Fit-up refers to the old style of theatre or circus where companies of travelling players or performers would tour from town or village to village in the provinces of Britain and elsewhere, particularly throughout the 19th-century. Taken from the noun 'Fit-up', the term is theatre slang to describe a stage or tent or booth that can be transported and erected quickly for shows . A fit-up company would be a travelling company of players which carries 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.John Ayto and John Simpson
Definition of 'Fit-up' - ''Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang''
Oxford University Press (2010) - Google Books p. 93 'Fit-up' companies 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.Susanne Colleary
''The Comic Everywoman in Irish Popular Theatre: Political Melodrama, 1890-1925''
Palgrave Macmillan (2018) - Google Books p. 6 The number of 'fit-up 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 A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

followed by a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

. While World War I made times difficult for theatres in Ireland with

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

and travelling restrictions making it difficult for overseas performers to get to venues, the fit-up companies were able to continue largely unaffected. The company of the actor

Anew McMaster Anew McMaster (24 December 1891 – 24 August 1962) was a British stage actor who during his nearly 45 year acting career toured the UK, Ireland, Australia and the United States. For almost 35 years he toured as actor-manager of his own theatri ...

formed in 1925 continued this earlier tradition and travelled to the remote parts of Ireland to perform until the middle of the 20th-century. Examples in the 21st-century would include travelling circuses, travelling fairs and Punch and Judy shows. Generally, a 'fit-up' company :

...carried all their props, costumes, scenery, curtains and light system... and if necessary the materials for a temporary improvised stage which they would fit-up in whatever sort of venue was available.

Theatrical companies would travel to often remote locations and ‘fit up’ the local theatres or halls. Very often these travelling shows might be the only entertainment a village might see for some time and would therefore usually play to capacity audiences. They would often perform the works of classic authors such as Shakespeare. In literature the novel '' Nicholas Nickleby'' (1838) by Charles Dickens includes the Crummles troupe of travelling players that Nickleby joins. Headed by Vincent Crummles, a larger-than-life actor-manager who takes Nicholas under his wing, he and his family take their act to America to pursue greater success on the theatrical stage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fit-up English culture Drama Traditions Entertainment British culture Touring theatre Circuses