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Alone in their dressing room and away from the glare of the spotlight, this is the precious time when an actor has the chance to reflect on the most momentous events of their lives on the stage.

In this series of single-voice narratives, five of our most celebrated stars of the late 19th and early 20th century theatre share memories of the performances that changed their lives forever.

The stories are, by turn, touching, hilarious, emotionally-charged, heart-warming and poignant. Each of them, in their own way, is delightfully counterintuitive – familiar characters maybe, but each with an unfamiliar story to tell.

In Vesta’s Boys, the year is 1920 and we find ourselves at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester, where the music hall star and male impersonator, Vesta Tilley, is relaxing in her dressing room, having just given another resounding performance as part of her year-long farewell tour.

Writer: Roy Apps
Reader: Sylvestra Le Touzel
Director: Celia de Wolff
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
A Pier production for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4