It’a A Man’s World
LONG before RuPaul’s addictive Drag Race series hit our screens, men and women were experimenting with their identities and pushing boundaries on both stage and screen.
The history of drag goes as far back as the late 16th century, when men began donning women’s clothing out of necessity, in order to take on the roles of Shakespeare’s leading ladies, as women were not allowed on the stage.
But it wouldn’t be until 1868 that women began transforming themselves, too.
The first notable woman to tread the boards as a man was stage sensation Annie Hindle.
Originally from England, Annie started out in Victorian Britain’s music halls, taking on both male and female characters as part of her act.
With her low voice and short hair, Annie wowed audiences with her realistic male impersonations and comic turns.
She proved so popular on stage that she decided to try her luck in American theatres, too.
Billing herself as “Miss Annie Hindle, serio-comic and the greatest male impersonator in the world”, the performer dropped the female characters from her set and hit the US’s variety stage with an act filled completely with male impersonations.
Dressed in the finest men’s clothes, Miss Annie entertained and thrilled audiences with her humorous songs and monologues.
It was the first time America had seen such an act, and Annie quickly found herself booked up for months in advance.
Annie’s impersonations were so realistic that she managed to fool people off stage, too.
In 1886, in Michigan, Annie dressed in men’s clothing and told the clergyman that her name was Charles Edward Hindle, in order to marry her dresser Annie Ryan.
Annie’s unprecedented success caught the attention of her fellow performers, and the actress soon found herself with stiff competition.
Hot on her heels was
New Yorker Ella Wesner, who was born in 1841.
Ella, who came from a family of actors and dancers, began her career at the tender age of nine.
She started out as a ballet dancer, and even shared a bill with Annie
Dawn Geddes takes a look back over the long history and many faces of male impersonation variety acts.
Hindle in 1869 at a show in New York city.
Her act developed and a year later, she, too, was working as a male impersonator, touring venues around the US before delighting England’s theatres.
Ella was adept at depicting men of all different ages and backgrounds.
Fiercely proud of her success, Ella requested to be buried in one of her costumes.
Born in 1864, Matilda Alice Victoria Powles hailed from Worcester and was the daughter of a performer.
She was destined to follow in her father’s footsteps and was on stage by the age of three.
She began touring Britain’s music halls with her song and dance act, quickly realising that she felt more able to express herself and entertain as a man, rather than a woman.
Using the stage name Vesta Tilley, the performer is said to have been the most successful male impersonator ever to grace the stage.
She became famous for her humour and musical numbers including “Jolly Good Luck To The Girl Who Loves a Soldier” and “The Piccadilly Johnny With The Little Glass Eye”.
In 1912, Vesta even performed in front of the Royal Family, as part of the Royal Command Performance of Variety.
Queen Mary was said to have been so shocked by the sight of a woman in men’s trousers when the actor took to the stage to perform the character of Algy in “The Piccadilly Johnny” that she covered her face during the performance.
During the war, Vesta gave performances to raise funds for injured soldiers.
Dressing up as a soldier herself, she used her popular act to encourage men to enlist, earning herself the nickname England’s Greatest Recruiting Sergeant.
The popularity of Vesta and her colleagues encouraged more and more women to develop their own drag acts.
One of these women was actress Winifred Emms, known by her theatrical name Hetty King.
Hetty began delighting audiences by dressing up as a “swell” and soldiers and sailors during both world wars.
Her career spanned 70 years in total and she became known for her renditions of songs such as “Ship Ahoy (All The Nice Girls Love A Sailor)”.
An American performer, Ella Shields, also enjoyed fame in England.
After starting out at the Pavilion Theatre in London in “Dick Whittington”, the actress began practising the art of male impersonation in 1910.
With a dapper style, which consisted of a top hat, tails and cane, Ella is best known for performing “Burlington Bertie From Bow”.
The parody, inspired by Vesta Tilley’s “Burlington Bertie”, was written by Shields’s husband William Hargreaves and went on to feature in the 1968 classic “Star!”
The film sees Julie Andrews play Gertrude Lawrence, a woman who takes to the stage to perform the musical number, dressed in top hat and tails.
While drag queen acts such as Dame Edna Everage and RuPaul Charles have enjoyed newfound popularity in the present, the heyday of male impersonation certainly seems to have passed.
While women still take on male parts in both the theatre and silver screen, thankfully a woman in trousers is no longer deemed as shocking!
Vesta Tilley, Annie
Hindle, Hetty King, Ella Wesner and Ella Shields really pushed boundaries during their time in the spotlight.
Their courage left a legacy allowing women everywhere to experiment and be playful with their appearance and the way they present themselves to the world.