7/29/2019 Dublin Up to Date - Percy French

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A New and Previously Unrecorded Staging of “Dublin Up To “ by

Percy French.

In “The World of Percy French” by Brendan O’Dowda (p. 16) he relates how in 1891

French teamed up with his talented friend Richard Orpen and wrote “Dublin Up To

Date” a type of ‘lantern-lecture’ illustrated with caricatures of celebrities in and out of 

society.

It was staged at the “Antient Concert Rooms” to great success. Richard Orpen enlisted

the services of his brother Willie (later Sir William) and during the interval they drew

lightning sketches in coloured chalks of the patrons and sold them for a small fee.

There is no reference in the book to any 1892 staging of “Dublin Up To Date” and the

Percy French Society in Down have no record of this production. This programme is

therefore a new and previously unrecorded example of this Percy French work.