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Introduction
There were no pantomime dames in early pantomime but there is a long tradition of women's roles being performed by men in English theatre. In Shakespeare's day women were not allowed to perform on the stage and all the female roles were played by boys or men.
Comic dames first began to appear in pantomime in the early 19th century. In 1820 the clown Joseph Grimaldi played the Baron's wife in one of the earliest versions of Cinderella. The dame role slowly evolved over the next fifty years and really took off at the end of the 19th century.
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Dames came in several types: working class and plain, glamorous and snobbish, or grotesque and elegant. In the late 19th century it became the vogue for Music Hall and Variety stars to perform in pantomimes. Some female impersonators from the Halls began to play the Dame role. Famous 19th century dames include Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell.
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Dan Leno as Widow Twankey |
In the 1940s and 50s Variety stars such as Arthur Askey took on the Dame role for the pantomime season. More recently pop stars, television personalities and sports stars have played the role of the Dame.
The Dame character has remained consistent for the last hundred years or so. Dames have a bawdy sense of humour, outrageous costumes and extrovert characters. They interact with the audience, initiate slapstick and play tricks on the other performers. The costumes they wear play a large part in the jokes and are often visual puns.
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Nellie Wallace |
Most pantomime dames have been played by men; however there are a few exceptions. Nellie Wallace, a comedienne in the 1930s, was a popular dame.
Here is an extract from The Weekly Illustrated Magazine on 24th December 1938, which shows the dame from Red Riding Hood preparing for the pantomime at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
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A Pantomime Dame is Born |
