Download or read book Bristol at Play written by Kathleen Barker and published by Bradford-on-Avon : Moonraker Press. This book was released on 1976 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The history of popular entertainment in a large and ancient city such as Bristol is the story of changing tastes and social attitudes, of colourful personalities, and frequently of financial difficulties. Miss Marker's entertaining and authoritative book begins with St. James's Fair in the fifteenth century (one of the most important trade fairs in Britain) and brings us up to the change of Director at the Bristol Old Vic in the autumn of 1975. Two of Shakespeare's great contemporaries—Edward Alleyn and Richard Burbage—visited Bristol; Sarah Siddons, Macready and Ellen Terry all played in the city; O'Toole was an early member when the Arts council sponsored Old Vic Company at the Theatre royal shortly after the war, thus establishing an important and influential centre of drama in the West Country. Bristol at Play is a fascinating story not only of the development of the 'legitimate theatre' but also of the fairs, 'equestrian spectacles', circuses, travelling showmen (with freaks like 'the Corsican Fairy' and 'the learned Pig'), Pantomime, Music Hall and the Cinema. The variety between ten wooden-legged men; Boldin walked the tight-rope at the Zoo; Dickens gave his celebrated readings at the Victoria rooms; Buffalo Bill staged his 'Wild West' show on a site in Gloucester Road..."-Publisher.