Bits and Bobs on Victorian Pantomimes

Pantomimes became increasingly popular and elaborate forms of theatrical entertainment in the Victorian era. Dictionary.com describes pantomimes as “a theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, that involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas.”

Because they were centered around Christmas and fairy tales, a visit to a pantomime around Christmas time became a popular form of entertainment for families with children. Often overlooked, though, were the children who performed in them. Because there were so many poor families and children, they and their parents clamored for the jobs, as shown in the handbill attached to this post.

An article on the Victoria and Albert Museum website explains that sometimes over 600 actors—all needing costumes—were involved in each pantomime and that during the Christmas holidays, two performances a day were sometimes performed. That is a lot of work, especially for children. The V and A tells us that " the most elaborate Victorian pantomimes were at Drury Lane Theatre in London.”

The Christmas 1883 pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, really was Cinderella, as I have portrayed it in A Lady in Disguise: A Novel of Victorian Romantic Suspense. My son was able to locate a copy of the actual script, so for the most part, the words drawn from that performance are the ones that were spoken.

At about this same time, a woman named Ellen Barlee took up the cause of the Pantomime Waifs, as they were known, pointing out that they were often exploited as child laborers.  She exposed the fact that the children were not being educated. Given the negative public sentiment about actresses (who were thought to have low morals), the girls themselves had a difficult time finding employment when they were no longer children. Barlee worked tirelessly to help the girls develop wholesome domestic skills that they might use to find employment later rather than being further exploited.

During that era, a theatrical mission on King Street in the theatre district reached out to actresses, actors, and pantomime waifs. Because prostitution, including child prostitution, was common during the Victorian Era, too, people of good heart sought ways to protect the vulnerable from exploitation.

{Main photo used by purchased permission of FotoLibra, FOT1388923 - Engaging Children for the Christmas Pantomime at Drury Lane Theatre London UK 1867}