Exhibition - Victorian and Edwardian Pantomime

Victorian and Edwardian Pantomime

In this section we'll be exploring Victorian and Edwardian pantomime, with a focus on those that were instrumental on making it such a popular form of entertainment during the period.

From the mid-Victorian period Pantomime evolved, shifting content and developing new characters, many of whom still endure today. It’s often referred to as the Golden Age of Pantomime due to its elaborate set pieces and massive casts, and its popularity as a form of entertainment for the masses.

In 1843 a new law was passed that removed the restrictions of the 1737 Licensing Act, which limited spoken dialogue to only those shows that held a Royal patent. The Theatres Act enabled all theatres to freely produce shows featuring purely spoken dialogue, allowing writers to expand narratives. This revolutionised Pantomime, resulting in more detailed myth-telling, fairy plots, with witty dialogue, puns and space for audience participation – traditions recognisable in modern pantomime. Consequently, non-spoken visual spectacles such as the Harlequinade were reduced.

By the Edwardian era, pantomimes generally consisted of two sections; a fairy tale and a short harlequinade. It was now typical for pantomimes to be based on traditional stories, such as ‘Babes in the Wood’ or ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’.  The fairy tale section gradually increased over time, and in turn, the harlequinade gradually disappeared as Pantomime became more of a popular form of entertainment for children. Toy theatres featuring Pantomime characters, scripts and set pieces were very popular, and the tradition of Pantomime as a Christmas event was cemented. This was also the period in which the characters of Dame and Principal Boy developed and grew in popularity, and Pantomime grew into the event that we know it as today.

Sir Augustus Harris and the Drury Lane Pantomime

Sir Augustus Harris (1852-1896) was a British actor and dramatist. Born into a theatrical family - his father, Augustus Harris Snr, was a comedian and stage-manager and his mother, Marie Ann Bone (aka Madame Auguste) was a dancer and costumier, Harris began his theatre career in 1873 when he debuted as an actor in the Manchester Theatre Royal’s September production of Macbeth, playing the role of Malcolm.

After working as an actor and stage-manager, Harris moved into theatre management 1879,  when he became licensee of the then empty Theatre Royal Drury Lane at just 27 years old. Harris’ first show at Drury Lane was to be the Christmas pantomime – by then a Drury Lane Christmas institution – and he pulled all of his resources together to put on an extravaganza! The story he settled on was  ‘Bluebeard’, which was received with praise…

“Blue Beard has come, has been seen, and has conquered; the laughter and applause that greet the efforts of the actors and actresses, the shouts of delight as each spectacular feature of the Pantomime comes under the notice of the audience… all contribute to prove the fact that author and actor, Manager and scenic artist, indeed all concerned, have in their several vocations done their best, and, for a reward, have the satisfaction of knowing that their patrons, unlimited in number, are delighted with their work.”
The Era, 1st February 1880, Issue 2158

Harris continued to put on Pantomimes each subsequent year on a continually impressive and spectacular scale. They took months of planning, featuring expensive and elaborate set designs, and impressive processions that often-involved hundreds of people being on stage. They would typically cost between £6000-£8000, which can be estimated as around £1million in today’s money. In the 1890 production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ an enormous ship was even brought onto stage! These fantastic productions earned him the nickname the “Father of Modern Pantomime”, alongside his usual moniker of “Druriolanus”.

In addition to his magnificent pantomimes, Harris produced a dramatic production at Drury Lane each Autumn, which proved lucrative and successful, and produced many operas. His dramas went on to be staged in provincial theatres across England, toured America, and three were made into films well after Harris’ death. He also managed other theatres, sometimes simultaneously, including Her Majesty’s Theatre, Covent Garden, and the Olympic.

Alongside his theatrical achievements, Harris became a member of the London City Council and was appointed sheriff of the City of London in 1890. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1891 and was a prominent freemason.

Harris died in Folkestone in June of 1896 at the Royal Pavilion Hotel at the age of 44. His funeral featured a grand procession, starting from his home in Primrose Hill to his burial place at Brompton Cemetery, along which several thousand people from all walks of life lined the pathways.

“It seems too much to hope to replace him. One may find a greater artist, one may find a greater musician, one may find a greater financier, but what one daoes not find – except at rare intervals – is a combination of these qualities, which made Sir Augustus Harris probably the greatest caterer of theatrical amusement that England has ever seen.”
Illustrated London News, 27 June 1896, p. 805

Exhibition images

A selection of items from the exhibition - find more in the Templeman Library Gallery space, installed until March 2025.

The stars of Music Hall and Pantomime

Music Hall rose out of the tradition of entertainment evenings and music clubs that could be found in the taverns and coffee houses during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Although akin to the middle-class ‘song and supper’ rooms of the 1830’s, these venues attracted a more working-class audience, with often rowdy crowds who were not shy of throwing things at any performers who didn’t take their fancy!

By the mid-late 1800s specialist music halls began to appear across the country offering entertainment every night. Halls were purpose-built with large capacities of hundreds (if not thousands), with ornate designs that included stages, balconies and chandeliers. Attendees would pay an entrance fee, and food and drink would be available throughout performances. As the popularity of the halls spread, so did the demand for performers, making it a profession in which one could earn a decent living. The most popular artists were the celebrities of the day.

Sir Augustus Harris is often credited as the first producer to make Music Hall stars central to his Christmas Pantomimes, although there is evidence that variety acts had been cast as early as 1749. Harris recognised that casting these popular performers would only enhance the reach and popularity of his pantomimes, and he was proved right as his pantomime productions often ran from December all the way through to April. He employed stars such as Dan Leno, Arthur Roberts, Herbert Campbell, Little Tich, Vesta Tilley and Marie Lloyd to appear in starring roles. Productions were adapted so that music hall singers could perform their most popular songs during the show, often in a front cloth.

Music Hall artistes became central to the promotion and popularity of pantomime during this period (just as television and celebrity stars do today), and in turn, pantomime became central to each star’s celebrity and  success.

Harris tapped into the popularity of the male and female impersonators of the halls by using these stars in the roles of Dame and Principal Boy. Women like Vesta Tilley and Nellie Stewart excelled in the role of Boy, whilst Dan Leno could be credited as creating the blueprint of what we now think of as the Pantomime Dame. Dan Leno was incredibly popular with audiences, alongside his on-stage partner Herbert Campbell, and played Dame at Drury Lane for 15 years, from 1888-1903, working with Arthur Collins as manager after the death of Harris in 1896. 

However, not only female and male impersonators played these parts, indeed Marie Lloyd, perhaps one of the most famous music hall acts of all time, was known to play the role of Principal Boy on occasion, as well as Principal Girl.

Some saw the introduction of music hall and variety acts in Pantomime as a vulgarity, with even Charles Dickens providing the opinion in 1896 that…

 “then came the deluge, the floodgates of the music hall were opened, and all that was agreeable about the ‘good comic pantomime’ was drained out.”