roaring cataract, and the dreaded flood is spreading destruction in all directions.
‘Down crashes the roof of a pretty cottage, in a twinkling the little bridge over the tarn collapses, trees and dovecotes are submerged, sunflowers and hollyhocks are swept away and, in a scene of admirably-simulated excitement horses and cattle plunge into the swollen waters of the lake, while rescues of drowning women and children add further actuality to the spectacle.
‘Nothing so spirited, vivid, and thrilling as this has been seen before at the Hippodrome, which, indeed, has not only eclipsed its own excellent record, but has evolved a bit of impressive realism which any establishment would find it hard to surpass.’
(The World’s News, Sydney, NSW, Australia, Saturday, 28 April 1906, p. 5c)

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Aimée Roberts (active 1906-1921), English variety theatre actress and singer and dialect comedienne
(photo: unknown, UK, probably 1906)

Aimée Roberts’s first appearance seems to have been as Lucie Gray in The Flood, a spectacular melodrama set in Ripplemere, a picturesque Cumberland village, which was produced at the London Hippodrome on 19 March 1906. The piece, which included an inundation of 300,000 gallons of water, was written by Arthur Shirley, with music by Clarence C. Corri. Other cast members were Hal Forde as Harry Darvill, Bert Gilbert as Wilkins, Cecil Morton York as Zambarro, J. Windham Gulse as Peter Peel and Simeta Marsden as Rosie Tynge, supported by a chorus of huntsmen, show folk, village yokels and a bridal party.

’The Flood. NOVEL SPECTACLE AT THE LONDON HIPPODROME.
‘Stage realism has gone far in these modern days, but never further than in The Flood, a melodrama now occupying the boards at the London Hippodrome. It secured a signal and well deserved success.
‘The Hippodrome water-shows in the past have been many, but none has equalled in completeness, picturesqueness, and effect Mr. Frank Parker’s latest spectacle. To being with, the setting provided is delightfully pretty and realistic, a lake district village furnishing the scene of Mr. Arthur Shirley’s cleverly-devised little melodrama. A rustic wedding, a crown of bucolic revellers, the village inn, a happy bride and bridegroom, acclaimed by cheering yokels, a breezy “mine host,” and a scowling villain – these and other familiar elements conjure up pleasant memories. In such company the old playgoer feels young again – or, at any rate, younger.
‘Moreover, the marriage festivities, the hilarious villagers, the rustic dances interrupted by the coming of scarlet-clad huntsmen, and the other well-contrived incidents make a bright and spirited show, while threats and portents of storm serve to create the right melodramatic atmosphere and whet the appetite for the Hippodrome’ newest “sensation.”
‘After the revels, the deluge. Warnings go forth, rumblings of distant thunder are heard, the purple lights that play upon the rocky heights in the background change to darker hues, the lightning flashes – and then down come the rain. It is no ordinary, everyday rain. It is a torrential, tropical downpour, which sweeps everything – and everybody – before it, and the terrified villagers, whose shrieks are realistically disconcerting, fly for their lives. For the mountain dam has burst, the gentle cascade has become a surging, roaring cataract, and the dreaded flood is spreading destruction in all directions.
‘Down crashes the roof of a pretty cottage, in a twinkling the little bridge over the tarn collapses, trees and dovecotes are submerged, sunflowers and hollyhocks are swept away and, in a scene of admirably-simulated excitement horses and cattle plunge into the swollen waters of the lake, while rescues of drowning women and children add further actuality to the spectacle.
‘Nothing so spirited, vivid, and thrilling as this has been seen before at the Hippodrome, which, indeed, has not only eclipsed its own excellent record, but has evolved a bit of impressive realism which any establishment would find it hard to surpass.’
(The World’s News, Sydney, NSW, Australia, Saturday, 28 April 1906, p. 5c)

Go-Bang on tour

detail of the Theatre Metropole programme
for Go-Bang, week beginning Monday, 11 March 1895
(printed by the Free Press Co, 429 Brixton Road, London, S.E., 1895)

Go-Bang on tour at the Theatre Metropole, Camberwell, week beginning Monday, 11 March 1895
‘On Monday, March 11th [1895], the Musical Farcical Comedy, by Adrian Ross and Osmond Carr, entitled GO-BANG… .
‘This merry, musical piece, which was originally played at the Trafalgar on March 10th last year, was reproduced at Mr Mulholland’s Theatre on Monday evening, and, judging by the reception accorded it, Go-Bang is likely to meet with much success on its provincial travels. The piece had all the advantages of being represented by a thoroughly competent company, and in regard to the important accessories of dresses, appointments, and scenery, everything had been done to ensure a performance in which no weak point could possibly be detected. Mr Victor Stephens [i.e. Victor Stevens] as Dam Row, the eccentric Bojam elect of Go-Bang, invested the part with that quaint and apparently spontaneous humour by which had has earned a high reputation in the world of burlesque. His singing was always acceptable, and in every scene in which he appeared successfully co-operated with his fellow players in the pleasant task of exciting the hearty merriment of the audience. Mr Edward W. Colman seemed to positively revel in the rôle of Jenkins, the greengrocer, who for a time bears the burdens which devolve upon a rule. His performance throughout was an undeniably funny one, and the value of his services cannot be over-estimated. Mr Arthur P. Soutten, taking Mr George Grossmith, jun., as his model, made much comic capital out of the part of the Hon. Augustus Fitzpoop. His peculiar laugh and oddities of appearance and manner had their intended effect, and his Fitzpoop was a distinct hit. Mr Guy Waller as Narain, the secretary who eventually ascends the throne, evinced the possession of an excellent voice, and did justice to the musical numbers entrusted to him. Mr John Lisbourne, who appeared as Wang, distinguished himself by his nimble dancing, and Mr Alexander Loftus was fully equal to the requirements of the rôle of Sir Reddan Tapeleigh. Miss Alice Brookes was as winsome and dainty a representative of Di Dalrymple as could be wished, and her high spirits and vivacity were important factors in gaining for her the favour of the audience. The popular ”Di, Di, Di,” proved to be one of the most taking songs of the evening, and was loudly redemanded. Her dancing was also greatly admired and heartily applauded. Miss Edith Stuart both looked well and did well as Lady Fritterleigh, and Miss Lottie Brookes was a pleasing Helen Tapeleigh. Miss Violet Irving made a coquettish Sarah Anne, and Lady Fritterleigh’s sisters were charmingly impersonated by the Misses Winnie Leon, Edith Denton, and Evreton Eyre. The chorus was composed of a number of attractive young ladies, who sang with precision and danced in graceful style.’
(The Era, London, Saturday, 16 March 1895, p. 9c)

Herr Heindrich’s flying ballet in the spectacular
Butterflies in Fairyland,
produced by Frank Parker, with music by Clarence C. Corri,
at the London Hippodrome, Christmas 1904
(photo: Campbell Gray, London, 1904/05)