"Buttons (pantomime) Buttons is the name of a character in the ""Cinderella"" pantomime, a male servant of the household who helps Cinderella and loves her, and who is liked and trusted but not loved by her. The character has sometimes been called Pedro. Buttons does not appear in the Disney films. The character first appeared in 1860 at the Strand Theatre, London in a version of the story derived from the opera La Cenerentola by Rossini. Rossini includes a character Dandini as assistant to the Prince, which was also included, and a complementary character for Cinderella, called Buttoni was added"
"suitable look of mock-outrage. ... At least we can tell our grandchildren that we saw McKellen's Twankey and it was huge."" The main roles within pantomime are usually as follows: Pantomime is performed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Bermuda, Australasia, Canada, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Gibraltar, and Malta, mostly during the Christmas and New Year season. Many theatres in cities and towns throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland continue to have an annual professional pantomime. Pantomime is also very popular with amateur dramatics societies throughout the UK and Ireland, and the pantomime season (roughly speaking, late November to"
"pantomime. The Victorian pantomime was not only the template for today’s show, but very much a vehicle for music. The Poluskli Brothers hall stars. Combining a mixture of music hall, comic opera and a large chunk of spectacle, the pantomime appealed to all levels of society. The first Royal Court pantomime, or “annual” as it was known, was Babes in the Wood. It is not clear whether this was a success or not, but no further pantomime was produced at the Court for fourteen years, until 1895 with the presentation of Dick Whittington. Three years later, Arthur Lawrence was appointed"
"Pantomime dame A pantomime dame is a traditional role in British pantomime. It is a continuation of ""travesti"" portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. They are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting 'butch' in women's clothing. They wear big make up and big hair, have exaggerated physical features, and perform in a melodramatic style. While not from pantomime, possibly the best known of this type of character is Dame Edna Everage whose name plays on two meanings of ""dame"": this tradition and the title equivalent to ""Sir"". Characters who are"
"Mode"", and Sir Charles Sedley's ""Bellamira: or, The Mistress"" (see Bellamira (play)). Not only characters like Horner and Dorimant spring to mind but also Rodophil and Palamede in Dryden's ""Marriage-a-la-Mode"", Longvil and Bruce in Shadwell's ""The Virtuoso"" and the eponymous heroine in Sedley's ""Bellamira"". These plays are not representative of the average Restoration comedy, however. The reform of the ordinary rakish gentleman is the common pattern for the ending of the play. Similarly, extravagant rakes enter into marriage. However, as soon as the persistence of the rakes remains almost unquestioned, it is difficult to decide whether libertines, no matter of"
"Pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is still performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It employs gender-crossing actors and combines topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale. It is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts"
"Pierrot Pierrot (, ; ) is a stock character of pantomime and ""commedia dell'arte"" whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne; the name is a diminutive of ""Pierre"" (Peter), via the suffix ""-ot."" His character in contemporary popular culture—in poetry, fiction, and the visual arts, as well as works for the stage, screen, and concert hall—is that of the sad clown, pining for love of Columbine, who usually breaks his heart and leaves him for Harlequin. Performing unmasked, with a whitened face, he wears a loose white blouse"
"becoming an ""icon of comedy"" that entered into the British imagination and the English language. The ""grandfather"" of the modern pantomime horse was the Blondin Donkey, introduced at the Royal Holborn theatre in 1885 by the acrobatic Griffiths brothers, Fred and Joe, and named after the tightrope walker who was famous for crossing Niagara Falls naked. A different horse known as Pogo the Performing Horse and worn by a father-and-son team became a popular panto feature and appeared at the London Coliseum in 1923. Panto horse costumes range from low-cost, ""ready-to-wear"" fabric versions to more complex puppet suits that have"
"King's, however this will only be the 47th pantomime to be staged here. King's Theatre Pantomime The pantomime at the King's has been running annually since 1971. Before that a few pantomimes were staged from 1964/65 after Glasgow Corporation bought the theatre from Howard & Wyndham Ltd. Pantomime in Scotland has always been popular, particularly in Glasgow, and there has been a long tradition developed from the 1860s. From the 1970s pantomime productions for the King's were funded jointly by the City Councils of Glasgow and Edinburgh and staged in both cities. Stanley Baxter one of Britain's top pantomime dames"
"often the most spectacular part of the production, the magical transformation scene. In early pantomimes, Harlequin possessed magical powers that he used to help himself and his love interest escape. He would tap his wooden sword (a derivative of the Commedia dell'arte slapstick or ""batte"") on the floor or scenery to make a grand transition of the world around him take place. The scene would switch from being inside some house or castle to, generally speaking, the streets of the town with storefronts as the backdrop. The transformation sequence was presided over by a Fairy Queen or Fairy Godmother character."
"Principal boy In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in ""The Good Woman in the Wood"" by James Planché to the consternation of a reviewer. She was followed by other music hall and burlesque entertainers, such as Harriet Vernon described as ""a magnificent creature, who was willing to show her ample figure as generously as the conventional tights and trunks of the day allowed"" and thus setting the standard of good legs on display"
"Jack Bologna John Peter Bologna (1775 –1846), known as Jack Bologna on stage, was an Italian actor and dancer, who spent much time in England popularising the role of Harlequin in Georgian pantomimes and harlequinades in the early part of the 1800s at the Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden Theatres. After arriving in England with his performing family in 1787, Bologna made his London debut at the Covent Garden Theatre as Harlequin in the pantomime ""Niobe; or, Harlequin's Ordeal"". After playing in his family's act throughout England, he starred in, and later choreographed, pantomimes and plays, including some notable successes"
"consisted of the following five kinds of clowns, in addition to more minor characters like a policeman: Harlequin is the comedian and romantic male lead. He is a servant and the love interest of Columbine. His everlasting high spirits and cleverness work to save him from difficult situations into which his amoral behaviour leads during the course of the harlequinade. In some versions of the original Commedia dell'arte, Harlequin is able to perform magic feats. He never holds a grudge or seeks revenge. John Rich brought the British pantomime and harlequinade to great popularity in the early 18th century and"
"Road, Finsbury Park, London, on 27 February 1880, aged only 39. William Payne (pantomimist) William Henry Schofield Payne (1804–18 December 1878) was an actor and pantomimist who created much of the stage business connected with the character Harlequin. He was the father of the Victorian era pantomime clowns the Payne Brothers. Born in the City of London in 1804, W H Payne was apprenticed to Isaac Cowen, a stockbroker; but in his eighteenth year he ran away, and joined a travelling theatrical company in the Warwickshire circuit. He rose to play small parts at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham. Returning to"
"Admiral's Men The Admiral's Men (also called the Admiral's company, more strictly, the Earl of Nottingham's Men; after 1603, Prince Henry's Men; after 1612, the Elector Palatine's Men or the Palsgrave's Men) was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Elizabethan and Stuart eras. It is generally considered the second most important acting troupe of English Renaissance theatre (after the company of Shakespeare, the Lord Chamberlain's or King's Men). They were first known as the Lord Howard's Men, named after their patron Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham. The company played once at Court on December 1576 (the"
"main players are given in the following order: Richard Burbage, Augustine Phillips, John Heminges, Henry Condell, Thomas Pope, William Sly, Christopher Beeston, William Kempe, and John Duke. (Kempe would leave the company the next year, for his famous morris dance from London to Norwich.) In 1599, Jonson wrote what would prove to be a much less popular sequel, ""Every Man out of His Humour"". The play was revived around 1670; Sackville provided a verse epilogue in which Jonson himself appeared as a ghost. David Garrick brought a revised version to the stage in 1751; the changes he made served chiefly"
"classic pantomime artist who was a master of ""dumb show"" or comic mime, and who invented much of the Harlequinade action. Known as ""the King of Pantomime"", he trained with Joseph Grimaldi and the great Harlequin, Jack Bologna, at Sadler's Wells Theatre, and starred at Covent Garden in the 1830s and 40s. The dancing of the Payne Brothers was so celebrated that W. S. Gilbert referred to it in two of his comic ""Bab Ballads"", ""The Bishop of Rum-ti-Foo"" and ""The Bishop of Rum-ti-Foo Again"". When the Paynes appeared in ""The Grand Duchess"" at the Gaiety in 1871, a reviewer"
"pantomime in both story and style at the Royal Strand Theatre in 1860: ""Cinderella! Or the Lover, the Lackey, and the Little Glass Slipper"". In the traditional pantomime version the opening scene takes place in a forest with a hunt in progress; here Cinderella first meets Prince Charming and his ""right-hand man"" Dandini, whose name and character come from Gioachino Rossini's opera (""La Cenerentola""). Cinderella mistakes Dandini for the Prince and the Prince for Dandini. Her father, Baron Hardup, is under the thumb of his two stepdaughters, the Ugly sisters, and has a servant, Cinderella's friend Buttons. (Throughout the pantomime,"
"reasons, female roles were played by boys or men in many early forms of theatre, and ""travesti"" roles continued to be used in several types of context even after actresses became accepted on the stage. The popular British theatrical form of the pantomime traditionally contains a role for a ""principal boy"", a breeches role played by a young woman, and also one or more pantomime dames, female comic roles played by men. Similarly, in the formerly popular genre of Victorian burlesque, there were usually one or more breeches roles. Until the late 17th century in England and the early 19th"
"""Epicoene"" and Evadne in Beaumont and Fletcher's ""The Maid's Tragedy"", was one of the last of the era's boy players. London's Shakespeare's Globe theatre, a modern reconstruction of the original Globe Theatre, continues the practice of casting men in female Shakespearean roles. Toby Cockerell played Katherine of France in the theatre's opening production of ""Henry V"" in 1997, while Mark Rylance played Cleopatra in the 1999 production of ""Antony and Cleopatra"". ""Travesti"" roles for men are still to be found in British pantomime, where there is at least one humorous (and usually older) female character traditionally played by a male"
"top comedians including Jimmy Carr, Frank Skinner, Rhod Gilbert, Sarah Millican, Lee Mack, Al Murray, Russell Kane, Jethro, Harry Hill, Bobby Davro, Harry Hill, Russell Brand, Omid Djalili, Rob Brydon, Ross Noble, Lee Nelson and Ken Dodd. Ever since it opened the Princes Hall has hosted a popular annual pantomime for three weeks every December. The first pantomime held was ""Puss in Boots"" in December 1972 starring Tommy Trinder. Subsequent productions have included Harry H. Corbett in ""Robinson Crusoe"" (1973), Bob Grant in ""Cinderella"" (1974), Melvyn Hayes in ""Aladdin"" (1975), Roger Kitter in ""Jack and the Beanstalk"" (1976), John Junkin"
"by young men in drag. Shakespeare used the conventions to enrich the gender confusions of ""As You Like It,"" and Ben Jonson manipulated the same conventions in ""Epicœne, or The Silent Woman,"" (1609). The plot device of the film ""Shakespeare in Love"" (1998) turns upon this Elizabethan convention. During the reign of Charles II the rules were relaxed to allow women to play female roles on the London stage, reflecting the French fashion, and the convention of men routinely playing female roles consequently disappeared. However, in current-day British pantomime, the Pantomime dame is a traditional role played by a man"
"ultimate wedding of Harlequin and Columbine. An 1886 musical version of ""Alice in Wonderland"", classed as an extravaganza, revealed the Realms of Bliss at the start, darkening only at the end when Alice awakes. ""Peter Pan"" is embedded in the pantomime tradition, and in its original stage production of 1904, ""Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up"", ended with a magical transformation scene, returning to Neverland. Transformation scene The transformation scene is a theatrical convention of metamorphosis, in which a character, group of characters, stage properties or scenery undergo visible change. Transformation scenes were already standard in the"
"pantomime. The story of Jason and Medea was familiar in many dramatic treatments in France, beginning with Pierre Corneille's version of Euripides in 1635. As early as 1454 however, the myth was presented as a dumb show in Lille, and, in 1489, the dancing master Bergonzio di Botta of Tortona adapted the tale of the Argonauts to a version that then became a model for subsequent danced entries in a variety of styles and tastes. In 1736, Marie Sallé, a dancer much admired by Noverre, danced the role of Medea in a version called ""Médée et Jason"". The ballet is"
"Il Dottore Il Dottore (, ""the Doctor""; commonly known in Italian as ""Dottor Balanzone"" or simply ""Balanzone"" ; Bolognese ) is a ""commedia dell'arte"" stock character, one of the ""vecchi"", or ""old men"", whose function in a scenario is to be an obstacle to the young lovers. Il Dottore and Pantalone are the comic foil of each other, Pantalone being the decadent wealthy merchant, and Il Dottore being the decadent erudite. He has been part of the main canon of characters since the mid 1500s. Il Dottore hails from the city of Bologna, Italy. He is said to have been"
"and 18th centuries such as Claude-François Ménestrier (1631–1705), John Weaver (1673–1760), Jean-Georges Noverre (1727–1810) and Gasparo Angiolini (1731–1803), earned it respectability and attested to the capability of dance to render complex stories and express human emotion. In the Middle Ages, the Mummers Play was a traditional English folk play, based loosely on the Saint George and the Dragon legend, usually performed during Christmas gatherings, which contained the origin of many of the archetypal elements of the pantomime, such as stage fights, coarse humour and fantastic creatures, gender role reversal, and good defeating evil. Precursors of pantomime also included the masque,"
"becomes the butt for every conceivable kind of trick"". With little else to occupy his thoughts after a life as a tradesman or merchant, Pantalone is the metaphorical representation of money in the commedia world. While the social standing of merchants may have changed through many centuries, the intent for Pantalone was to ensure that he had the status that allowed him to meddle in the affairs of others. Pantalone is usually the father to one of the innamorati (the lovers), another stock character found in commedia. He is driven to keep his child and their respective lover apart. Pantalone"
"Herbert Campbell Herbert Campbell (22 December 1844 – 19 July 1904) born Herbert Edward Story was an English comedian and actor who appeared in music hall, Victorian burlesques and musical comedies during the Victorian era. He was famous for starring, for many years, in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane's annual Christmas pantomimes, predominantly as a dame. Born in Lambeth, Campbell started his performing career appearing in amateur bands and quickly toured London's music hall's during the early 1860s. He decided to leave after a few years and adopted the stage name Herbert Campbell. He joined the minstrel performers Harman and"
"William Payne (pantomimist) William Henry Schofield Payne (1804–18 December 1878) was an actor and pantomimist who created much of the stage business connected with the character Harlequin. He was the father of the Victorian era pantomime clowns the Payne Brothers. Born in the City of London in 1804, W H Payne was apprenticed to Isaac Cowen, a stockbroker; but in his eighteenth year he ran away, and joined a travelling theatrical company in the Warwickshire circuit. He rose to play small parts at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham. Returning to London, he studied under Grimaldi and Bologna at Sadler's Wells Theatre,"
"The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up"" is often produced as one with the tradition of a female principal boy continuing. Principal boy In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in ""The Good Woman in the Wood"" by James Planché to the consternation of a reviewer. She was followed by other music hall and burlesque entertainers, such as Harriet Vernon described as ""a magnificent creature, who was willing to show her ample figure as generously"
"frequently appeared at the Holborn Empire and toured their London Palladium shows. They toured the United States in 1931 and 1932 for Paramount and RKO. From this time their act was renamed ""Dave and Joe O’Gorman"", in accordance with American convention. Around this time they made their first appearance in pantomime, and quickly became recognised as masters of the form. In 1936 they appeared in the film ""Variety Parade"". During World War Two they made broadcasts on BBC radio, and toured in shows that included ""The Boys of the BBC"" and ""Hello Playmates"" with Arthur Askey. During this time they"
"two hundred of their peers. It soon moved to Green Street. The Club occasionally performed amateur plays for their own amusement and to raise funds for charities. The story of ""Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"" was a popular subject for pantomime. This entertainment was first produced at the Gaiety Theatre by its proprietor, John Hollingshead (also a member of the Club), as the Wednesday matinee on 13 February 1878. Robert Soutar (Nellie Farren's husband) acted as director/stage manager, with John D'Auban choreographing the Harlequinade that was played at the end of the pantomime. Meyer Lutz conducted the music. Hollingshead"
"include the villain (doctore), the clown/servant (Arlechino/Harlequin/buttons), the lovers etc. These plays usually have an emphasis on moral dilemmas, and good always triumphs over evil, this kind of play is also very entertaining making it a very effective way of reaching many people. Pantomime has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century commedia dell'arte tradition of Italy, as well as other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques and music hall. An important part of the pantomime, until the late 19th century, was the harlequinade. Outside"