Theater Reviews

[Gary Barnett]

I nabbed this from the STC’s Facebook page.

Unless there was a rewrite at some point, it would seem that Dave Morris got the idea of Kate being a writer of ballads long before Hallie R toyed with it.

[Jerry Dunlop]

He "wrote" some pretty nice ballads but couldn't write his own name? (note on the form where it says "his mark", with an "X".

[Gary Barnett]

He "wrote" some pretty nice ballads but couldn't write his own name? (note on the form where it says "his mark", with an "X".

Thanks, Jerry. And there is one prison record that assesses Kate’s reading/writing ability as imp[erfect], so perhaps neither of them was up to the job.

[Gary Barnett]

I nabbed this from the STC’s Facebook page.

Unless there was a rewrite at some point, it would seem that Dave Morris got the idea of Kate being a writer of ballads long before Hallie R toyed with it.

A copy of the script would be useful. In this extract, Kate seems to be altering the facts of a newspaper report of a crime.

[Chris Phillips]

A copy of the script would be useful. In this extract, Kate seems to be altering the facts of a newspaper report of a crime.

Thankfully that kind of thing would be unthinkable these days.

[Gary Barnett]

Thankfully that kind of thing would be unthinkable these days.

Getting away with it certainly would. ;-)

[Debra Arif]

The ballad vendor (also described as a ballad singer in some accounts) in this case was Joseph Swan and nothing to do with anything at all really except the number of coincidences in this 1874 crime report struck me.

[Michael Banks]

Ticket purchased. I’ll be attending the Friday 8th of April performance. Believe it or not this will only be my 3rd theatre visit in almost 57 years. A play during my school days that I can’t remember then (possibly A School For Scandal) then King Lear with Don Warrington a few years ago (I mean that Don Warrington was in the play and not that he and I went to see a play together) and apart from a few pantomimes as a kid.

Do they sell

[Gary Barnett]

The ballad vendor (also described as a ballad singer in some accounts) in this case was Joseph Swan and nothing to do with anything at all really except the number of coincidences in this 1874 crime report struck me.

An interesting case - thanks, Debs.

[Gary Barnett]

Ticket purchased. I’ll be attending the Friday 8th of April performance. Believe it or not this will only be my 3rd theatre visit in almost 57 years. A play during my school days that I can’t remember then (possibly A School For Scandal) then King Lear with Don Warrington a few years ago (I mean that Don Warrington was in the play and not that he and I went to see a play together) and apart from a few pantomimes as a kid.

Do they sell

I hope you enjoy it!

[Michael Banks]

Cheers Gary.

[Debra Arif]

He "wrote" some pretty nice ballads but couldn't write his own name? (note on the form where it says "his mark", with an "X".

Hallie Rubenhold does mention this in her book, Jerry. That was her reasoning behind the idea that Kate wrote the ballads instead, because Conway was illiterate. But as Gary mentioned, Kate's prison record doesn't support the idea that she was very well educated.

[Gary Barnett]

Hallie Rubenhold does mention this in her book, Jerry. That was her reasoning behind the idea that Kate wrote the ballads instead, because Conway was illiterate. But as Gary mentioned, Kate's prison record doesn't support the idea that she was very well educated.

I don’t think Hallie has an issue with Conway composing ballads himself, with Kate as his amanuensis. It’s the ‘tone’ of the Robinson ballad that she uses as evidence to suggest Kate may also have composed them. But, as we’ve seen, the tone and some of the actual words of that ballad are traditional. Then there’s the idea that Kate was an accomplished singer because music and singing were taught at Dowgate School and there were a couple of mentions of her singing as an adult.

Of course, if we take the dubious Black Country Bugle article out of the picture, there’s no evidence of the couple being involved in any ballad writing or singing - or even selling for that matter.

[Gary Barnett]

I have to say the ‘Bilston Kate’ find has somewhat stymied my idea of the ‘myth’ having grown organically since 1995, with successive contributors adding a bit here and a bit there. David Morris seems to have invented the idea of Kate being the prime mover in turning press reports into ‘bloody versicles’.

I’d really like to see the script of the play - is that what this link originally led to?

http://www.davidjmorris.net/full-length-plays.php

[Chris Phillips]

I have to say the ‘Bilston Kate’ find has somewhat stymied my idea of the ‘myth’ having grown organically since 1995, with successive contributors adding a bit here and a bit there. David Morris seems to have invented the idea of Kate being the prime mover in turning press reports into ‘bloody versicles’.

I’d really like to see the script of the play - is that what this link originally led to?

http://www.davidjmorris.net/full-length-plays.php

The Internet Archive has a copy of that page. It links to a sample, but unfortunately the same hasn't been archived, and the website is now defunct. It looks as though he used to sell copies of his scripts:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170403...ngth-plays.php

Maybe the theatre company could put you in touch. Presumably they somehow got the rights to perform the play:
https://www.stourbridgetheatre.co.uk/contact