PHIL MAXWELL

Dockyard Doris at the Brick Lane music hall

This is one of my favourite blogs from 2010 and I am pleased to publish it again today.

I first saw Colin Devereaux performing at the Lord Hood pub in the early 1980’s. Off stage Colin was a quiet and sensitive man. On stage as Dockyard Doris he was an outrageous performer with a wide repertoire influenced by music hall traditions.

Dockyard Doris at the Brick Lane music hall

Colin regularly appeared in pantomimes and was a regular performer at the Brick Lane music hall set up by Vincent Hayes in the 1990’s.

Dockyard Doris at the Brick Lane music hall in Brick Lane

These photographs were taken at the Brick Lane music hall in the mid 1990s. The music hall has now moved from Brick Lane to a magnificent Victorian church in Canning town. It is now the only fully functioning music hall venue in the UK.

Peter John and Dockyard Doris at the Brick Lane music hall

Colin Devereaux had a thirty year career in show business which included radio and TV appearances. After a long fight with cancer he died in 2001 aged 50.

Peter John and Dockyard Doris at the Brick Lane music Hall

I recall visiting him in his home in the 1990’s in Stepney. He was extremely knowledgeable about the history of music hall and he viewed himself as part of that rich tradition.