For the last couple of months, cries of ‘It’s behind you!’ and ‘Oh, no he isn’t!’ have been ringing out in theatres up and down the country.

The annual pantomime, with its distinctive characters, its madcap frivolity and magical spectacle, is arguably one of our greatest British traditions. In December 1900, The Star newspaper declared the famous Drury Lane pantomime – one of the most spectacular of all in its heyday – to be ‘a symbol of our nation… Only a great nation could have done such a thing…’

Yet its origins lie firmly in Italy, in the commedia dell’arte tradition of the mid-16th century. Here groups of strolling players performed improvised light-hearted plays with song and dance routines, featuring traditional Italian characters that inspired many of the now-familiar pantomime characters. These included Harlequin and his love interest Columbine, the sad clown Pierrot, the merchant Pantaloon and many more.

The popularity of the commedia dell’arte spread through Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, and by the mid-18th century adaptations of its characters were appearing on the London stage in the form of a harlequinade, which consisted of two romantic leads, Harlequin and Columbine, trying to escape from Columbine’s father, Pantaloon, while the clown caused mischief. It was the perfect set-up for an evening of slapstick, singing, dancing and general mayhem, and this remained standard fare for the next 150 years.

The first known pantomimes in the UK took place in the 1730s at Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres, the latter being built by John Rich, one of the first British Harlequins, with the profits from his first theatre at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

Traditionally, Harlequin danced and mimed but didn’t speak, but the actor-manager David Garrick broke with convention at Drury Lane Theatre by putting on pantomime with a speaking Harlequin. He was also the first to base pantomimes on well-known stories such as Robin Hood and Dick Whittington.

By the 19th century, some of our more familiar elements of the pantomime were creeping in as the art form evolved away from its Italian roots and became decidedly more British. Joseph Grimaldi became the first pantomime star in 1806 when his portrayal of the clown in Mother Goose at Drury Lane caused such a stir that the clown began to take over as the main character from Harlequin, whose popularity declined rapidly. Before long, two other characters, the Dame and Principal Boy, became firm fixtures, and the harlequinade was reduced to a single scene within the pantomime.

As the century progressed, the Victorian love of spectacle meant that pantomimes became increasingly elaborate, with magnificent scenery and costumes, clever stage effects and magical transformation scenes. The lifting of the restrictions on the spoken word by the Theatres Act of 1843 gave rise to increased satire, wit and clever puns. By the end of the 19th century it wasn’t unusual for London pantomimes to last for five hours, provoking a rather scathing comment in The Star (December 1900): ‘It is impossible to sit in the theatre for five hours without being filled with weary admiration… The monstrous, glittering thing of pomp and humour is without order or design: it is a hotch-potch of everything that has been seen on any stage.’

It was around this time that the tradition for opening a pantomime on Boxing Day began, thus ensuring that pantomime would forever be associated with Christmas.

Towards the end of the 19th century, producers started drafting music hall stars into pantomime casts to draw in new audiences. Two of the most popular were Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell, who frequently performed together and became legendary on the London stage during the early 20th century. The difference in their sizes – Leno was tiny, while Campbell was large and round – added greatly to their comic effect. Their final pantomime together was Humpty Dumpty at Drury Lane during the 1903-04 season. Tragically, Campbell died two months after the season ended, and the shock caused Leno to have a mental breakdown. He too died later that same year.

Today pantomime continues to be as popular as ever, still retaining many of the traditional features established during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and still casting stars of the day in the lead roles. Nearly 300 years from its first appearance in London, the pantomime is definitely here to stay. Oh, yes it is!

Tracing pantomime ancestors
Where to look
If you know where your ancestor performed, local record offices are a good starting point. Many will have collections relating to local theatres and production companies, and these often include a variety of ephemera including playbills, programmes, posters, press cuttings, photographs and regional newspapers and journals.

Specialist national resources are fertile hunting grounds. For a detailed overview, download the National Archives’ excellent guide, Film, television and performing arts records held by other archives (nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/film-television-performing-arts-records-held-by-other-archives), which gives advice on searching the National Archives’ own Discovery catalogue as well as listing important collections in the UK.

The Association of Performing Arts Collections (APAC) has a searchable database of national archives (performingartscollections.org.uk/resources). A search for pantomime-related material yields nearly 500 results and includes programmes, photographs, pantomime scripts, press cuttings, financial records and significant collections, with full details of relevant repositories.

The V&A Museum’s Theatre and Performance archive is a treasure trove of memorabilia relating to pantomimes in the UK, including posters, press cuttings, photographs, letters, contracts, reviews, obituaries and other papers, many relating to specific productions, theatre companies or individual performers. Search or browse the collection here .

The University of Bristol Theatre Collection (www.bristol.ac.uk/theatre-collection/) is one of the world’s largest archives relating to British theatre. Its holdings include a large number of significant collections, including those of famous actors, designers, directors, photographers, writers and collectors. Pantomime-related material includes posters, playbills, programmes, leaflets, correspondence, photographs, journals and papers from past exhibitions.

The John Johnson Collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford (bodleian.ox.ac.uk/collections-and-resources/special-collections/catalogues/johnson) has one of the world’s largest collections of printed ephemera, including theatre posters and playbills.

Because music hall stars populated the pantomime stage during the late 19th and 20th centuries, searching the music hall archives might also prove fruitful. The British Music Hall Society (britishmusichallsociety.com) has an extensive archive of photographs, programmes, posters, books, costumes and boxes of memorabilia relating to specific performers, all of which can be viewed by appointment. The Society also produces a quarterly journal, Call Boy, and there is a sample copy and sample articles on the website, together with a collection of obituaries that appeared in Call Boy from 1963-2017.

Finally, for general information about various aspects of British pantomime, the It’s Behind You website (its-behind-you.com/) is a fantastic resource, with articles on the history of pantomime and its stars, pictures of playbills, programmes and other pantomime ephemera, and useful links.

What to look for
Playbills and programmes are particularly useful sources of information for the family historian. Playbills were the earliest form of promotional literature for theatrical productions, and were in widespread use until the first half of the 19th century. The first programmes appeared around the 1850s at London’s Olympic Theatre, and the idea quickly caught on. By the late 19th century the first colour programmes had appeared, and there was an increasing emphasis on producing attractive souvenirs rather than simply providing basic information about a production.

Casting information in early playbills can be frustratingly vague or incomplete, often including only a first initial and surname rather than a performer’s full name, but they usually contain detailed production information and can be useful for verifying information. Over time, programmes carried much more detailed information, and it is usually possible to confirm that your ancestor took part in a particular production, with details of venue, dates and role played.

The convention of including cast biographies in programmes became popular during the 20th century and these are a gift for the family historian. Typically, they list other productions a performer has appeared in (although this may not be an exhaustive list) along with details such as place of birth, where they trained, name of spouse (especially if the spouse is also a performer) and any interesting hobbies.

Newspapers cuttings can be invaluable sources of information. Reviews can help to confirm that your ancestor was involved in a particular production, while obituaries and news items can carry useful biographical information. Specialist publications, such as The Stage, , The Performer and many others are likely to carry information about lesser-known performers, and will also have interesting articles that help to put your ancestor’s pantomime career in historical context.

With thanks to Nigel Ellacott and Simon Curtis of its-behind-you.com for providing some of the images for this article, and to Doreen Pinnell for supplying programme images.