Case studies

Denise Van Outen gives her backing to Civic development

Denise Van Outen, who is perhaps best known for presenting “The Big Breakfast” and more recently working as a judge in popular BBC TV series “Any Dream Will Do”, is no stranger to the limelight. But it is perhaps less well known that she made one of her first stage appearances on stage in Barnsley.

She took the role of “Wendy” in the pantomime Peter Pan, which was performed at the Civic in 1988. Recently discovered programmes from the show revealed that she starred in the show as “Denise Outen”, before the “Van” part of her name was added.

Nearly two decades since she performed in Barnsley, Denise Van Outen still has fond memories of the time she spent in the town and has given her full backing to the regeneration of the building.

“I performed at a pantomime in the Barnsley Civic when I was 14 and the building holds some fond memories for me. The building has always been an important focal point for the arts in the town and I think that it’s great that it is getting a new lease of life. Buildings like this are important for every town, and it’s great to see that the redevelopment of the building will help to provide a home for Barnsley’s creative industries for many years to come.” Denise Van Outen.

Redevelopment work at Barnsley theatre unearths legacy of blues legend

If walls could talk, then Barnsley’s historic Civic building wouldn’t be short of a few tales. During the latest phase of the redevelopment project, builders discovered a number of relics from blues legend Champion Jack Dupree, who played at the Civic on four separate occasions during the 1960s.

Born in 1910, William Thomas Dupree was brought up in New Orleans. As a child, his parents were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan after which he was brought up in the Colored Waifs orphanage, the place where Louis Armstrong also spent his formative years. During his time at the orphanage he was taught how to play the piano by an elderly Italian priest. 

After leaving the orphanage, Dupree developed a successful career as a boxer, as well as playing piano during prohibition in speakeasies throughout New Orleans.  He took part in 107 bouts and briefly held the Indiana lightweight title in 1939. His fearsome reputation in the ring earned Dupree the nickname “Champion Jack”, which he continued to use throughout his career.

During the 1940s and 50s, after retiring from the ring, Champion Jack turned his attentions back to music and worked as a blues pianist. His career was at a peak during the late 1950s and in 1958 he recorded arguably his most successful album Blues from the gutter. In addition to gaining a reputation as a highly accomplished singer songwriter, he was also an active campaigner for racial equality. His involvement with the equal rights moment saw him move to Europe to escape many of the racial prejudices he faced in the US. By the 1970s, he had taken up residence in West Yorkshire where he lived for several years.

Champion Jack played at the Civic between 1963 and 1966, and his legacy had all but been forgotten until builders uncovered a number of banners which were used to promote the tours, hidden away in the building’s former centenary rooms.