Glasgow Pantomimes: “Dick Whittington”, starring Vesta Tilley, at the Theatre-Royal, 3rd December 1892 to 25th February 1893

Dick Whittington opened at the Theatre Royal on Saturday the 3rd of December, 1892. A review published on page nine of The Glasgow Herald, on Monday the 5th of December, commented:

 

“Coming at the beginning of December an entertainment whose raison d’être is the beguilement of the Christmas holidays is surely a trifle before its time. However that that may be, the pantomime produced at the Theatre-Royal on Saturday night was unmistakably welcome. The success of the co-operation between Messrs Howard & Wyndham and Mr Thomas Charles in the production of last year’s mid-winter show evidently made a lasting impression upon the public.”

 

Advertisements for the pantomime, such as the one of page four of the same paper, announce it as: “THE FIFTH ‘ROYAL’ PANTOMIME, ENTITLED DICK WHITTINGTON, Invented by MR THOS W CHARLES, And Produced Under the Personal Supervision of MESSRS HOWARD & WYNDHAM and MR THOMAS W CHARLES.”

 

The review, which takes up almost one-and-a-half columns, comments about the star performer:

 

“In Miss Vesta Tilley the management have secured an ideal Dick. Piquant and petite, she is also gracious and accomplished. She sang and danced and smiled – her smile is not the least of her charms – until her admirers almost lost their heads in their enthusiasm, and demanded more repetitions than she was physically able to give.”