TheatreHistory.com - The Old English Pantomime
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Description: Article on the history of the development of pantomime in eighteenth century England.
This document was originally published in The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 15 . ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 78-81. The old English pantomime was modeled with certain modifications upon the masque of the Elizabethan and the Stuart days, which by its gorgeous scenery and mechanical effects anticipated the spectacular displays of a later date. The story was usually founded upon a classical subject, was illustrated with music and grand scenic effects, and to this was later added a comic transformation after the Italian style. Harlequin was turned into a magician, who, by a touch of his bat, could transform a palace into a hut, men and women into wheelbarrows and chairs, and colonnades into beds of tulips or serpents, and all these mechanical tricks were worked as deftly then as they are today. Harlequin was the hero, for the clown was simply a rustic servant of Pantaloon's, and played a very unimportant part in the piece until the genius of Grimaldi developed him into a new dramatic creation. It may also be mentioned that the tight, spangled dress was not worn by harlequin until the present century. From the days of
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| Page title: | The Old English Pantomime |
| Keywords: | pantomime, john rich, old english, mime, masque, elizabethan, stuart, harlequin, clown, grimaldi, necromancer, garrick, marcel marceau |
| Description: | A history of the development of the old English pantomime. |
| IP-address: | 208.109.181.54 |
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| Date | Creation Date: 15-sep-2000 Expiration Date: 15-sep-2015 |