Celebrating the Wonderful World of Pantomime

Celebrating the Wonderful
World of Pantomime
“Let us once confess to a fondness for Pantomimes ….we revel in Pantomimes”
Charles Dickens
“A child who has never seen a Pantomime, or an adult who has never seen a play, is a
public danger” Bernard Shaw
An Education Resource Pack
FROM ANCIENT ROME TO CORONATION STREET:
A Brief History of Pantomime
The history of Pantomime is vast, it spans several centuries, many European counties
and includes some of the most colourful and famous characters in theatre history.
This is a brief chronological history of Panto! It includes some of the major dates and
events that have shaped our modern Pantomime. However, the rise of Commedia
dell’arte in Italy is probably the singular most important development.
1st Century BC to 5th Century AD
The term Pantomime is first used. Translated from Greek, it
literally means ‘we can act everything’. It was a term first used to
describe the performers in Roman entertainments. This would
often involve a great deal of cross-dressing, when slaves would
dress in the clothes of their masters or mistresses. The actual
performance would entail a single performer chanting a tragic
melodramatic story as a monologue, whilst fellow pantomimes
depicted the emotional responses of the characters as the action
unfolded. This they would do as a dumb show, moving silently
using symbolic gestures and dance, accompanied by music.
14th to 16th Centuries
Commedia dell’arte begins to develop in Italy with performers wearing masks, it is an
artform noted for its use of knockabout comedy and stock characters, including
Arlecchino, (later Harlequin), a very physical comic character. Cross-dressing continues
throughout Europe, for example in Shakespeare’s theatre.
1602
The success of commedia dell’arte results in more Italian companies settling in Paris and
performing their work to new audiences. The first commedia dell’arte company
performs at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1.
1717
John Weaver and John Rich stage The Loves of Mars and Venus at the Theatre Royal
Drury Lane in London. It is the first show to be advertised as a Pantomime, although in
performance it did not bear any of the Panto hallmarks that we would recognise today.
This show of dramatic dance and movement contained no dialogue and harked back to
the ancient Roman performances. The public enjoyed the show and Pantomime reentered the theatrical vocabulary.
1721
Following a performance of King Lear at the Lincoln’s Inn Fields
Theatre, The Magician opened. It involved the character Harlequin
from commedia dell’arte and with its broad comedy, magic scene
transformations and love interest, it established the template for the
traditional Pantomime.
1723
Harlequin Doctor Faustus opens and becomes a huge success. Lincoln’s Inn Theatre
establishes itself as the leading Pantomime theatre in London.
1732
John rich opens the Theatre Royal Convent Garden and he becomes the leading
Pantomime producer and performer of Harlequin in London.
1750
The eminent actor David Garrick stages his first Panto,
Queen Mab at Drury Lane in response to John Rich’s success
at Covent Garden. Garrick did not like Pantomime as an
artform, but a Panto War between the two theatres had now
begun. Over the next few years the two theatres always tried
to upstage each other’s Panto by increasing the spectacle and
having longer runs.
1776
The eminent playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan becomes a manager of Drury Lane,
following Garrick’s retirement. In order to ease the theatre’s financial woes, Sheridan
writes a Pantomime entitled Robinson Crusoe of Harlequin Friday. The show was
immensely popular, although one critic wrote: “The Drury Lane Pantomime written by
Mr. Sheridan is proof that even the greatest genius can sink beneath contempt”.
1780
George Coleman’s The Genius of Nonsense promotes the use of fairy tales
as source material for Panto.
1786
Robinson Crusoe & Harlequin’s Invasion becomes the first Panto to be
staged in the United States in New York.
1788
The first production of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp was staged at
Covent Garden.
1800
Joseph Grimaldi makes his first appearance as a Pantomime clown at Covent Garden.
Grimaldi was a genius on the stage and established the art of and the need for comedy
in Panto. Grimaldi virtually invented our modern understanding of clowning, which has
nothing to do with circuses, but his own brand of theatrical slapstick. He was billed as
‘Clown Joey’ and since then all clowns are referred to as ‘Joey’.
1804
First performance of Cinderella at Drury Lane.
1813
First Principal Boy to be played by a woman. Mrs. C. Kemble played the title role of
Aladdin.
1814
First performance of Dick Whittington at Covent Garden.
1827
The cost of Pantos now stage at Covent Garden and Drury Lane is now £1,000 per show.
1837
Joseph Grimaldi dies. Charles Dickens wrote: “The genius droll, the grimacing, filching,
irresistible Clown left the stage with Grimaldi, and though often heard of has never
since been seen”.
1850’s
All Pantomimes are now generally performed at Christmas with the
Harlequin character slowly disappearing.
1865
The Theatre Royal Nottingham stages its first Pantomime – The
House that Jack Built. This begins to establish Nottingham as one of
the top theatres outside London for staging Pantomimes.
1879
Augustus Harris takes over the management of the Theatre Royal
Drury Lane and packs his Pantos with popular music hall stars. Top
music hall performers such as Little Tich and Marie Lloyd all get
starring roles.
1861
Widow Twankey makes her first appearance in Aladdin and truly
establishes the comic Dame character in Panto.
1887
Covent Garden has its last Panto.
1888
The great music hall comedian Dan Leno makes his Drury Lane Panto
debut playing Dame in Babes in the Wood. He is paid the princely
sum of £28 per week. He soon becomes the biggest Panto star in the
country. He is invited to perform his routines before King Edward VII
at Sandringham. He doesn’t wear his Dame costume, believing it to be
inappropriate before royalty.
1904
First performance of Peter Pan at the Duke of York Theatre in London.
Peter was played by Nina Boucicault, who was 37 at the time.
1920
Drury Lane stages its last regular Panto. Two more followed in 1935 and 1938 and then
no more.
1930’s
Regional theatres begin to stage more professional Pantomimes.
1948
The London Palladium is now the top theatre in Britain for Panto.
1950
Little Red Riding Hood was the Theatre Royal Nottingham’s Panto for
that year. It starred Tony Hancock and a 16 year old Julie Andrews!
1956
Norman Wisdom stars in the title role as Aladdin, therefore creating a
stir in Pantomime circles by having a male play the hero. Others were to
join him including Frankie Vaughan, Edward Woodward and Jimmy
Tarbuck.
1960’s
The cost of mounting Pantos in the West End is becoming very expensive as it attracts a
new breed of performers with pop acts such as Cilla Black and Cliff Richard.
Today
Pantomime is still incredibly popular around the world. It is also extremely healthy
among amateur companies, although it is virtually extinct in London’s West End – the
area where it grew up and prospered. In the UK it still attracts top stars and acts as a
barometer of current tastes.
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE: The True Origins of Panto
The term commedia dell’arte literally means ‘the art of comedy’ and was a form of
unwritten or improvised drama that really began to flourish in Italy from the fourteenth
century.
Essentially it was entertainment for the common masses. It was not concerned with
noble or chivalric deeds, but dealt solely with buffoonery. Its sole purpose was to make
an audience laugh. There was no written script for a commedia performance. The
manager of the company would outline a basic storyline and the performers would then
improvise.
Storylines within commedia tended to follow the same basic premise. They usually
revolved around mistaken identities, devious and aged patriarchs, wily servants, love
intrigues and crude jokes.
However, using stock characters derived from the old Roman mimes, each commedia
story would use the same characters. An actor would specialize in that particular part,
creating their own words and comic business. If they joined another acting troupe they
would take their ‘character’ with them and be slotted seamlessly into the new company.
This required an exceptional level of skill and therefore we begin to see the rise of the
professional actor.
Commedia characters can be divided into two categories: masters and servants. The
main masters were il Capitano a pompous character with a puffed out chest who would
always be bragging about his conquests in love and war, but would always be revealed
as a cowardly liar. Pantalone, a greedy and meddling old man, with a hunched back and
il Dottore, Pantalone’s neighbour full of his own self-importance and who would
constantly spout meaningless information and give advice on subjects he knew nothing
about.
Servants were the real comic characters or zanni, as they were known in commedia
terms. The most important servant character was Arlecchino. He was always very
devious and his stage antics often involved moving around the stage in a quick agile
manner. His costume was originally meant to look well worn, with random patches
sewn on. This later became the diamond shapes that we associate with Harlequin. He
would also carry a stick, which had its centre hollowed out and then wrapped in leather.
Therefore when hitting someone with this stick as part of some comedy routine, it
would make a slapping sound. Hence the origins of slapstick!
Other key commedia characters include the ugly Pulcinella (who later transformed into
Mr. Punch in England) the pretty girl Flaminia and the maidservant Colombina.
With these basic stock characteristics an actor would mould a character to his or her
liking, especially in terms of the lazzi, or comic business. This often had nothing to do
with the play itself, but would often involve a specialty of the actor, such as clever
pantomimic acting, juggling or a display of acrobatics. Lazzi can still be seen in modern
Pantos, when a comedy performer or double act start to do their well-honed act and the
actual Panto story itself can be paused for a while.
The other key element of commedia dell’arte was the masks.
They were worn by all the characters with the exception of
Colombina and were leather half masks, keeping the mouth
area free. The masks enabled the audiences to quickly identify
characters as soon as they came on stage and of course placed
greater emphasis on the body language and physicality of
those characters. There are historical rumours that Arlecchino’s
mask was designed by Michelangelo.
Commedia was immensely popular and successful and its
influence spread all over Europe and its effect on British
theatre, most notably Pantomime is evident. Commedia
dell’arte continues to be taught and performed all over the
world.
WHERE DO PANTOMIME STORIES COME FROM?
Nearly all of the Pantomimes that we see today are drawn from popular stories and
fairy tales. Many stories have been performed as Pantomimes, but the list below gives
just some of the titles that have been the most popular over the past two hundred years.
Here you will be able to find out when a particular pantomime was first performed and
its history and derivation. However, you may want to ask yourself these questions?
Why do you think some Pantomimes have lasted longer than others? In 100 years time
which Pantomimes will still be popular? Can you think of some different stories that
could be turned into Pantomimes?
ALADDIN
Aladdin was first performed on Boxing Day 1788 and is the second most performed
Panto. It is drawn from a collection of stories known in English as The Arabian Nights. It
is a story packed with adventure and magic, including a genie, flying carpets, an evil
magician and a cave filled with treasure. The popular Dame in the story is Widow
Twankey, Aladdin’s mother. Originally her name was Mustapha, but in 1861 stage
writer H.J. Byron changed the name, as Twankey tea was a popular variety of green tea
grown in China and was being rapidly exported to the NZ in great clipper ships.
ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES
This was first presented as a melodrama at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1806;
however, the show entered the pantomime canon in 1846 at Astley’s Amphitheatre. This
was a spectacular show which introduced the thieves riding on tiny ponies. Over the
years the show continued to grow and become more spectacular. In the production in
1866 each of the thieves had a dozen slaves and there were around 400 extras crowded
into the magic cave. Since the 1940’s Ali Baba has become less and less well known as a
Panto, although it is still quite common with amateur groups, where large casts can be
used without big expense.
THE BABES IN THE WOODS
This is based on the true story and was first performed in 1793, although it can be traced
back to the ballad The Children in the Wood in 1595. The actual story concerns two
small Norfolk children who are placed in their uncle’s care following the death of their
wealthy father. When the uncle discovers that the children have inherited a fortune, he
arranges for two thugs to kidnap the children, kill them and bury their bodies in the
local wood. However, once in the wood the two thugs start arguing and one murdered
the other. Whilst the killer fled, the children were left in the woods and soon died from
exposure and starvation. Both the uncle and his henchmen were found out and died in
jail. This tragic story amazingly then became the subject of Panto in the 18 th century.
There were many different versions, in some the children were rescued, whilst others
had the children carried to heaven by angels. In 1894 the children were rescued by Robin
Hood and he has remained the hero of this Panto ever since, despite having his own
Panto since 1795.
In 1907 the story changed again when the robbers handed the children over to the Old
Woman Who Lived in the Shoe, who planned to feed them on poisoned mushrooms.
They escaped only to run into a family of giants. There were eventually rescued by
Robin Hood and the villains punished by Richard the Lionheart.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
This originated as a story by Mme. Le Prince de Beaumont and
was first staged in 1841 at Covent Garden. In 1852 it was restaged
as a Pantomime entitled Harlequin Beauty and the Beast. In 1900
it really entered Pantomime history when the show starred Dan
Leno, the great clown and comedian. It is only recently that
Beauty and the Beast has begun to be re-staged as a Panto,
possibly due to the Disney film in the 1990’s.
CINDERELLA
First performed in 1804, this is the most popular of all Pantos. The actual rags to riches
story has been told for over a thousand years. The very first version is believed to come
from China, more than 1,100 years ago. In an Egyptian version from the 2 nd century AD
it is the sandal of the heroine Rhodope which is carried off by an eagle while she is
bathing in the river. The eagle takes the sandal to the Pharaoh, who vows to marry the
woman whom the sandal fits. He searches throughout all Egypt until he finds his true
love. In Europe the story is best known from Charles Perrault’s collection of fairy tales,
published in 1729. It was from his version that we have the pumpkin, glass slippers and
a fairy godmother. The other famous version comes from Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. In
their story, entitled Aschenputtel, the two sisters are so determined to wear the slipper
that they actually chop off their feet.
DICK WHITTINGTON
This is another enduring pantomime that is still very popular today. It is based on true
characters and is a fascinating story. Richard Whittington was born in 1358 in
Gloucestershire. He left home aged 14 and travelled to London where he found
employment as a servant at a hospital in Clerkenwell. He was then introduced to John
Fitzwarryn, who trained Whittington as a mercer and by 1379 he became equally as
wealthy, supplying fine silks and gold cloth to the nobility, including the future Henry
IV. In 1382 Whittington married Alice Fitzwarryn and records show that they actually
did have a cook named Sarah. This character was to become a very comical Dame in the
pantomime version of the story. In 1387 Whittington was a member of the Court of
Common Council and then years later following the death of the Mayor half-way
through the term of his office, Whittington was appointed by Richard II to complete the
tenure. He was very popular and generous Mayor and was elected in 1398, 1406 and
1419. He also became an MP for the City of London in 1416. He died in 1423 aged 65. He
left his entire estate to charities.
After he was buried; his tomb was plundered by thieves in the mistaken belief that it
contained many riches. His broken bones were eventually reburied and a new tomb was
placed over him. This was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Sir Christopher Wren designed and built a new tomb which was destroyed by German
bombs in the Blitz. Amidst the rubble was discovered a mummified cat. Nobody knows
how it got there and it remains a mystery to this day. In fact nobody is quite sure how
Dick Whittington ended up having a cat as a companion in the Pantomime, as there are
no references to felines in the true story. Some say it comes from the old English word
'acate’ which means purchase, a reference to Whittington’s profession or the type of light
barge known as a ‘cat’ that Whittington used to carry coal from Newcastle to London.
The true rags to riches story of Dick Whittington certainly appealed to the many
storytellers in the 16 th century and so the legend grew. It obviously appealed to the
lower classes, as it showed that they could also possibly gain great wealth and
happiness. It first appeared as a Panto in 1814 with Grimaldi starring as the Harlequin
Whittington.
GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS
Despite being a slight story, this was a popular Panto in the mid 19 th century where the
bears were the villains. In 1923 one version had the Royal Family of Rococo transformed
into the bears by the evil magician, Red Dirk. In the 1960’s the action was transplanted to
the world of circus and it is still very occasionally performed today.
HUMPTY DUMPTY
This is another once very popular Pantomime that seems to have been forgotten. It is
obviously based on the nursery rhyme about the egg shaped man sitting on top of a wall
and is as famous in other countries. As a Panto it first appeared in 1850 as Harlequin
Humpty Dumpty and remained popular right up until the 1960’s which some great
names playing the title role, including Dan Leno, Harry Secombe and Ken Dodd.
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK
Another popular Pantomime first performed in 1819 at Drury Lane. In a
version from 1859 which bears no relation to the story we are all familiar
with, Jack meets Weather who helps him to grow the beanstalk and then
the Devon locals arrive for some village fun. The ubiquitous character of
Jack is a stalwart of English folk tales such as Jack Sprat, Little Jack
Horner, Jack the Giant Killer and Jack Frost.
MOTHER GOOSE
Mother Goose is derived from a translation of the frontispiece of Charles
Perrault’s classic collection of fairy tales from 1729. The front cover showed an old
woman seated before a fire, whilst three young children are avidly listening. On the wall
behind her were the words, ‘Contes de ma Mere Oye’ Mother Goose’s tales. The Mother
Goose Pantomime first appeared in 1806 and appears to have been written and mounted
in just six weeks, due to a last minute change of show. The show was set entirely in
England, with a village green, London’s streets etc, mainly because all this type of set
was in stock and didn’t have to be freshly built. The great comedian Dan Leno is
recognised as the archetypal Mother Goose and he made his debut in the role in 1902,
arriving on stage in a cart laden with live geese.
PETER PAN
Peter Pan was first produced on stage in 1904. This was not a Pantomime but a
spectacular show for Christmas, complete with a flying working crocodile. It was hugely
successful and was revived every year until 1914 and then regularly at other theatres. In
recent years the story has entered the Pantomime canon with its great villains in Captain
Hook and the pirates and plenty of audience participation. The benefactor from Peter
Pan is the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital to whom the author J.M. Barrie
bequeathed all the copyright.
ROBINSON CRUSOE
This is obviously based on Daniel Defoe’s novel, which in turn was based on a true story
and shows how a Pantomime can be developed from a variety of courses. It was first
performed in 1781 but really took off in the 19 th century when all the Panto elements
were put in place such as the villainous pirate Will Atkins (sometimes known as
Bluebeard) and a host of island natives and animals. It is very rarely performed today
possibly due to the racial overtones in the depiction of Man Friday.
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Although a popular melodrama to begin with, it became a
traditional Panto in 1822 and was very successful. However,
some have commented that this is a difficult story to perform
due to the 100 year gap from the Princess pricking her finger
and falling into an enchanted sleep and the arrival of the
Prince and his magical kiss. It really does go against the laws
of Panto for the two lovers to meet in the final scene. In 1900
Beauty and the Beast was tagged onto the storyline to create
further drama.
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES
This is the most recent addition to the Pantomime canon, possibly due to the revival of
the story with the Disney film. Although there are many productions taking place today,
it can be a difficult one to stage, as professional dwarves are very sought after. It should
also be noted that although in the original Grimm Brother’s story the dwarves were
never named and you will never hear the names Sneezy, Bashful, Dopey, Grumpy, Doc,
Sleepy or Happy on the Panto stage, as Walt Disney copyrighted those names.
STOCK CHARACTERS IN PANTOMIME
Part of the enduring success of Pantomime is that it provides tremendous familiarity
and everyone knows what to expect. A storyline for a Panto should include a struggle
between good and evil, lots of opportunity for fun and frolics from the comic characters
and a love interest, which of course results in a happy ending. The sets should be big
and colourful. There must be songs and plenty of audience participation.
Within these basic parameters there are of course opportunities for writers, directors and
actors to add their own touches, but the basics of Panto must remain. The other familiar
element of Panto is its stock characters. This is a massive legacy from Panto’s origins in
commedia dell’arte. Whether it is Snow White, Dick Whittington or Cinderella, each
Panto will have its own collection of villains, dames, clowns and heroines. They must be
so identifiable that even if you are unfamiliar with a particular story, you must be able to
recognise the villain and the hero as soon as they walk on stage.
The main stock characters are as follows:
THE DAME
A comic, over the top female character played by a man. It should clearly be a man
playing the part. In order for the comedy to work, the Dame should not try to resemble a
drag artist, but should be clearly seen ‘as a nice man being a nice lady’. Therefore an
audience can comfortably laugh with the character and sympathise during the moments
of pathos. Cross dressing in the theatre has been around for many years. It was common
for male servants in ancient Rome to dress up as their mistresses as a form of
entertainment.
In the UK the idea of a comedy Dame can be traced back to medieval Mystery Plays,
which depicted stories from the Bible. In the production of The Flood, Noah’s wife
would be a comic character played by a man, who would stubbornly refuse to board the
ark, even though the water is lapping around her ankles.
Originally the pantomime Dame would just wear a bonnet and shawl for the entire
show, now many Dames change for every appearance, with each costume becoming
more outrageous. One of the funniest routines for a Dame is the comedy striptease, in
which about twenty layers of ludicrous brightly coloured clothes are removed to reveal
equally silly underwear and bloomers and vivid striped stocks. Dame characters include
Widow Twankey in Aladdin, Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington and the Ugly Sister in
Cinderella.
PRINCIPAL BOY
Very often the main character of the story is played by a woman (with good legs). The
Principal Boy is brave, jaunty, chivalrous and in love with the heroine. The Principal Boy
fights the villain and rescues the heroine in the end, at which time they will usually sing
a love duet. They have been played by women since the middle of the 10 th century and
their attire often reflects the status of the women at the time. Principal Boy characters
include Dick Whittington, Prince Charming, Peter Pan and Aladdin.
THE HEROINE
Ideally, youthful pretty and innocent. Very often the heroine is a princess or becomes a
princess at the end of the story. Pantomime heroines include Cinderella, Snow White
and Sleeping Beauty.
THE GOODIES
Our hero and heroine are of course good characters, yet there are other goodies to cheer.
They usually take the form of fairies, wearing the customary glittering costume, tiara
and wings. This character will often help out our hero and heroine in difficult
circumstances and will be the nemesis of the villain. It is important to note that our good
fairy will always appear stage right and the villain stage left. This is once again derived
from the medieval mystery plays, when God always appeared stage right and the devil
stage left. Good fairies include Tinkerbell and the Fairy Godmother.
THE BADDIES
The character everyone loves to hate. The aim is to seize and marry the princess, destroy
the hero and seize some hidden treasure. The audience should make the most noise
when this character appears; however, he is not a frightening character, despite having a
swirling cloak and evil make-up. The Baddies always get their comeuppance in the end,
even if that means marriage to the Dame!
Pantomime baddies include Captain Hook, King Rat in Dick Whittington and Abanazer
in Aladdin.
CLOWNS
This term is used to describe any funny characters in the pantomime.
Clowning is often used to describe the antics in circus, but its origins
are in the theatre. The great 19 th century clown, Joseph Grimaldi, never
appeared in a circus. He worked solely in the theatre. However, the
clown may end up with trousers full of water, or a face full of custard
pie. Panto clowns can include the comedy business of the double act,
such as the Ugly sisters or a villain’s henchmen. They can also be a
solo comedian such as Wishee Washee in Aladdin and Buttons in
Cinderella.
ANIMAL ROLES
Animals are often forgotten about in Panto, but they are a stock
character and can add an enormous amount of fun and laughter
to the show. They are usually friends of the hero and heroine.
Panto animals include the Cat in Dick Whittington and Daisy
the Cow in Jack and the Beanstalk.
PARENTAL ROLES/AUTHORITY FIGURES
There are numerous kings and queens in Panto. Very often they are very protective
towards the heroine and the hero will have to win them over with his boyish charm.
These characters may be involved in some comedy business with the clown or dame.
Pantomime parents include Baron Hardup in Cinderella and Alderman Fitzwarren in
Dick Whittington.
We hope you have enjoyed this information on Pantomime! Nelson Youth Theatre
presents The Three Musketeers - Le Panteau! a rip snorting irreverent take on the classic
Alexandre Dumas tale at the Theatre Royal Oct 2-9, 2015