Second School of Mime. 1935

Birmingham Gazette

29 March 1935

Following on from the success of the previous year which had been held in London, a second day-school of mime was held at the Priory Rooms in Birmingham; a good move in combatting London-centric community programmes.  Miss Mawer was to have a long connection with Birmingham, especially as her friend Pamela Chapman opened the Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art (BSSTD) two years later, in 1937.

85 women, from twelve different counties in England and Wales, all members of the Women’s Institute, attended the school, plus a woman from Finland – who was a member of the WI in her country.

As with any such class today, the participants were not expected to buy special clothing for a one-off event – so we learn that the women wore their everyday clothes: coats, skirts, summer frocks, sandals, brogues, berets, fashionable hats, or – shock – no hat at all.  A few were able to sport Greek tunics, presumably these women had a connection to the Ginner-Mawer School.  Miss Mawer herself wore a grey tunic.

All ages were welcome on the day, and consisted of those who were ‘young and slim and carefree’ as well as those with ‘grey hair and work-roughened hands’ (not to mention wrinkles on their faces).  I would definately be in the former group…