Caricature
October 1906 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This caricature is of Will Murray (b.1877) in ‘The Casey Circus’ at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 8 October 1906. It is one of the many superb caricatures of Edwardian music hall performers that were drawn by the artist George Cooke when he was based at the Grand Theatre. He compiled them in a series of albums.
Murray established a company of juvenile performers called ‘The Casey’s Circus and Casey’s Court Nibbs’, in which he appeared as the redoubtable Mrs Casey. The entertainment occupied most of the second half of the bill at Hanley. It was billed as ‘a screamingly funny eccentric act’ concerning a street urchin trying to produce a circus. A review of the performance noted that ‘while its humour is in progress of development, everyone is highly entertained’. Among the members of Murray’s company at various times were his son Roy Leo, his grandson Roy junior, Tommy Trinder and the young Charles Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin later described it as ‘an awful show’.
Murray established a company of juvenile performers called ‘The Casey’s Circus and Casey’s Court Nibbs’, in which he appeared as the redoubtable Mrs Casey. The entertainment occupied most of the second half of the bill at Hanley. It was billed as ‘a screamingly funny eccentric act’ concerning a street urchin trying to produce a circus. A review of the performance noted that ‘while its humour is in progress of development, everyone is highly entertained’. Among the members of Murray’s company at various times were his son Roy Leo, his grandson Roy junior, Tommy Trinder and the young Charles Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin later described it as ‘an awful show’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
| Brief description | Caricature of the music hall performer, comedian and singer Will Murray (b.1877) as Mrs Casey in 'The Casey Circus and Casey's Court Nibbs', from an album of caricatures drawn by George Cooke. October 1906. |
| Physical description | Pen, ink and wash caricature on pink paper of Will Murray, full-length, dressed as Mrs Casey, wearing a red and cream striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a burgundy skirt and checked apron, yellow striped tights and black boots. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | MRS CASEY "What do you think of that, now?" Yours truly W. Murray Casey Circus (Signature; Hand written; Pen and ink) |
| Object history | This caricature is of the music hall performer Will Murray (b.1877) in 'A Screamingly Funny Eccentric Act THE CASEY CIRCUS A Street Urchin's Idea of reoducing a Circus Entertainment. A Performance conceived in the true spirit of Burlesque. Its sheer absurdity moves one to laughter,' Murray established a company of juvenile performers called' The Casey's Circus and Casey's Court Nibbs', in which he appeared as the redoubtable Mrs Casey. The company performed as a music hall act and among the members of his company were his son Roy Leo, his grandson Roy junior, Tommy Trinder, and the young Charles Chaplin who later described their performance as 'an awful show'. The caricature comes from the second album of caricatures in a collection of albums owned by the Theatre Museum compiled by the graphic artist George Cooke. It is labelled by the artist 'Geo Cooke HYS BOOKE' and features music hall performers working in the early 20th century. |
| Summary | This caricature is of Will Murray (b.1877) in ‘The Casey Circus’ at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 8 October 1906. It is one of the many superb caricatures of Edwardian music hall performers that were drawn by the artist George Cooke when he was based at the Grand Theatre. He compiled them in a series of albums. Murray established a company of juvenile performers called ‘The Casey’s Circus and Casey’s Court Nibbs’, in which he appeared as the redoubtable Mrs Casey. The entertainment occupied most of the second half of the bill at Hanley. It was billed as ‘a screamingly funny eccentric act’ concerning a street urchin trying to produce a circus. A review of the performance noted that ‘while its humour is in progress of development, everyone is highly entertained’. Among the members of Murray’s company at various times were his son Roy Leo, his grandson Roy junior, Tommy Trinder and the young Charles Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin later described it as ‘an awful show’. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.393:35-2002 |
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| Record created | November 25, 2003 |
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