18 November 2025
Our speaker in November was Ann Featherstone who, appropriately for the last meeting before Christmas, gave us a Brief History of Pantomime. As a teenager, Ann had once played the principal girl and she brought her enthusiasm for both performing and teaching to this entertaining talk.
Pantomimes were originally short, light-hearted productions presented year-round at the end of longer, more serious plays. They were performed without words (hence “‑mime”) and featured four standard characters derived from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte: the dashing Harlequin, his sweetheart Columbine, the foolish Clown and the old man Pantaloon. Harlequin carried a “slapstick” – a pair of boards fastened together at one end so that they could be clapped together to highlight a dramatic effect – which might be the origin of the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand.
The most celebrated Harlequin of the 18th century was John Rich. The money he earned from staging pantomimes (as well as the Beggar’s Opera) enabled him to build the famous theatre at Covent Garden. Rich’s great rival was David Garrick, who ran the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Rich was a brilliant dancer so, in order to compete with him, Garrick introduced speech into pantomimes for the first time and commissioned lavish stage scenery and costumes from professional artists.
In the early 19th century, the most famous player of the Clown was Joseph Grimaldi. Having been introduced to the stage by his tyrannical and violent father, he suffered from bouts of depression but he introduced aspects of Clown’s costume and character that have carried through into today’s pantomime dames. Pantomimes continued to evolve through the century, with an enormous variety of stories and a growing cast of characters including adult and children’s choruses. The first performance was traditionally on Boxing Day and a successful run could continue until Easter. The Victorian stage was a dangerous place, with naked flames, trip hazards and moving machinery.
As performers from Music Hall began to take roles in pantomimes, they brought with them the catchphrases and audience interaction that are such major features of today’s shows. Among these performers were some extraordinary animal impersonators, who played roles such as Dick Whittington’s cat. In the 20th century, radio and television celebrities increasingly appeared in pantomimes – with varying degrees of accomplishment! During the Second World War, theatres at home continued to produce pantomimes with the limited cast and resources available, moving performances from the evenings to the afternoons to avoid the Blackout. Serving soldiers frequently put on their own shows to boost morale.
Pantomime survives as a thoroughly British popular tradition, despite it having Italian origins and mostly telling French and German fairy stories. It appeals to the whole family from children to grandparents but its crude humour and cross-dressing are mystifying to other nationalities. Long may it continue!