Harlequin in His Element

The Changing Theatrical Economy

“…By enhancing the harlequinade through visual effects, the artistic team at Sadler's Wells helped realize the potential for what Mayer refers to as the 'retributive comedy' inherent to that part of the pantomime's action. 36 The harlequinade, which sees the Susan Valladares [Pick the date] 253 lovers attempt to escape from authority, constitutes the all-important second half of the pantomime. This follows the 'transformation scene', in which a benevolent agent transforms the principal characters of the opening fable into the comic types of Harlequin, Columbine, Pantaloon, and Clown.…”

“…As Mayer explains, this aimed in large part to compensate for the decline of the harlequinade following Grimaldi's reduced appearances on stage, as a result of his deteriorating health, and official retirement in 1823. 20 What is interesting about a pantomime such as London and Paris is that it suggests that in the 1810s tentative moves were already being made towards the kind of scenic narrative embodied by the diorama-even at Sadler's Wells, during a period when it was still known as Grimaldi's 'home'. London and Paris suggests, furthermore, that while representations of Paris clearly constituted a principal attraction for postwar audiences, the English capital was recognized as an 'exotic' site in its own right.…”

The Theatre of Shelley

“…These would not have been the papier-maché 'big head' masks worn in English pantomime since they were too difficult to dance in, but the type of leather mask worn by commedia dell'arte players which are designed to fit the actor's face 'like a shoe', as Dario Fo explains, and must be able 'to breathe' so that it can 'absorb your sweat as well as to live in symbiosis with your body heat and breathing rhythms'. 637 Ione recognises the Hours as charioteers although they have no chariots (IV. 56), which suggests they are wearing a costume like those of the ancient Greek charioteers which Shelley had seen in the Elgin Marbles.…”

“…In the first scene, lovers were separated by the young woman's father, or another authority figure, and a magical being such as a good fairy transformed these three into Harlequin, Columbine, who sometimes sang but did not speak, and Pantaloon. 788 The rest of the show consisted of a chase (harlequinade) with multiple spectacular scene changes, brought about by Harlequin's magic wand or 'slapstick', acrobatic feats, songs, dancing and clowning. The Clown became a major feature during the career of Grimaldi, whose humour was visually witty, satirical and vulgar.…”

Re-viewing Romantic Drama

“…44 The harlequinade is a specific form of pantomime, placing pantomimic action within an almost ritualized structure, as David Mayer has shown us. 45 The Christmas harlequinade was the most popular form of the age, with the proceeds from these holiday spectaculars underwriting the rest of the patent house repertoire. Usually opening on Boxing Day, these plays begin with a story of frustrated love, often drawn from myth or fairy tales, as in Thomas Dibdin's extraordinarily popular Harlequin and Mother Goose;or, The Golden Egg (Covent Garden, 1806), though they sometimes took up contemporary fads and events, as in Dibdin's brother Charles's Bang Up!…”