Orange Girl World

The name of this blog was inspired by the orange-girls of Restoration theatre.  Led by the former prositute Orange Moll, the orange-girls sold various refreshments during performances including oranges – hence the name.  They served numerous other purposes as well.  They were used to pass messages from gentlemen in the audience to the actresses backstage, occasionally they were used as actresses and sometimes they “entertained” gentlemen.  The most famous orange-girl was Nell Gwynn who went on to be a celebrated actress and Charles II’s mistress.

Ever since high school when I first heard of the orange-girls in drama class, I wanted to form a company and call it Orange Girl.  At the time I thought it was just a little bit cheeky.  Today I think it is a relevant name for a blog on pop culture because of the way everyone involved in the entertainment industry is treated as a commodity and is expected to sell themselves.  Things haven’t evolved much from the days of the first orange-girls.