Madge Allsop

Madge Allsop (born Marjorie Kiri McWhirter) is a fictitious character invented by satirist Barry Humphries as the long-time companion (and former bridesmaid) of his most popular and enduring character, Dame Edna Everage. First mentioned in Edna's monologues in the 1960s, Madge was subsequently depicted on stage, TV and film, over three decades, by several people. The character was discontinued following the retirement of British actress Emily Perry, who played the role for over 15 years.

When Barry Humphries first began to perform as Edna Everage during his one-man shows, the character of Madge Allsop, Edna's bridesmaid and companion, was only ever mentioned in passing and never actually depicted on stage. By the early 1970s, Madge was an increasingly strong presence in Edna's on-stage musings, but still remained unseen. In Barry Humphries' 1971 Australian show, A Load of Old Stuffe, her monologue was entitled "Edna and Madge Allsop in Stratford", while a later one, performed in the 1974 show At least you can say you have seen it, was entitled "Polish up your Kiwi (with Madge Allsop)".

In 1976, Humphries decided to finally bring Madge Allsop to life with an appearance in his new BBC TV series, The Barry Humphries Show. She was portrayed by the London-based expatriate Australian actress Madeleine Orr, who appeared as Madge on several subsequent occasions until her death three years later. Over a period of almost thirty years, from 1976 until 2003, the adult Madge Allsop was portrayed by at least six different people:

Madge Allsop was first portrayed on television in 1976, when she appeared (played by actress Madeleine Orr) in an episode of the BBC series The Barry Humphries Show. Following Orr's death in 1979, the role of Madge was re-cast. She appeared alongside Dame Edna on the BBC Parkinson show in 1982, with her face covered in bandages. The character was written into Humphries' 1987 film, Les Patterson Saves the World, and was portrayed, as a one-off appearance, by Australian actress Connie Hobbs. Later that same year, Humphries announced his search for "definitive Madge", who would appear alongside Edna in his new BBC TV series, The Dame Edna Experience. Of the audition, Humphries recalled, "all of them tried too hard. Some were whimsical, some camp, but most were far too over the top to resemble an oppressed, inarticulate New Zealand spinster whom life had passed by." However, after they saw Emily Perry's understated performance, they knew that they had found the perfect Madge. As she later recalled, "I did nothing at the audition, and I've done nothing ever since."

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