Surprising Australian links at a quirky new museum
I’m perusing the door of a Blackpool police cell that Harry Houdini apparently escaped from when the grin and clipped moustache of another daring illusionist looks back at me from a poster.
Billed as “The Sensational Australian Escapologist”, Norman Murray Walters was born in Melbourne. But he made a name for himself in England, wooing crowds here with his Houdini-like stunts. Known simply as Murray, he performed across the country between the 1920s and 50s — including at London’s Piccadilly Circus — but it was in Blackpool that he really made his mark.
I’m learning about Murray at Showtown, a quirky new museum that toasts the entertainment heritage of this seaside resort in the north-west of England.
Camera IconAustralian magician Murray is among the figures honoured at Showtown, Blackpool. Credit: Steve McKenna/The West Australian
The many characters that won applause here down the years are honoured, from home-grown comics like Ken Dodd and Tommy Cooper to visiting superstars like Bob Hope, Judy Garland and that man Murray, who, after retiring from the stage, ran a magic shop in Blackpool well into his 80s, inspiring the next generation of magicians. Information displays, shaped like playing cards, reveal that one visitor to his shop was a young Karl Bartoni, who would become Blackpool’s own death-defying escape artist, dangling by his ankles from the top of the town’s landmark, Eiffel-esque tower.
A cabinet of items hailing Murray, including a straitjacket and a commemorative plate etched with his portrait, are among the exhibits at Showtown, which took a decade to complete and is part of a $600 million regeneration project for Blackpool.
Located a stone’s throw from the tower, this new “all-singing, all-dancing, all-weather” museum entrances from the start with its 15m-long digital screen. It fizzes with vintage footage, animations and audio clips charting Blackpool’s development: from humble Lancashire fishing village and bathing spot to bustling Victorian escape for families from industrial towns in England and Scotland.
Blackpool continued to boom in the early 20th century, but its popularity waned in the 1960s and 70s, when bargain package holidays seduced folk to sunnier Mediterranean climes.
Yet despite long-term issues with under-investment, deprivation, unreliable weather and boozy stag and hen parties, the resort has continued to lure Brits of all ages, from weekend breakers and festival-goers to attendees of political conferences and magic conventions.
Camera IconShowtown, Blackpool. Credit: Steve McKenna/The West Australian
Walking around Showtown’s themed galleries (think: circus, seaside, magic shows), I can’t help but think back to my childhood outings to Blackpool with my Manchester-based relatives. I was a similar age to the giggling youngsters dashing about today, pressing, pulling and turning the interactive exhibits.
While they honk the horn of a clown car, I spin a wheel that chatters a set of false teeth, a nod to Frank Randle, an early 20th-century comic who would throw fake gnashers into Blackpool audiences “for a laugh”. Trailing behind, the kids’ parents and grandparents chuckle at bygone photographs and trademark props. There’s Cooper’s red fez, Stan Laurel’s bowler hat and a ukulele plucked by George Formby, a racing jockey who became Britain’s most famous actor-musician between the world wars. There are also glove puppets like Punch and Judy, Orville the Duck and Sooty (a yellow bear purchased by its handler Harry Corbett on one of Blackpool’s three piers in 1948).
While nostalgia infuses Showtown, many of the venues and attractions it highlights are still going strong, from roller coasters and beach donkey rides to the annual Blackpool Illuminations and ballroom dancing at the Blackpool Tower, which has hosted the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. A performer in recent series is Dianne Buswell, who hails from Bunbury and previously appeared on Dancing With The Stars in Australia. You can attempt a few moves at Showtown’s dance gallery, which has you grooving gracefully to projections of ballroom dancers. Or, in my case, clumsily. But like Blackpool in general, Showtown has something to float everyone’s boat. + Steve McKenna was a guest of Visit Britain. They have not influenced or seen this story.
fact file – Open daily, Showtown costs £15 ($30) for adults, £13.50 ($27) for over-65s and £11.50 ($23) for children aged 4-15. See showtownblackpool.co.uk – Blackpool has regular rail links with Manchester and Liverpool (journey time: 75-90 minutes). See northernrailway.co.uk – For more information on visiting Blackpool, Lancashire and Britain, see visitblackpool.com, visitlancashire.com and visitbritain.com
Camera IconBlackpool. Credit: Visit Blackpool/SuppliedCamera IconShowtown, Blackpool. Credit: Steve McKenna/The West AustralianCamera IconShowtown, Blackpool. Credit: Hufton+Crow/SuppliedCamera IconShowtown, Blackpool. Credit: Hufton+Crow/SuppliedCamera IconShowtown, Blackpool. Credit: Claire Griffiths/SuppliedCamera IconPuppets are among the exhibits at Showtown, Blackpool. Credit: Steve McKenna/The West AustralianCamera IconPuppets are among the exhibits at Showtown, Blackpool. Credit: Steve McKenna/The West Australian
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