Cissie and Ada, in full Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebotham (or Sidebottom),Ada's surname is recorded both as Sidebottom and as Shufflebotham in various sources. ''The Guardian'' records it as Shufflebotham in "The Guide: Hard as Males" (9 August 2008, p. 8) as does ''The Daily Mirror'' in "Football: It's Time for Liverpool and Chelsea to ... Show Some Dignity" (20 April 2008, p. 55). However, ''The Independent'', in "The Ten Best Drag Acts" (27 June 2006, p. 24) uses Sidebottom. are a comedy drag act featuring two fictional housewives from

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

(or, more specifically,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

). The act was created and played by the comedian

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Early life Les Dawson w ...

and the comic actor Roy Barraclough on television in the 1970s and 1980s.

Act

Cissie and Ada sketches featured the two women gossiping. Their comedic mannerisms included stoical pursing of lips and constantly heaved bosoms. Cissie and Ada became a hit with the British public.

History

Dawson explained that this mouthing of words (or "

mee-mawing Mee-mawing was a form of speech with exaggerated movements to allow lip reading employed by workers in weaving sheds in Lancashire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The noise in a weaving shed rendered hearing impossible so workers communi ...

") was a habit of Lancashire millworkers trying to communicate by

lip reading The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

over the tremendous racket of the looms. Millworkers then resorted to this practice in daily life to discuss delicate subjects. The pair created the characters in rehearsals, in homage to the music hall star Norman Evans, who appeared in

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...

a 1950 film, ''

Over the Garden Wall ''Over the Garden Wall'' is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel across a mysterious forest to find their way home, encountering a variety ...

'', playing the lead character, Fanny Lawton. They were persuaded by the producer to use them in sketches in the show ''

Sez Les ''Sez Les'' is a British sketch comedy show that starred Les Dawson. It was produced by Yorkshire Television, and aired on ITV from 1969 to 1976. Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough (who was a cast member from series four onward) regularly perfo ...

''. Although Dawson needed persuading to don drag, and Barraclough was nervous that he would not be able to match Dawson's talent for ad-libbing, the characters became permanent features of the show. Barraclough recalled that his characterisation of Cissie "was drawn from an aunt of mine who always thought she was slightly above the rest of the family, Auntie Annie. You know, she would always have a sherry. And the rest of the family always took the piss out of her."Andrew Billen. "Race to Get Laid, and Then You Die". ''The Guardian'', 22 May 1994. Key to Dawson's portrayal of Ada was a handbag "tightly clutched to the waist in a manner suggesting infinite disapproval". The characters were revisited by the pair in a series of commercials for fresh cream cakes in 1984.

Stage show

A new play written by Graham Warrener, (incorporating Cissie and Ada original sketches from Dawson's BBC days, written by Terry Ravenscroft), and directed by JJ (John-Jackson) Almond, ''Cissie And Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy'', began a UK tour at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool on 15 July 2013, in

's hometown. The show starred Eric Potts as Ada/Les,

Steve Nallon Steve Nallon (born 8 November 1960) is a British actor, writer, voice artist and impressionist (entertainment), impressionist. Nallon began his career as a stand-up performer on the northern club circuit in the 1970s. He is known for his work as ...

as Cissie/Roy, Steven Arnold as the writer and

Natasha Magigi Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of ''Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican sw ...

as the dresser.

Critical reception

In 2006, Sir

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural ...

, writing in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', named them the tenth best drag act ever created, commenting that they "were as real as the crones in the Rover's Return".Ian McKellen. "The Ten Best Drag Acts". ''The Independent'', 27 June 2006. p. 24.

Act

History

Stage show

Critical reception

Notes

References

See also