“Wonderful project. In their radically different ways, Shuff & Byng were stars of the first magnitude - their comic genius was something else.” - SIMON CALLOW
STEP INTO A DECADENT WORLD WHERE TWO MID-20TH CENTURY GIANTS OF DRAG MEET THE PRESENT DAY.
TOURING FROM MAY 2028
“I was lucky enough to see Mrs Shufflewick quite often in the flesh, and I would say that the shows that I saw - in Greenwich and at the Black Cap in Camden Town - were among the very greatest comic performances I’ve ever seen.”
“Rex Jameson, Shufflewick’s onlie begetter, was, in the guise of a working class woman with aspirations to gentility, pickled in alcohol, sublimely funny, able to draw apparently unending laughter out of the tiniest gesture or an upward inflexion or a raised eyebrow. I saw her/him first at Greenwich Theatre on a bill with a number of other comic greats.
Shuff eclipsed them all. It is also the only occasion in my life that I have ever fallen out of my seat, and would have done so a second time had I not got a very good grip on the armrests.
The hilarity came from the extraordinary delicacy of Jameson’s sublimely well observed portrayal of Mrs S. He has somewhat slipped out of the popular consciousness. The LPs, faithfully recording performances at the Black Cap, are long out of print. He is, or should be, one of the immortals, along with Grock and Little Tich and Max Wall, who was equally astonishing in character but wasn’t as funny as Rex.
Douglas Byng was of course of a different epoch, but again touched with genius. The exquisite precision of his diction, in patter and in song (all the more astonishing considering his heavy stutter in real life), and his minutely created gentlewoman, with a more than slightly surreal line in throwaway inspirations, had a poetry about them that Rex Jameson never attempted. He presented a satire of the elegant musical theatre of the 20’s and 30’s - above all of revue - with a sort of scattiness which, coming from that elegant dame, amounted to alarming anarchy.
Both men were gay, but they presented radically different attitudes to drag, Byng intensely glamorous, Shufflewick kitted out from a charity shop. Both were visions of, in each case, a very particular kind of woman, closely observed, superbly well realised.
They both have much to teach us.”
BY TONY LIDINGTON
Step into a decadent world where two mid-20th century giants of drag meet the present day. An intimate review inspired by two stars of the past - a journey through drag’s history - from the elegant to the outrageous - brimming with live music, humour and heart.
● Theatres with 200-500 seats
● 1-3 night engagements
● 6 hour get in, 2 hour get out
● 1 tech required throughout
“A great evening last night - we loved it”
- John Knowles - Noel Coward Foundation Trustee
● Premium Cabaret-Drama: This production offers a high-quality, intimate revue in a show which effectively blends live music, humor, and heart. The show weaves original material into a contemporary narrative that has been described by early audiences as “hilarious,” “poignant,” and a “theatrical delight”.
● A “Queer-in-Plain-Sight” History with Contemporary Resonance: The show bridges the gap between 20th-century drag pioneers and modern LGBTQ+ identity. By exploring the lives of Douglas Byng (BBC TV’s first female impersonator) and Rex Jameson (the cultfavourite Mrs. Shufflewick), it addresses timeless themes of class, gender roles, sexuality and the complex nature of joy.
● Proven R&D Success & Community Integration: The show’s development was deeplyrooted in community engagement, including workshops with LGBTQ+ youth and adult groups. This groundwork has already built a baseline of interest and ensures the material is relevant to today’s diverse audiences. See the community offers on page 10-11
“The writing is very funny and poignant”
- Anthony Clavane, author A Yorkshire Tragedy and Promised Land
“So many funny, wonderful and beautiful parts to this show”
- Sofia Bagge, Theatre Director
● New Work & Contemporary Drama Enthusiasts: Audiences seeking fresh, innovative storytelling that explores social history through a theatrical lens.
● Heritage & Social History Followers: Specifically those interested in British entertainment history, music hall & variety traditions.
● LGBTQ+ Communities & Allies: Audiences interested in the exploration of queer history, the evolution of drag and the personal stories of pioneers who influenced today’s drag culture.
● Drag & Cabaret Fans: From fans of traditional female impersonation to followers of contemporary drag artists (kings and queens), this show offers a rare opportunity to see the “roots” of the art form.
● Local Community Groups: The show’s ongoing commitment to community engagement makes it an ideal booking for venues looking to host Q&A sessions or drag workshops alongside the performance.
● Venues will be supported by a robust asset pack, including a production trailer (launching 2026), high-quality core imagery, an Electronic Press Kit (EPK), and a full range of digital assets to drive ticket sales across social media and traditional channels.
● Venue marketing contras will be negotiated with each venue, based on targets and the agreed deal.
● INITIAL TOUR - 12 MAY-18 JUNE 2028
● Future tour dates available, please be in touch for details
● T 079897 48350 ● E linleymatt@gmail.com
1. Mrs Shufflewick was the archetypal “woman in the corner of the pub.” Clad in a trademark floral hat and a scabby fur boa, famous for propping up the bar at the fictional local, The Cock and Comfort.
“A comic genius. Even in his cups Rex was gloriously funny.”
- Roy Hudd on Mrs. Shufflewick
3. Unlike the glitz and glamour of modern drag, “Shuff” was rooted in gritty, hilarious reality. A pioneer of the British drag circuit, the comedians comedian - Shuff is rightly celebrated for the ability to find the extraordinary in the “ordinary” woman at the bar.
4. Rex’s original character was a comedy vicar who would tell his congregation to “flock off.” The BBC deemed this far too risqué for the airwaves, leading to the birth of Mrs. Shufflewick — a character partly based on his foster mum, Aunty Mabel.
5. The man behind the character, Rex Jameson, was born in 1924. He was left on the steps of Trinity Hospital, London and was subsequently brought up by foster parents in Southend.
2. Rex cut his performance teeth during WWII in RAF gang shows in a highcaliber company led by Tony Hancock and alongside Dick Emery and Peter Sellars. He would become a mainstream star in the 50’s & 60’s (TV Mirror Personality of the Year, 1955)
6. Mrs. Shufflewick would appear outwardly prim and proper, yet would frequently slip into tales of “murky sexual adventures” delivered with impeccable, ladylike timing.
3. The King of the Innuendo: Billed as “Bawdy but British,” his comedy was a masterclass in the double entendre . His songs were legendary for being filled with sexual innuendo, delivered with an elegant, knowing wink to his audience.
1. The First Lady of TV: Douglas Byng made history as the first female impersonator to perform on BBC TV (whilst also being banned from BBC Radio!). Byng’s ‘camp performances’ brought a sophisticated wit to the new medium.
4. A Legendary Dame: Beyond the cabaret clubs, Byng was one of the most celebrated pantomime dames in history. Over a career spanning 70 years, he appeared in more than 30 pantomime productions, perfecting the art of the grande dame.
2. Queer in Plain Sight: Byng was a cross-dressing pioneer who lived and performed with an ‘outrageous’ elegance decades before the 1967 legal reforms. His work is now seen as a vital link in the history of sexuality and gender roles in British performance.
5. A 70-Year Legacy: From the elegant 1920s to the swinging 60s and beyond, Byng’s career was an extraordinary journey through drag history. An eccentric and exciting icon of the stage, he redefined what it meant to be a British showman.
‘The most refined vulgarity in London, mais quel artiste!’
- Noël
Coward on Douglas Byng
6. High-Society Glamour: Byng was a giant of decadent cabaret and a star of the West End. He was the toast of the town, famously rubbing shoulders and “hanging out” with theatre royalty like Noël Coward.
L TO R: Matthew Linley (producer), Kinny Gardner (R&D cast as Byng), Dusty Limits, (R&D cast as Shuff), Billie Bottle (Musical director & onstage performer) and Tony Lidington (writer/director).
“Casting my mind back a bit, I’m reasonably sure I had a gay old time playing the great female impersonator Douglas Byng in The Byng Ballads, a series for Radio 4 written by Tony Lidington. Previously, I was vaguely aware of Douggie, but after meeting Tony I was inspired to do some more research. Tony knew Byng, saw probably his last performance, and created the series based on Byng’s autobiography. It was something of an honour to portray this marvellous old queen who was a panto legend, doing my kind of camp nonsense a mere 30 years before I was born. I’m in little doubt that Tony could provide a similar service for Shuff and Byng, Shuff being Mrs Shufflewick, another wonderful gay turn, who I remember seeing at the Black Cap, near my home in London’s Camden Town.”
“Warmed my heart and made me think.”
- Audience feedback
“The Shuff & Byng project has been an amazing experience for both our young people and our adult group. It was great to see them work with and alongside Billie, Tony and Kinny, and incredibly rewarding to witness our young peoples’ insights being incorporated into the work. We can’t wait to see the finished piece and are excited about the possibility of collaborating with the team again in the future.”
- Fern Lovett, The OutHouse
“The community-based research gave me as an established Queer artist a rare and welcome opportunity to discover in greater detail the joys and delights of contemporary LGBTQ+ attitudes and mores as reflected in the conversations and workshops we facilitated”
- Kinny Gardner (Douglas Byng)
The development of Shuff & Byng has been grounded in workshops, interviews and conversations with LGBTQ+ young people, contemporary drag queens, kings and female impersonators from Harwich, Colchester and Exeter.
These sessions were a vital part of our creative process and underlined the relevance of the material and Shuff and Byng’s story to today’s world.
Through that work we have developed two workshops available to all venues who take the show.
This workshop results in the workshop members joining the Shuff & Byng team on stage at the end of the performance for the finale.
● TARGET AUDIENCE
Current drag performers and theatre practitioners interested in drag.
● DURATION: 2 HOURS
This session is designed as a highenergy creative exchange for seasoned practitioners. Rather than a traditional class, this session takes participants behind the scenes of the project’s development and invites them to become part of the show’s finale. It’s an opportunity to hone ensemble skills through professional choreography, staging and vocal skills, as well adding to their portfolio of stage performance. It will also provide an opportunity to share and learn from one another’s distinct backgrounds.
● PRACTICALLY
The workshop session needs to be (at least) the day before the booked performance. Participants will be asked to attend both the workshop, and part of the get-in for Shuff & Byng on the day of performance for a dress/tech run of the finale.
● COSTS: POA
A Creative Community Space for All Levels.
● DURATION: 3 HOURS
Step into a supportive, fun environment where the focus is on visibility, confidence, and the joy of transformation. Participants will work alongside professional performers to discover a “new version of yourself” (your drag persona) through the art of drag. It’s an opportunity to develop new physical and vocal skills through professional warm-ups, posing, and voguing - pitched perfectly to make you feel at ease whilst building real confidence. An opportunity to share your own stories and to learn from others - to discover and refresh understanding of an artform that is based in shared community.
● PRACTICALLY
The workshop session needs to be (at least) the day before the booked performance. It can be delivered twice on the same day and could be delivered some time in advance of the show. Participants are not required to attend the show, although a discounted workshop/show ticket would be wise.
● COSTS : POA
TONY LIDINGTON WRITER & DIRECTOR
“Imagine a really compelling story about two of the earliest female impersonators –that’s Shuff & Byng. Eccentric, exciting and relevant, the show explores class dynamics, sexuality, gender roles and the complex nature of joy, often over-shadowed by inner turmoil. It’s full of fun, great laughs, great music and some intimate insights.”
Tony Lidington is a professional director, writer and performer with over 40 years experience: writing credits for the stage include Comrades - a folk musical, Joey - King of Clowns, Dan Leno – The King’s Jester, Kings of Cloth of Gold and 10 pantomimes for various middle-scale venues. Tony has written over a dozen BBC Radio 4 programmes, including The Byng Ballads performed live by Julian Clary in 2012.
Tony has been artistic director of his own company – Promenade Promotions (Prom-Prom) Limited for the past 23 years, producing work at small and medium scales alongside freelance directing. Tony has been the artistic director of Wakefield Theatre Royal & Opera House and project managed festivals and events throughout the country for diverse audiences at all scales of performance. He is currently a part-time Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Exeter, where he was awarded his doctorate in 2017.
“A joyful theatrical exploration of two hysterical stars of British drag history, in a contemporary re-telling, with snazzy songs, daft dances and sadly serious silliness.”
Kinny’s theatre credits include Godspell, The Rocky Horror Show, Chicago (as Mary Sunshine), The Mousetrap, Sweeney Todd, Sweet Charity, Little Shop of Horrors, The Pirates of Penzance, The Threepenny Opera, The Rhythmics, Assassins and Cabaret For 27 years Kinny was a principal guest solo artist with Lindsay Kemp and his Company, being his second leading man and second leading lady. Kinny recently featured in Promenade , a feature film directed by John Jencks released in 2025, playing the principal role of ‘Lover Pip’.
“Shuff & Byng is about two original female impersonators who found success in the 1930’s-50’s – one a very English character who hung out with Noel Coward, the other an over the garden fence kind of trollop who played everywhere from the Palladium to the Black Cap and was more overtly risqué. I sometimes talk about them being queer-in-plain-sight and how they connect to the legalisation of male homosexuality in the 60’s.”
Billie Bottle is a versatile composer and multi-instrumentalist who bridges the gap between jazz, rock, and folk music. Her theatrical experience is highlighted by a five-year tenure as a pivotal musician touring with the renowned Giffords Circus. She has further contributed to the stage by scoring the soundtrack for Too Pretty To Punch , Edalia Day’s multimedia production exploring transgender identity.
Beyond the stage, she has collaborated extensively with progressive rock icons Caravan and avant-garde jazz legends Mike and Kate Westbrook. Her own creative projects, such as the Temple of Shibboleth, blend mythic themes with contemporary issues like feminism and climate collapse.
“I’ve loved getting to know these two great stars of their time who were almost forgotten. Shuff & Byng feels like a vital, relevant and gloriously quirky way to bring them both back to the stage”
Matthew is a freelance producer. He is currently Head of Producing (Stephen Joseph Theatre - maternity cover) and Associate Producer: National Touring for RABBLE Theatre, as well as Chair of the National Rural Touring Forum.
In development - Shuff & Byng, KATHARINE (both for Slaget Theatre) and William the Conqueror (RABBLE). Recent work for RABBLE includes Glitch (national tour), Henry 1 (Reading, Winchester, London) and for Funnelwick Limb T welve Yuletide Yarns , The Chronicles of Atom and Luna and The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps . Other highlights as producer include The City and the Town (national tours in UK and Sweden), The Ballad of Maria Marten (Eastern Angles, national tours) and Nina - a story about me and Nina Simone (Unity Theatre, national and international tours).
PRODUCED BY Slaget Theatre
Proudly made in Harwich at Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre FOR BOOKING
Matthew Linley T 079897 48350 E linleymatt@gmail.com
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTED BY
Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre
Eastern Angles
Colchester Arts Centre
Arts Council England with funds from the National Lottery
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORK SUPPORTED BY Noël Coward Foundation
ARCHIVE RESEARCH WORK SUPPORTED BY
Bunnett-Muir Musical Theatre Awards with the Victoria & Albert Museum
Production photography by Mike Kwasniak. Team photograph by Alice Cannell. Rehearsal and BTS photography by Alice Cannell and Matthew Linley. Simon Callow photo by Ash. Julian Clary photo at rehearsals for The Byng Ballads - photo Tony Lidington. Mrs Shufflewick archive photography courtesy of The Robert Workman Archive (Bishopsgate Institute) and Dr Tony Lidington Personal Archive Douglas Byng archive photography courtesy of The Wellcome Collection and Dr Tony Lidington Personal Archive . Matthew Linley biog picture by Luke Witcomb