September 24th, 2018
An unbelievable day and a privilege – joining us today is Scotland’s first pop star, the wonderful Jackie Dennis. Wow! A man of tremendous generosity, sharing many stories about his life in the limelight– how he was discovered, who was kind to him, what luck had to do with it, getting into the hit-parade and also how he was ripped off by his agent (a not unusual travesty) something that, understandably, upsets him to this day. He sang for us and we all had a tap dance together. “The good old time-step will hold you in good stead in the future” was the consensus. Thanks to Catherine Bromley from Festival Theatre for organising this. Catherine also invited along Jack Gillon the author and Edinburgh Historian and together we began working on a who’s who of the Festival Theatre’s archive – naming the performers in the photos and the playbills that are framed and on the walls of the Empire Rooms, corridors and landings throughout the theatre. Jackie, Jack, Doreen and Betty were also able to share information on the content of the acts and lots of anecdotal stories . We had a grand chat too, about Madame Ada, Doreen and June’s dance teacher, and whose mother was the first Madame Ada who did military tap, en-pointe and had really strong calves! A day to remember. – Janice Parker
An Audience With... 