1948-12-18 — Page 8

from

THE

And A HAPPY

BOXING DAY

Because

of 'Roses Lime Juice

CALDBECKS.

Gifts for Christmas

at

Ingenohl's

GLOUCESTER

HABANA

ARCADE

HAVANA "UPMANN". CIGARS

DUTCH CIGARS

“GULDEN VLIES”

BELGIAN CIGARS —— "PRIMUS”.

MANILA CIGARS

ALL BRANDS OF

Cigarettes and Pipe Tobaccos →

LARGEST and FINEST SELECTION

OF

Pipes and Smokers' Requisites

ENGLISH-MADE STERLING SILVER CIGARETTE CASES IN 'ATTRACTIVE PRESENTATION BOXES

CRYSTAL DEPARTMENT.

HUNDREDS OF ARTICLES OF HIGHEST QUALITY AND RICHEST HAND-CUT. PRICES FROM $15 TO $1,200 EACH "

Ingenohl's

GLOUCESTER

ARCADE

For Gifts

TELEGRAPH, SATURDAY DECEMBER 18, 1948,

I

Evil is always on

the left!

By BERNARD WICKSTEED

TT you live in a house with children in it you'll be aware that the pantomimo season is almost upon us again. There's nothing I can do about getting you tickets, but I can give you a little background that may be useful for answer- ing your offspring's questions.

In the first place, then, why is it called pantomime? You can appear very learned when you answer this one. You can say: "Well, my boy, the name comes from two old Greek words-minos, which means mimic or act, and panto, every thing,"

You then hope he doesn't ask, what Greece has got to do with the pantomime.

If he does you'll have to say

that pantomime, like Christmas,

is a mid-winter festival and as such it has roots which aro older than Ancient Grecce, older, even, than history.

Some enterprising caveman probably began it to amuse the other people in his cave on win. ter evenings. The Greeks fol- lowed with a mid-winter feat val and so did the Romans, who called it the. Feast of Saturnalia.

If you get this far without any awkward questions "you'll be all right, because now you're on firmer ground, as pantomimo today in very closely linked to the Roman feast of 2,000 years ago..

For two weeks everything went topsy-turvy. Men dressed up as women, women as 'mén, and masters waited on servants..

Boy Is A Girl

TODAY the principal boy is a

girl and the dame is a man. And the nobles, with the ex- coption of Prince Charming, aro-always-broke. Even a king can't go into a pantomimo kitchen without having a fry- ing pan-thrown at his head.

At one time, when pantomima was beginning to tako form in Britain, there was a fierce rivalry between the Lincoln's Inn Theatre and Drury Lane, and though this was more than 200 years ago there are people who still take sides..

•

One lot says that the first pantomime was put on at Lin- coln's Inn Fields in. 1717. The other, led by a theatrical man called Mr MacQueen Pope, says it was at Drury Lane in 1702.

I don't think it matters, much any way, and as Mr Macqua Popo Is a very knowledgeable": man on pantomime, having helped in about 200 himself, I felt I could go and ask him a tow questions without being accused of taking sides:

I asked him why pantomimes were always written around fairy stories and he mid That began about 70 or 80 years ago it was supposed to be turning into a children's entertainment and children. like fairy storica.

.... “Now it's get to the stage- where the story has to have Ta happy. ending or childrens won't take their parents to see it,"

Fairies On Wires ALL good pantomimes should have immortals as well on mortals in the cast, says Mr. MacQueen Pope. The Demon King always enters from the left, and stays on that side of the stage.

The Fairy Queen sticks to Hights: This keeps up the tradition of the old, Miracle, plays, when loft was the side of evil and right of virtue,

Pantomirem VORES

fly on wires,

the

LENT.

'you know, fand "there's ́a, man called Mr Arthur Kirby:who makes à ̈ living out of this branch of the flying business

Ho. rigs up, the wires, (thinks out perobatics, and benia the fairies on their first solo.” He says he's nevér had one of them crash, yatazid Phave to touch down on y

"AND

GOOD IS ON

THE RIGHT

opposita nides of the stago and He has rehearsal rooms, a privats meet in the middle, they don't call laundry, and 2,000 pairs of women's it a head-on attack, as we would shoes. In the RAF. They call. It "The Greats."

!

Mr. Kirby has recently found out how to make a fairy loop the loop. He calls it a dying somersault.

The pantomime season starts on Boxing Day and lasts about six weeks in London. In the provinces it may continue till Easter. The record is held by "Humpty Dumpty" which ran for 22 weeks at Leeds in 1045 and finished up in a neat wave with the audience sitting in their skirt sleeves.

Yet the pantomime has .never done well in other countries. They don't appreciate it on the Continent, and try-outs in America, have been a, flop. The Americans just don't understand what it's all about.

Up to about 1014 pantomimes were still going strong at 11.30 after starting ot p.m. But now they're charter and more streamlined.

Rising Costs THE rising cost of production is one of the reasons. A medium-sized provincial pantomime that would have cost £6,000 or £7,000 before the last war now runs out at about £20,000

I have this from Mr Bertram Montague, who has a pantomime factory at St John's Wood, London.

He turns out everything there from the blue print to the finished panto. He has a music department, a drawing office to plan the lay-out of the scenery, a workshop to make it, and painters to paint it,

The permanent staff of the factory is 30, and this year it is putting on five of Britain's 300 pantos, The wage bill during the season will be £0,000 a week.

Mr Montague reckons а рап- tomimo will last ten years, though some of the gags and the cast need renewing each reason. Each year he produces ono brand new panto.

IN

Playroom In Clouds

IN "The Babes In The Woods," he has one scone that works out at £2,000 for construction and painting alone. It's a dungeon that turns into a playroom in the clouds, with everybody in the cast dressed up. as a toy.

Ho believes this is even better

than his "Mother Goose's" kitchen,

which in eight seconds turns into the Palace of Golden Eggs with 24 dancing girls on the floor. The same thing done on a revolving stage would take 45 seconds.

These transformation вселев аго worked out like milltary operations. To make the change in "Babes in the Wood" requires 22 people on the stage disguised as toy soldiers and 17 more out of sight in the wings,

Oddly

Montague enough, Mr doesn't laugh at his own jokes. He cries. I'm not making this up. Ho told me so himself.

The louder the children laugh,.he said, the harder ho has to swallow. And when the big along, the one he's been planning

SCERO Comed

for a year he can't swallow any more.

He sobs openly.

SANTA'S

Want

SUGGESTIONS

of HOLIDAY GIFTS

to make them happlest Christmas Mornings? Tako Santa's advice. Choose from

our wide selection of beautiful gifts. Each item is a perfect token of your love and affection.

:

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS

CARDS

By F. V. Conolly

UEEN Victoria and Prince Albert erected the first Christmas tres in England at Windsor Castle in 1844 as a surprise for the Prince of Walca, who afterwards bocama Edward VIL and the Princess Royal

The invitation cards for the Royal children's party bore Yuleudo greetings and wishes, and 'In this manner the Christmas card came into being. Within a year or so people began to send Christmas greetings by letter.

Christmas, quickly developed into the great national festival, thanks mainly to Queen Victoria, the Princo Consort, and especially Charles Dickens.

In 1040. the frat pictorial Christmas card was otched by V. H. Egley. It contained threo designs entwined in a framework of holly

Christmas and a Happy Now The centro picture was a children's party where the youngsters · wero being lavishly regaled with cakes, nuts and sweetmeals.

with the Inscription: Very

Grown-up Victorian Indics and. gentlemen made up the second picture. The third depleted, the Lady of the Manor distributing presents of food and clothing to poor people and children. About 0,000 of Egley's cards were sold.. WELL-KNOWN ARTISTS

Two years later well-known artists, including W. A. Dobson, Sir Henry Cole and L. G. Horsley, ,designed Christmas cards. #ho demand exceeded all expectations,

The Postmaster-General recognised the Christmas card in the House of enormous number posted, which was Commons to 1880 and spoke of the rapidly approaching the total of the Valentine. In the year before, the last war it was estimated that 400,000,000 were cold, in Great, Bri- tain, of which 80,000,000 wereo posted to the Dominions and the Colonies.

The Royal Family are still tho leading, patrons of the Christmas card. trade, and for many years past the foremast Academy pictures have been beautifully reproduced in colours for Their Majesties Christrans cards.

From people in the trade, It is learned that the demand this year is likely to break all records. During the war, restrictions on materinis greatly reduced the number cards printed, but the demand has steadily grown since the end of the

war.

Wing On

Shopping Hours

Co.,ltd.