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Noel Coward in drag - playing lead in Cambridge Footlights
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Noel Coward in drag - playing lead in Cambridge Footlights
Some of the dresses worn by the leading lady of the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club which was staging Folly at the Strand Theatre in June 1923. The actress is none other than Mr N. B. Hartnell - Norman Bishop Hartnell, British fashion designer and royal couturier (1901-1979), who, The Bystander notes, as " Gwendolen Bentley" wore the gowns here depicted with amazing " feminine" charm. It does not specify whether Hartnell designed the dresses himself. Date: 1923
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Media ID 14186711
© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans
Cambridge Couturier Coward Designer Designers Drag Dramatic Dressed Dresses Footlights Gowns Hartnell Leading Noel Norman University 1923
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This photograph captures the enigmatic figure of Noel Coward, not in his usual dapper attire, but in the role of Gwendolen Bentley, the lead actress of the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club during their production of Folly at the Strand Theatre in June 1923. The actress, in reality, was none other than Norman Bishop Hartnell, a man who would later become a renowned British fashion designer and royal couturier. Hartnell's feminine allure on stage left audiences in awe, as he donned the elegant gowns depicted in this image. The Bystander magazine noted Hartnell's "charm" in these dresses, but it remains unclear if the designer crafted them himself. This snapshot from the annals of history offers a fascinating glimpse into the multifaceted talents of Noel Coward and Norman Bishop Hartnell, long before they achieved international acclaim in their respective fields.
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