Felix Cherniavsky - "Veil of Disgrace" Production 1998

Added 19th Mar 2022 by Beth Dobson (Archives and Programming Assistant, DCD) / Last update 19th Mar 2022

Maud Allan 1322 51 2008-2-73.jpg
Maud Allan 1322 51 2008-2-73.jpg
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Felix Cherniavsky - "Veil of Disgrace" Production 1998

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Maud Allan Research Collection
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D The dancer and the cult of the clitoris - irector , Brenda Lauth , has made a provocative promise to Durban audi ences with her claim that Veil of Disgrace is going " to shock them right out of their seats " . But hang on , before you look up the number of the new censorship board , Brenda qualifies that promise : " Not sleazy shock just plain ' wow ' - that kind of shock . The kind that says that could never have happened ' . ” The show , which is part of the line - up for Not the Grahamstown Festival being staged at Durban High School from June 17 to 21 , is the story of Maud Allen . The role of the very beautiful dancer ( and other characters ) is being played by bubbly , blonde Belinda Harward , who admits to finding it daunting . " In fact extremely daunting . It's my first one - woman show maybe my last , ” she laughs . Not only has she " an awful lot of lines to learn ” , there's all the dancing . “ But its not Playhouse kind of dancing , more sensual movements and poses . You know I haven't had a real challenge like that for a long time . But it's nice to worm your way into a character , to peel away the layers . ” It's little wonder Belinda finds Maud daunting to portray for she was an extraordinary woman . Way , way ahead of her time and sexual ly and socially unconventional in an era when words like clitoris and orgasm were relatively unheard of in polite British society let alone spoken of . Not only did Maud smoke and Cult of the Clitoris , he insinuated that those who attended her per formances were sexually de praved . “ He also accused Maud of lewd behaviour and implied she came from a degenerate family , " adds Belinda . Veil of Disgrace includes the sen sational trial that ensued when Maud sued Pemerton - Billing for libel . Among other bizarre notions , Pemerton - Billing be lieved the British people were being seduced by German homo sexuals and he used the trial as a platform for such views . Belinda again : “ Maud was even more celebrated than Isadore Duncan but now nobody knows her name . ” They buried her com pletely . The whole thing was a reflection of Edwardian times and double standards . " Brenda Lauth was intriqued to learn that “ that Maud never danced naked even though Pemerton - Billings accused her of performing bedecked in beads and little else . But what she did wear they obviously thought bad enough ” , she laughs . " Belinda is going to be less cov ered up than Maud was . But for practical reasons because of all the costume changes . Probably all poor Maud ever did was bare her midriff . " But nothing in the play is what it appears , ” Brenda warns . “ It's all there but nothing is there , " she says , refusing to be drawn further . “ I don't want to spoil it for you or for the audience ” is her expla nation . So see it at a theatre near you . And be warned . Canadian Maud Allen , right , was world famous in the early 1900s for her exotic dancing . But she paid a terrible price for flaunting Edwardian morality . Obscurity . Her story is told in an upcoming Durban stage production . INGRID SHEVLIN speaks to the actress and the director . ... swear openly , she had abortions and many lovers including , it was rumoured , King Edward VII and the occasional woman . She became sensation throughout the world ( she even danced in South Africa ) , for her sensual dancing and skimpy ( for then ) costumes . At the height of her fame she commanded fees of £ 250 a performance Highly sophisticated she moved in circles which included Margot Asquith ( second wife of the then British prime minister ) and Oscar Wilde . In fact she made her danc ing debut in Britain in 1918 in Wilde's controversial Salome . But her open defiance of Edwardian moralities was to acquire her a formidable enemy ; Tory MP Noel Pemerton - Billing and publisher of a far right news paper . In an article sub - titled The а