Artist Profile Eveline “Queenie” Paul

Eveline Pauline “Queenie” Paul (OAM) was an Australian vaudeville performer, singer, dancer, principal boy and later an influential theatre producer and entrepreneur. She was born on 30 December 1893 at Pyrmont, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the daughter of German-born butcher Frederick William Paul and French-born Antoinette Schuller. 

The nickname “Queenie” came from her position as the first girl born after four boys in her family. She studied singing and dancing and, at the age of 15, joined a J. C. Williamson chorus, beginning a theatrical career that would ultimately span more than seven decades. 

Paul became particularly important in the Australian tradition of the principal boy — a female performer appearing in male costume as the young male hero of a pantomime. Her most significant early success came with Fullers’ Australian pantomime The Bunyip, followed by another major principal-boy role as Robin Hood in Babes in the Wood. Her work demonstrated the versatility of the form: the principal boy was required to sing, dance, act, perform comedy and maintain a convincing male stage presence throughout a full pantomime.

Paul’s tall appearance, dancing ability, singing and strong stage personality made her particularly suited to these roles.

Timeline of masculine performances 

Production: Mother Goose
Role: Eric, Earl of Fena — Second Boy
Company: J. C. Williamson
Venue: Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne
Season: 18 December 1915 – 1 March 1916

Paul’s first clearly documented major male role came in the J. C. Williamson pantomime Mother Goose.

She played Eric, Earl of Fena, identified in the cast as the Second Boy. The production also featured Lilian de Venny as Colin, the principal boy, Maud Fane as Jill, Harry Farrow as Mother Goose and Gladys Moncrieff as Heartsease.

Paul’s role placed her within the established pantomime tradition in which female performers portrayed young male characters. Australian Variety 

The production subsequently toured beyond Melbourne, including:

• Theatre Royal, Adelaide — March 1916
• Her Majesty’s Theatre, Brisbane — April 1916
• Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney — April–June 1916
• Victoria Theatre, Newcastle — June 1916
• New Zealand Dominion tour — June–August 1916

Paul retained the role of Eric during the New Zealand tour, appearing at venues including the Grand Opera House, Wellington, His Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland, Opera House, Wanganui, Theatre Royal, Christchurch, Theatre Royal, Dunedin and Theatre Royal, Timaru. 

Production: The Bunyip
Company: Fullers’ Theatres
Role: Principal Boy
Year: 1916

In 1916 Paul moved into the leading male role in Fullers’ new Australian pantomime The Bunyip, becoming one of the production’s principal attractions.

The pantomime was an original Australian story by Ella Airlie and featured Nat Phillips and Roy Rene as Stiffy and Mo. Paul was promoted as the production’s principal-boy performer and appeared in male stage costume. 

The production became one of Fullers’ most successful Australian pantomimes and was revived and toured repeatedly over the following years.

Paul’s involvement with The Bunyip continued as the production expanded through the Australian theatrical circuit.

Important venues associated with the production included:

• Grand Opera House, Sydney
• Princess Theatre, Melbourne
• Majestic Theatre, Adelaide
• Empire Theatre, Brisbane
• Victoria Theatre, Newcastle

The production’s Australian setting, costumes, songs and comic characters made it a particularly significant example of locally produced pantomime.

In 1917, Paul appeared at the National Theatre, Sydney, where she co-starred with American vaudeville performer Mike Connors in a revue.

Although this was not a principal-boy role in the same sense as her pantomime work, it marked an important transition in her career from pantomime performer to major vaudeville personality. 

Paul and Connors subsequently became professional and personal partners. They married on 17 November 1917 at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Newcastle. 

Production: Babes in the Wood
Company: Fullers’ Theatres
Role: Robin Hood / Principal Boy
Venue: Grand Opera House, Sydney
Season: 21 December 1918 – 4 April 1919

One of Paul’s most important documented male performances was Robin Hood in Fullers’ pantomime Babes in the Wood.

She was specifically identified as the principal boy, playing Robin Hood in the production at Sydney’s Grand Opera House. 

Paul’s performance continued the tradition of casting a female performer as the heroic young male lead. She remained in the role until 1 February 1919, when Amy Rochelle succeeded her as Robin Hood.

This role is particularly significant because theatrical commentary later referred specifically to Paul as the previous principal boy when Rochelle took over the position. 

Throughout the 1920s Paul continued to work extensively with Fullers’ Theatres.

• Organisation: Fullers
• Period: 1920s
• Performance: Vaudeville, revue, pantomime and character work
• Male performance: Continued association with principal-boy and male-character traditions
• Associated performers: Mike Connors, Roy Rene, Nat Phillips and other leading Fullers artists.

Career shift

With the arrival of talking pictures and the effects of the Depression, the Australian live-entertainment industry faced major changes. Paul and Connors left their long association with Fullers and began developing their own productions.

Production: Brighter Days
Company: Con-Paul Theatres
Venue: Haymarket Theatre, Sydney
Opening: 4 April 1931

Paul and Connors established Con-Paul Theatres and produced the revue Brighter Daysduring the Depression.

They topped the bill with comedian Hector St Clair and the “Exquisite Eight” dancers. Roy Rene subsequently joined the production.

The production later moved to the Melbourne Tivoli Theatre.

Paul’s role was increasingly that of performer, producer and organiser, marking a major transition in her career.

Later theatrical career

After 1931 Paul concentrated increasingly on production, choreography and management.

She became famous for her chorus lines, particularly her “Sunkissed Girls”, and developed a reputation as a demanding and highly organised ballet mistress.

She continued producing and performing long after the decline of traditional vaudeville.

Her later career included:

• Con-Paul Theatres
• Australian variety productions
• Touring productions in New Zealand
• The Sunkissed Girls
• Singapore entertainment engagements
• Nostalgia revues
• Television appearances
• Community and club entertainment

In 1953, she took the Sunkissed Girls to Singapore, arranging live entertainment for Shaw Cinemas. She subsequently produced Thanks for the Memory in Sydney in 1954, followed by The Good Old Days in 1956 and Many Happy Returnsin 1959.

Final professional performance 

Paul remained active as an entertainer into her eighties. She continued appearing in clubs, hotels and on television and was the subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in 1977.

On 29 July 1982, only two days before her death, she performed at Newtown Leagues Club in Sydney, aged 88. 

Queenie Paul remains an important figure in the history of Australian vaudeville, pantomime, male impersonation and theatrical production.

References

Lees, J. (2012). Paul, Eveline Pauline (Queenie) (1893–1982). Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 18. Australian National University. Australian Dictionary of Biography 

Australian Variety Theatre Archive. (n.d.). Practitioners P–Q: Queenie Paul. 

Australian Variety Theatre Archive. (n.d.). The Babes in the Wood and Robinson Crusoeproduction records. 

Live Performance Australia. (2007). Queenie Paul OAM 1893–1982. Live Performance Australia Hall of Fame.