| Cissie and Ada | |
|---|---|
 Les Dawson (right) and Roy Barraclough (left) as Cissie and Ada onThe Les Dawson Show (BBC, 1978) | |
| Created by | Les Dawson andRoy Barraclough |
| Portrayed by | Roy Barraclough andLes Dawson respectively |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebotham Cissie Braithewaite and Ada Sidebottom |
| Gender | Female |
| Nationality | British |
Cissie and Ada, in full Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebotham (or Sidebottom),[notes 1] are a comedydrag act featuring two fictional housewives fromNorthern England (or, more specifically,Lancashire). The act was created and played by the comedianLes Dawson and the comic actorRoy Barraclough on television in the 1970s and 1980s.
Cissie and Ada sketches featured the two women gossiping. Their comedic mannerisms included stoical pursing of lips and constantly heaved bosoms. Cissie and Ada became a hit with the British public.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Dawson explained that this mouthing of words (or "mee-mawing") was a habit of Lancashiremillworkers trying to communicate bylip reading over the tremendous racket of thelooms. Millworkers then resorted to this practice in daily life to discuss delicate subjects.
The pair created the characters in rehearsals, in homage to themusic hall starNorman Evans, who appeared indrag a 1950 film,Over the Garden Wall, playing the lead character, Fanny Lawton.[7] They were persuaded by the producer to use them in sketches in the showSez Les. Although Dawson needed persuading to don drag, and Barraclough was nervous that he would not be able to match Dawson's talent for ad-libbing, the characters became permanent features of the show.[8]
Barraclough recalled that his characterisation of Cissie "was drawn from an aunt of mine who always thought she was slightly above the rest of the family, Auntie Annie. You know, she would always have a sherry. And the rest of the family always took the piss out of her."[8] Key to Dawson's portrayal of Ada was a handbag "tightly clutched to the waist in a manner suggesting infinite disapproval".[9]
The characters were revisited by the pair in a series of commercials for fresh cream cakes in 1984.[10] They were portrayed in animation (voiced by Dawson and Barraclough) in television advertisements for thePost Office in the early 1990s.
A new play written by Graham Warrener, (incorporating Cissie and Ada original sketches from Dawson's BBC days, written by Terry Ravenscroft), and directed by JJ (John-Jackson) Almond,Cissie And Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy,[11] began a UK tour at theGrand Theatre, Blackpool on 15 July 2013, inLes Dawson's hometown. The show starredEric Potts as Ada/Les,Steve Nallon as Cissie/Roy,Steven Arnold as the writer andNatasha Magigi as the dresser.[12]
In 2006, SirIan McKellen, writing inThe Independent, named them the tenth best drag act ever created, commenting that they "were as real as the crones in the Rover's Return".[13]
