Character Songs Lions Comiques Male and Female Impersonators Speciality Acts  Aerial Acts Adagio Magic Acts Cyclists Other Acts

Malcolm Scott as Elizabeth I

As women began to feature in music hall programmes, male impersonation became a popular turn. Women had played male roles in theatre and opera throughout the 19th century but there was no doubt that they were really women. Vesta Tilley was so successful with her impersonations that rumour spread across London that she was really a man. She even became a trendsetter for male fashion. Her characters included soldiers, sailors, policemen and priests all of whom appeared in immaculately tailored outfits created by the best Savile Row tailors.

'I'm Afraid to Come Home in the Dark'

Vesta Tilley as a man

Her greatest rival was Hetty King, who was born in 1883. Although they were both great stars, Hetty never saw Vesta Tilley on stage until her farewell performance. Like Vesta, Hetty appeared as a fashionable young man, but her characters also included working class men. She was a keen observer of sailors, soldiers and navvies and prided herself that she portrayed individuals rather than a type. She greatly treasured moments when women would say to her, ‘That’s just like my son’. Her most famous song was ‘All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor’. She was still performing a few months before she died in 1972.

Malcolm Scott was one of the most famous female impersonators and became well known for playing historical women. These included one of Henry VIII’s wives, Katherine Parr, as well as Nell Gwyn and Boadicea (the warrior Queen). Scott also impersonated the Gibson Girl with her curvaceous figure. Like Vesta Tilley’s, his performances were never grotesque caricatures of the opposite sex.

Malcolm Scott as Camille Clifford

Gibson Girl

Some cross dressing acts aimed to convince the audience that the male performer really was a woman. El Niño Farini, the boy trapeze artist who appeared as Lulu kept his real identity secret. When it was discovered by the general public that he was really a man there was much embarrassment amongst ‘her’ male admirers! Other performers would reveal their true identity - Barbette the great trapeze artist would take off his wig at the end of his act to gasps from the audience. The public were asked to keep ‘her little secret’ so as not to spoil the illusion for future audiences.

Barbette