Wearing the Trousers

Wearing The Trousers - the true story of Vesta Tilley, the fabulous cross-dressing musical hall star that most of the world has never heard of…

Peppered with anecdotes, songs and flashbacks, Vesta’s story is traced from her birthplace in Worcester to her later years in Monte Carlo, documenting her outstanding contribution to the arts and charity, sifting truthful narrative into the fictional framework of an older, mischievous Vesta in her golden years.

Born Matilda Alice Powles in 1864, Vesta was England’s highest-earning woman and ‘greatest recruiting sergeant’, singing patriotic songs in an enlistment drive for World War I. After retiring to support her husband’s political career, she moved to Monaco in an attempt to improve her failing health.

Using original music and songs from Vesta Tilley’s playbook the story leads us from her dotage in Monaco back to her theatre debut aged five in 1869, to the extraordinary People’s Tribute book, presented to her in 1920 by the classical actress Ellen Terry and signed by her admirers, including Charlie Chaplin, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini and two million members of the public, to celebrate her career and retirement from the stage. 

Ultimately uplifting, Wearing The Trousers will leave the audience with a smile on their face and a song in their hearts.

Seizing The Day Company is a Bristol theatre collective that gives a voice and opportunities to mature professional performers. Last seen pirouetting around the country in Bluffing Your Way in Ballet, selling out th Ustinov Studio and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we relish the opportunity of working with older performers, thrilled at the spectacle of our 76-year-old patron, Alexandra Pickford, dancing Swan Lake for a mesmerised audience. With quite literally hundreds of years of experience, we are still here and still relevant!