The play "He was born gay": flyer for performance at Queen's theatre in London. Colour process print, 193-.
- Date:
- [between 1930 and 1939?]
- Reference:
- 2059292i
- Part of:
- The James Gardiner Collection.
- Pictures
- Online
About this work
Publication/Creation
London (68-70 Wardour St, W1) : Miles & Co. Ltd., [between 1930 and 1939?]
Physical description
1 print : process print, printed in colour ; 15.1 x 10 cm
Contributors
Lettering
Queen's theatre. John Gielgud in 'He was born gay' a romance in 3 acts by Emlyn Williams. ...
Printed on verso: Portraits of John Gielgud, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Carol Goodner, Emlyn Williams
Notes
This work is untitled: the title has been supplied by the cataloguer.
The following description was provided by James Gardiner: "Until the 1970s the word 'gay' still meant 'happy' to the great majority of people in Britain, although its sexual and moral connotations go back to the mid-19th century, when (female) London prostitutes were known as 'gay ladies'. The fact that it could be used in the title of a popular play in London in 1937 written by one homosexual (Emlyn Williams) and starring another (John Gielgud), proves the obscurity of its secondary meaning at this time, although both Gielgud and Williams must have been aware of the irony".
Reference
Wellcome Collection 2059292i
Type/Technique
Languages
Where to find it
Romantic fantasy and comic postcards
Location Status Access Closed stores