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 re-entered 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 18th 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 2nd 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 16th 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 19th 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 19th 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 19th 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