For over 150 years the character of Harlequin was the star
of the pantomime and pantomime was dominated by the Harlequinade,
a comic chase scene telling the story of Harlequin and Columbine.
The Harlequinade was in mime with music and lots of slapstick
and tomfoolery. Every pantomime had a Harlequinade as part of
the bill.
The story of the Harlequinade had the same basic format; a
chase scene where the two lovers, Harlequin and Columbine, are
kept apart by the girl's father, Pantaloon, whose servants play
tricks on him. In the chase the two lovers are pursued by her
father and his servant, Clown. At this time actors had a repertoire
of stock characters with whom they were associated. John Rich's
character was Harlequin and he developed the character into
a mischievous magician. Rich also developed the drama of the
chase scenes.
The Slapstick
John Rich's Harlequin used a Slapstick or wooden bat which
he would hit against the scenery to make the scenes change by
knocking down a series of hinged flaps. The chase scene would
take the characters to many different locations all controlled
by Harlequin's magic bat. The locations of the chase were often
places that people would recognise - named streets or areas
of London for example. They also included mythical locations.
The pantomime traditions of slapstick (meaning a certain type
of clownish physical comedy), chases, speed and transformations
were developed from Rich's Harlequinades.
Commedia dell’arte
