The Nights and the British Pantomime

A word of explanation for those of you out there not fortunate enough to be British.

The singular most popular theatrical event in the British theatrical calendar is the Christmas pantomime, or 'panto' for short. The panto is a family event held in virtually all the theatres of the country, ranging from the major London theatres to amateur productions in the tiniest of village halls. In Britain in the pantomime season, all members of the acting community should be in work, and if they are not, they are in trouble. Pantos nowadays are primarily geared as entertainment for children that adults can enjoy as well; and the children certainly do love them. As a musician myself, I have experienced the pleasure of being involved in several pantos, and I can vouch that the atmosphere and feedback from the audience is unequalled by any other form of theatre.

So what is pantomime? Well, it is a type of entertainment that has evolved alongside British theatrical history and contains important and indispensable traditions. The basic panto plots are world famous stories such as Peter Pan, Cinderella and - Aladdin. The scripts, always emphasising good against bad, are normally sprinkled with copious corny jokes and turgid rhyme; and the comic antics of 'stock characters' who tease the children in the audience with their schoolboy clownish antics, generally at some point in the show throwing plenty of sweets into the audience, encouraging some of the children on stage to take part in various activities, teaching the audience a song (music and dance also being important elements in the production) and whipping up hysteria by encouraging the audience in chants of "He/she's behind you!" or "Oh no it isn't - Oh yes it is" etc. Cross-dressing is an essential part of pantomime, and it is not in any way perverse, just as it isn't in opera (in such parts as Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro"). The leading boy is always played by an actress (for those of you in the States this means female actor), as is the leading girl; and a comical matronly figure (such as Widow Twankey in Aladdin) is played by an actor.

	In one of the publicity shots for my local drama club's "Aladdin", Widow Twankey proudly displays her laundry's latest acquisition.
	"Would you like a shiny new lamp for your dirty old one?" Abanazar lures the princess into a trap. NB. This picture was taken by me from my usual position - the pit.

Pantomime remains uniquely British, and it has never been successfully exported. It stands as proof that we have not yet become the fifty-first U.S. state; and the history and character of this entertainment must speak volumes for the British character and national identity. This brings me to my purpose for writing this introduction to the following article, because those of you who are not British must realise that, films excepted, most British children in this day and age will have encountered the stories of Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sindbad by way of the pantomime.

The History of the Nights in Tights

The first step in the creation of this theatrical form was made when the Parisians banned dialogue in their performances of the rough Italian comedy known as commedia dell'arte (guild comedy); then in 1697 they banned the dialogue altogether. Consequently the French actors turned up at Christopher Rich's Drury Lane theatre in London in the year 1700 with their silent, rough and bawdy brand of slapstick humour.

In 1716 Dancing master John Weaver mounted at Drury Lane his 'Italian Night Scenes', and these balletic commedia scenarios were quickly imitated by John Rich at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in A New Italian Mimic Scene between a Scaramouche, a Harlequin, a Country Farmer, his Wife and Others with himself as Harlequin and John Thurmond as Scaramouche. Thankfully after a month the title was shortened to Harlequin Executed; or, The Farmer Disappointed. Weaver went on to score a great success at Drury Lane on the 2nd March 1717 with The Loves of Mars and Venus. Proudly boasting itself to be 'after the manner of the ancient pantomime' it became the first ever modern show to use the word pantomime in the play-bill.

Using the anglicised stock characters of Harlequin (the clownish valet) and his partner Columbine, Scaramouche, Punch, Pantaloon and Pierrot (who later transformed into Clown, a character already extant in English theatrical tradition) a new mimed entertainment had been created that was to become known as a harlequinade. This was an afterpiece; it would be performed at the end of a long evening consisting of a variety of entertainments.

The licensing act of 1737 confirmed that only the theatres at Covent Garden and Drury Lane were to present spoken drama. However, inspired by their productions, other theatres began to side-step the rules by describing their productions as 'burlettas', song and dance shows, and the pantomime was established.

The harlequinade rumbled on until 1781 in Drury Lane, when the next major change to the form took place - the entertainment was merged with its accompanying play. The script for this entertainment was written by Sheridan, and it was on Robinson Crusoe's island that Harlequin found himself demoted for the first time to second fiddle, and it was the story that was submerging him. Harlequin's significance as a pantomime figure pervaded until the twentieth century. This pioneering production paved the way for the next pantomime story to be used, and it was Aladdin.

In the coloured theatrical light, Aladdin and Widow Twankey peer into the pit whilst Wishee Washee, Aladdin's brother in the traditional pantomime, looks on.

This first ever production of Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp was performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on Boxing Day 1788, in a version by John O'Keeffe, with music by William Shield, the Theatre Royal's resident composer.

It was round about 1800 that the tradition of performing pantomimes at Christmas and Easter began to appear, and the Dame, played by a man, appeared at the same time. Glasgow had been staging pantomimes since 1751, and Aladdin was produced at the Theatre Royal in 1814, although it was described as a melodrama. The pantomime version of the tale, unlike, for example, the Disney film, is always correctly set in China. In the early pantomimes, Aladdin's mother was called 'Widow Ching Mustapha'. The wicked sorcerer is unnamed in the original story, but an 1813 production gave him the name 'Abanazar', a name by which he is still known.

In 1856 the part of Aladdin's mother was first played by a man, James Rogers, but it was not until H.J. Byron's seminal 1861 production Aladdin or the Wonderful Scamp that she acquired her famous name of 'Widow Twankey'. Not only is Aladdin set in China, but in the mid nineteenth century Chinese fashions of architecture and textiles were in vogue, along with everything else Oriental. Twankay [sic] was the name of a popular blend of green tea that was currently being exported from Tong-ke in China. Pekoe was the name of another character that appeared in this version, and also significant was the casting of the female principal boy, creating a precedent for subsequent productions.

Subsequently Widow Twankey became the proprietor of a Laundry, and she was given another son, 'Wishee Washee'. At some point in the history of the story another change also took place. Aladdin no longer has just three wishes, but he can retain his magical powers for as long as he holds the lamp. The pantomime of Aladdin remains the second most popular pantomime, only being subordinated by Cinderella.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves made its debut as Astley's Ampitheatre in 1846, under the title "The Forty Thieves; or, Harlequin Ali Baba and the Robbers' Cave". This pantomime is less frequently seen nowadays because of the large cast that is required, and because of a superstition that its performance brings bad luck.

Sinbad the Sailor can also lay a claim to some popularity. This was first performed as a pantomime at Drury Lane in 1814 under the title "The Valley of the Diamonds; or, Harlequin Sinbad". It was very popular in Dublin in 1892/3, and in his novel Ulysses, James Joyce accurately tells us that a harlequinade by Thomas Otto was incorporated into this production.