What Were The Travelling Roadshows
Irish travelling roadshows, or "fit-ups," were a form of live entertainment, including theatre, music, cinema and circus, that toured rural Ireland from the latter half of the 19th. century until the late 1960s. These companies brought entertainment to communities lacking permanent theaters and served as a significant cultural force, with many actors and performers later rising to prominence in theatre and television. The last of these companies disappeared from the road in the 1960s as the modern age of television and permanent theaters and cinemas became more common.
They were a style of theatre or where companies of travelling performers tour towns and villages in the provinces of Ireland, particularly throughout the 19th and 20th. centuries. The term is also theatre slang to describe a stage or tent that can be transported and erected quickly for shows. They were a travelling company of players that carried its scenery, props and costumes that can be set up in a temporary venue, which might be a large tent, a barn or a village hall. They were particularly prevalent in 19th century Ireland and a study of the performance histories of these has been made by Irish academics. The oldest of these Irish companies included the J. B. Carrickford Company and Tommy Conway/Keegan, who formed the Bohemian Minstrels in the early 19th century.
The number of these companies grew at the beginning of the 20th century with estimates of about 60 companies touring the Irish countryside by 1930. Their performances usually involved some form of variety act and a melodrama followed by a farce. While World War 1 made times difficult for theatres in Ireland with conscription and travelling restrictions making it difficult for overseas performers to get to venues, the companies were able to continue largely unaffected. The company of the actor Anew McMaster formed in 1925 continued this earlier tradition and travelled to the remote parts of Ireland to perform until the middle of the 20th century.
Key characteristics:
Types of shows:
The roadshows presented a wide variety of entertainment, including classic plays by authors like Shakespeare, as well as melodrama, pantomime, and circus acts.
Target audience:
These companies visited small towns, villages, and rural communities that lacked their own established theatres.
Cultural significance:
The shows provided access to live entertainment for people who would otherwise have had little exposure to it. They enriched the cultural lives of both young and old and were an international medium, with performers from Ireland, Britain, and other parts of Europe.
Notable companies and performers:
Some prominent Irish companies and individuals associated with fit-ups include the Anew McMaster company, The Carrickford Family Roadshow, and notable actors like Robert Carrickford and Mícheál MacLíammóir.
Legacy:
The roadshows left a lasting legacy, with many performers from these traveling companies going on to achieve success in the burgeoning television and permanent theatre industries.
Decline of the fit-ups:
While fit-ups faded in Britain with the rise of permanent theaters, they persisted in rural Ireland for longer. However, their reign ended in the 1960s, unable to compete with the growing availability of permanent venues and evolving entertainment forms.
Legacy:
The roadshows left a lasting legacy, with many performers from these traveling companies going on to achieve success in the burgeoning television and permanent theatre industries.











