2008 Programme - Harby Harlequins

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The Panto Band !@rl@K Myles John Simon Robert Viv John Ponsonby cline Griffin Glaister Griffin Morris bass guitar guitar guitar clarinet keyboard drums Musical Director - Richard HedleY original music and arrangements by Richard Hedley andviv Grffin EDDIE LILLEY : Director, Scriptwriter, Assistant Clapper Eddie is relentless in his pursuit of comy jokes, daft plots, bizanecharacters and over-acting, and this year sees no shortage of willing victims to join the-fun. This 10s year of Harleqiins shows is something special to celebrate' The continuing ,.r"".r. shows no signs-of tiring with this second hilarious edition of The Three-Musketeers. A record number of applicants for acting roles this year is testament to the fun had by the cast as welfas the audience. Eddie has managed an "all for one,, solution with adult-dominated acting parts and children's chorus and dancing talent, to give a lively and diverse entertainment experience! 10 Glorious Years of the <strong>Harlequins</strong> Ugg Robin Hood 2005 TheWizard of Hose 2000 The Three Musketeers 2006 Robin Hood uoneforthe 2001 Ataddin Scrap Book" 2002 Cinderella 2007 Ali Baba Mutder MYstery Evening 2003 Arfur ,'One off the peg, 2004 Treasure Island * uOnefor the Road" (*awarded best pantomime script in Leicestershire 2004) 10 uonce More Beforc the Fat Lad-y Sings'
The Hisfory of Pantomime Pantomime has its roots in ancient Greece and then came to fashion in Imperial Rome. Stories were done in 'dumb-show' (performed by a single masked dancer called Pantomimus) accompanied by a chorus, who sang the story. In the Middle Ages, Christmas 'mumming'in Britain included mystery plays in which King Herod was the equivalent of a baddie in a modempantomime. The masques ofthe Elizabethan and Stuart days introduced gorgeous scenery and mechanical effects, which then absorbed comedy after the Italian tradition of the Commedia dell'Arte. To overcome language problems, these travelling shows focused on physical acting, slapstick, comedy and funny costumes. Many of the characters like Harlequin became popular across Europe. Commedia stories would often poke fun at contemporary issues. Harlequinades, in which Harlequin was the principal charactet developed in the 18'h Century. The first use of the word 'panto mime' was in a 'ballet-pantomime' staged in London n 1717 The first 'modem' pantomime dates back to 1773 when Drury Lane presented Jack the Giant Killer. Following a ban in the time of Charles II, only 2 theatres were allowed to produce spoken drama (Drury Lane and Lincoln's Inn), both of which tried to outdo each other with their high revenue-generating pantomimes. The famous clown Joseph Grimaldi usurped Harlequin as the star of the shows. In 1820, he first played the Baron's wife in one of the earliest versions of Cinderella, and so the tradition of the dame was born. Then the Harlequinade, which involved a complicated chase where Harlequin would whack objects with his wooden bat, was put after the main play. The bat made a'slapping' sound, hence the expression'slapstick'. Eventually Harlequinades disappeared except for the chase scene, now absorbed into the main story. In 1843, the old law was revoked allowing all theatres to produce a full pantomime rather than just the mimed chase scenes. New script writers and topical subjects appeared such as 'The Birth of the Steam Engine or Harlequin Locomotive and Joe Miller and His Men' produced shortly afterthe firstrailway engine. Then topics became more nonsensical such as 'HarlequinandtheTyrantofGobblemupandshrunkemdowno'(ideasfornextyear'spanto??). The tradition of the principal boy being played by a woman started in 1819, when Eliza Povey played the title role in Jack and the Beanstalk. By the late l9n Century, it provided an excuse for female Music Hall stars to titillate a morally repressed audience by showing off their legs as well as their other talents! Most pantomimes can be traced back to one of five sources such as old English folk tales, The Arabian Nights, or the famous lSth century writers Byron and Planch6. Did you know that traditionally, good panto ahaxacters enter the stage from the right, and baddies from stage left? This echoes a Commedia tradition, which always placed the entrances to heaven and hell on these respective sides ofthe stage. ll
Page 1 and 2: Harby Harlequins present their 10th
Page 3 and 4: The Three Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 S
Page 5 and 6: lAemorab I e lyloments f rom Harleq
Page 7 and 8: ! E @ ry k w ROBIN STAPLEFORD : Mad
Page 9: SCARBOROUGH and MARIA O'REILLY: The

2008 Programme - Harby Harlequins

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