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81-620: Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet , 28 February 1824 – 22 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat . He toured the United States and was known for crossing the 1,100 ft (340 m) Niagara Gorge on a tightrope. During an event in Dublin in 1860, the rope on which he was walking broke and two workers were killed, although Blondin was not injured. He married three times and had eight children. His name became synonymous with tightrope walking. Blondin

162-548: A "female Blondin". Two streets in Northfields, London , are named in his honour: Blondin Avenue and Niagara Avenue; they were formerly the site of part of Hugh Ronalds ' renowned nursery. Blondin Park in the same area is also named after him. During the run-up to the 1864 United States presidential election , Abraham Lincoln compared himself to "Blondin on the tightrope, with all that

243-590: A British expatriate audience and later adapted by Maltese producers for Maltese audiences. While in many former territories of the British empire, pantomime declined in popularity after independence, as it was seen as a symbol of colonial rule, studies have shown that this genre remains strong in Malta. Pantomime was brought to Switzerland by British immigrants and is performed regularly in Geneva since 1972 and Basel since 1994, in

324-572: A comic "night scene". Tavern Bilkers , by John Weaver , the dancing master at Drury Lane, is cited as the first pantomime produced on the English stage. This production was not a success, and Weaver waited until 1716 to produce his next pantomimes, including The Loves of Mars and Venus – a new Entertainment in Dancing after the manner of the Antient Pantomimes . The same year he produced a pantomime on

405-800: A consequence, Americans commonly understand the word "pantomime" to refer to the art of mime as it is practised by mime artists . According to Russell A. Peck of the University of Rochester , the earliest pantomime productions in the US were Cinderella pantomime productions in New York in March 1808, New York again in August 1808, Philadelphia in 1824, and Baltimore in 1839. A production at Olympic Theatre in New York of Humpty Dumpty ran for at least 943 performances between 1868 and 1873, (one source says 1,200 performances), becoming

486-514: A dancer who acted all the roles or all the story. The Roman pantomime drew upon the Greek tragedy and other Greek genres from its inception, although the art was instituted in Ancient Rome and little is known of it in pre-Roman Greece. The English word came to be applied to the performance itself. According to a lost oration by Aelius Aristides , the pantomime was known for its erotic content and

567-607: A form of entertainment that spread throughout the empire where, because of its wordless nature, it did more than any other art to foster knowledge of the myths and Roman legends that formed its subject-matter – tales such as those of the love of Venus and Mars and of Dido and Aeneas – while in Italy its chief exponents were celebrities, often the protegés of influential citizens, whose followers wore badges proclaiming their allegiance and engaged in street-fights with rival groups, while its accompanying songs became widely known. Yet, because of

648-456: A good lick', McKellen adopts a suitable look of mock-outrage. ... At least we can tell our grandchildren that we saw McKellen's Twankey and it was huge." The main roles within pantomime are usually as follows: Pantomime is performed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Australasia, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, Malta and Andorra, among other places. It is performed mostly during

729-402: A hand-language (cheironomy) so complex and expressive that the pantomime's hands were commonly compared to an eloquent mouth. Pantomime differed from mime by its more artistic nature and relative lack of farce and coarse humour, though these were not absent from some productions. Roman pantomime was immensely popular from the end of the first century BC until the end of the sixth century AD,

810-628: A hangar at Basel Airport . The Geneva Amateur Operatic Society has performed pantomimes annually since 1972. since 2009 the Basel English Panto Group has performed at the Scala Basel each December. Annual pantomimes have been running at Christmas in the UAE (and elsewhere in the GCC) since 2007. They are mainly performed by Dubai Panto (a trade name of h2 Productions.ae ) in conjunction with Outside

891-508: A kind of harlequinade, very different from that which is seen at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where harlequin and all the characters speak." The majority of these early pantomimes were re-tellings of a story from ancient Greek or Roman literature, with a break between the two acts during which the harlequinade's zany comic business was performed. The theatre historian David Mayer explains the use of

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972-658: A large field of empirical study. Pantomime Pantomime ( / ˈ p æ n t ə ˌ m aɪ m / ; informally panto ) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It generally combines gender-crossing actors and topical humour with

1053-406: A more romantic and stylised way. Grimaldi's performances elevated the role by "acute observation upon the foibles and absurdities of society, and his happy talent of holding them up to ridicule. He is the finest practical satyrist [ sic ] that ever existed. ... He was so extravagantly natural, that the most saturnine looker-on acknowledged his sway; and neither the wise, the proud, or

1134-403: A popular form of theatre, incorporating song, dance, buffoonery, slapstick , cross-dressing , in-jokes, topical references, audience participation, and mild sexual innuendo . Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson , in his 2020 memoir, summarizes contemporary pantomime as classic folklore and fairy tales loosely retold in a slapstick theatrical comedy-musical, writing: "Think Mamma Mia! featuring

1215-564: A series of other performances in 1862, as well, again at the Crystal Palace, and elsewhere in England and Europe. On 6 September 1873, Blondin crossed Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham. A statue built in 1992 on the nearby Ladywood Middleway marks his feat. In October 1869, Blondin appeared in London at The Crystal Palace Harvest Fete. He traversed the long rope on a bicycle expressly made for

1296-448: A singer or chorus (though Lucian states that originally the pantomime himself was the singer). Music was supplied by flute and the pulse of an iron-shod shoe called a scabellum . Performances might be in a private household, with minimal personnel, or else lavish theatrical productions involving a large orchestra and chorus and sometimes an ancillary actor. The dancer danced all the roles, relying on masks, stock poses and gestures and

1377-620: A story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale . Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers. Pantomime has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to the era of classical theatre . It developed partly from the 16th century commedia dell'arte tradition of Italy and other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques and music hall . An important part of

1458-420: A tightrope" when trying to balance two opposing views with little room for compromise. The idea can also appear in satirical or acidic contexts. Nicholas Taleb uses the concept in his book The Black Swan : "You get respect for doing funambulism or spectator sports [...]." Taleb is criticising scientists who prefer popularism to vigorous research and those who walk a fixed and narrow path rather than explore

1539-422: A tightrope. One solution is for the rope core to be made of steel cable, laid in the opposite direction to the outer layers, so that twisting forces balance each other out. Acrobats maintain their balance by positioning their centre of mass directly over their base of support, i.e. shifting most of their weight over their legs, arms, or whatever part of their body they are using to hold them up. When they are on

1620-458: A variety of props in their acts, such as clubs , rings, hats, or canes. Tightwire performers have even used wheelbarrows with passengers, ladders, and animals in their act. The technique to maintain balance is to keep the performer's centre of mass above their support point—usually their feet. Highwire is a form of tightwire walking but performed at much greater height. Although there is no official height when tightwire becomes highwire, generally

1701-499: A wire over 20 feet (6 m) high are regarded as a highwire act. Skywalk is a form of highwire which is performed at great heights and length. A skywalk is performed outdoors between tall buildings, gorges, across waterfalls or other natural and man-made structures. If the "lay" of the rope (the orientation of the constituent strands, the "twist" of a rope) is in one direction, the rope can twist on itself as it stretches and relaxes. Underfoot, this could be hazardous to disastrous in

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1782-430: Is being slowed down in his pursuit of them by his servant, Clown, and by a bumbling policeman. After the time of Grimaldi, Clown became the principal schemer trying to thwart the lovers, and Pantaloon was merely his assistant. The opening "fairy story" was often blended with a story about a love triangle: a "cross-grained" old father who owns a business and whose pretty daughter is pursued by two suitors. The one she loves

1863-500: Is less tipping. In addition, the performer can also correct sway by rotating the pole. This will create an equal and opposite torque on the body. Tightwire-walkers typically perform in very thin and flexible, leather-soled slippers with a full-length suede or leather sole to protect the feet from abrasions and bruises, while still allowing the foot to curve around the wire. Though very infrequent in performance, amateur, hobbyist, or inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that

1944-540: Is poor but worthy, while the father prefers the other, a wealthy fop. Another character is a servant in the father's establishment. Just as the daughter is to be forcibly wed to the fop, or just as she was about to elope with her lover, the good fairy arrives. This was followed by what was often the most spectacular part of the production, the magical transformation scene. In early pantomimes, Harlequin possessed magical powers that he used to help himself and his love interest escape. He would tap his wooden sword (a derivative of

2025-506: Is saved from rocks and axe, I think he should pay the powder-tax. His guyish plots blown up – nay, do not frown; You've always been a guy – now be a Clown. This passage is from a pantomime adaptation of the Guy Fawkes story. The fairy creates the characters of the harlequinade in the most typical fashion of simply telling the characters what they will change into. The principal male and female characters from

2106-571: The Confederacy , respectively), and Generals Grant , Lee and Sherman (representing the military) looked on, among others. Tightrope walking Tightwire is the skill of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points. It can be done either using a balancing tool (umbrella, fan, balance pole, etc.) or "freehand", using only one's body to maintain balance. Typically, tightwire performances either include dance or object manipulation . Object manipulation acts include

2187-665: The Grimm Brothers . Some of the most popular pantomime stories include Cinderella , Aladdin , Dick Whittington and His Cat and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , as well as Jack and the Beanstalk , Peter Pan , Puss in Boots and Sleeping Beauty . Other traditional stories include Mother Goose , Beauty and the Beast , Robinson Crusoe , The Wizard of Oz , Babes in

2268-629: The Little Theatre Movement in Jamaica. Among the first players was Louise Bennett-Coverley . Other notable players have included Oliver Samuels , Charles Hyatt , Willard White , Rita Marley and Dawn Penn . The annual pantomime opens on Boxing Day at the Little Theatre in Kingston and is strongly influenced by aspects of Jamaican culture, folklore and history. Pantomime was imported for

2349-497: The Three Stooges but with everyone's back catalogue, not just ABBA 's", and furthermore including audience participation reminiscent of showings of the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show . Pantomime story lines and scripts usually make no direct reference to Christmas and are almost always based on traditional children's stories, particularly the fairy tales of Charles Perrault , Joseph Jacobs , Hans Christian Andersen and

2430-501: The masque , which grew in pomp and spectacle from the 15th to the 17th centuries. The development of English pantomime was also strongly influenced by the continental commedia dell'arte , a form of popular theatre that arose in Italy in the Early Modern Period . This was a "comedy of professional artists" travelling from province to province in Italy and then France, who improvised and told comic stories that held lessons for

2511-747: The "batte" or slapstick and the transformation scene that led to the harlequinade: Rich gave his Harlequin the power to create stage magic in league with offstage craftsmen who operated trick scenery. Armed with a magic sword or bat (actually a slapstick), Rich's Harlequin treated his weapon as a wand, striking the scenery to sustain the illusion of changing the setting from one locale to another. Objects, too, were transformed by Harlequin's magic bat. Pantomime gradually became more topical and comic, often involving spectacular and elaborate theatrical effects as far as possible. Colley Cibber , David Garrick and others competed with Rich and produced their own pantomimes, and pantomime continued to grow in popularity. By

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2592-422: The 17th century, adaptations of the commedia characters became familiar in English entertainments. From these, the standard English harlequinade developed, depicting the eloping lovers Harlequin and Columbine , pursued by the girl's father Pantaloon and his comic servants Clown and Pierrot . In English versions, by the 18th century, Harlequin became the central figure and romantic lead. The basic plot of

2673-621: The 1980s. The White Rock Players Club in White Rock, BC have presented an annual pantomime in the Christmas season since 1954. The Royal Canadian Theatre Company produces pantomimes in British Columbia, written by Ellie King. Since 2013, Theatre Replacement has been producing East Van Panto in partnership with The Cultch in Vancouver. The National Pantomime of Jamaica was started in 1941 by educators Henry Fowler and Greta Fowler, pioneers of

2754-679: The Blondin name in Sydney in the 1880s, the most famous of whom was Henri L'Estrange —"the Australian Blondin". So popular had tightrope walking become, that one Sydney resident wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald to complain of "the Blondin business" that saw people walking on high wires wherever the opportunity arose. He noted that he had seen one walking on a wire in Liverpool Street in

2835-770: The Box Events LLC. They increased to three pantomimes at Christmas since 2021 – 2 in Dubai and 1 in Abu Dhabi. One of the locations for Dubai Pantomimes is at the theatre on the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship The other is in the theatre at the Erth Hotel, Abu Dhabi (formerly the Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel). Pantomime as described in this article was seldom performed in the United States until recent decades. As

2916-454: The Christmas and New Year season. Many theatres in cities and towns throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland continue to present an annual professional pantomime. Pantomime is also popular with amateur dramatics societies throughout the UK and Ireland, and during the pantomime season (roughly speaking, late November to February) productions are staged in many village halls and similar venues across

2997-459: The Commedia dell'arte slapstick or "batte") on the floor or scenery to make a grand transition of the world around him take place. The scene would switch from being inside some house or castle to, generally speaking, the streets of the town with storefronts as the backdrop. The transformation sequence was presided over by a Fairy Queen or Fairy Godmother character. The good fairy magically transformed

3078-695: The Crystal Palace , turning somersaults on stilts on a rope stretched across the central transept 70 feet (21 m) from the ground. He performed in September 1861 in Edinburgh , Scotland, at the Royal Botanic Gardens (then called the Experimental Gardens) on Inverleith Row. The following year, Blondin was back at the same venue in Dublin, this time performing 100 feet (30 m) above the ground. He gave

3159-687: The Teatre de les Fontetes in the parish of La Massana. Now it is produced by English and English-speaking international volunteers as part of the Advent celebrations supported by the Comú de La Massana, the local businesses the Club International d'Andorra and Vallnord ski station to raise money, most recently, for the less privileged children of Andorra. Pantomimes in Australia at Christmas were once very popular, but

3240-441: The United Kingdom. His third wife, Katherine James, had nursed him through a back injury earlier that year. Although much younger, Katherine survived him by only four years, dying of cancer in 1901 at the age of 36. During his lifetime, Blondin's name became so synonymous with tightrope walking that many employed the name "Blondin" to describe others in the sport. For example, there were at least five people working with variations of

3321-729: The Wood (combined with elements of Robin Hood ), Little Red Riding Hood , Goldilocks and the Three Bears , Sinbad , St. George and the Dragon , Bluebeard , The Little Mermaid and Thumbelina . Prior to about 1870, many other stories were made into pantomimes. While the familiarity of the audience with the original children's story is generally assumed, plot lines are almost always adapted for comic or satirical effect, and characters and situations from other stories are often interpolated into

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3402-410: The ankle is the pivot point . A wire-walker may use a pole for balance or may stretch out his arms perpendicular to his trunk in the manner of a pole. This technique provides several advantages. It distributes mass away from the pivot point, thereby increasing the moment of inertia . This reduces angular acceleration , so a greater torque is required to rotate the performer over the wire. The result

3483-557: The beginning plotline, often both played by young women, became the lovers Columbine and Harlequin, the mother or father of Columbine became Pantaloon, and the servant or other comic character became Clown. They would transition into the new characters as the scenery around them changed and would proceed in the "zany fun" section of the performance. From the time of Grimaldi, Clown would see the transformed setting and cry: "Here We Are Again!" The harlequinade began with various chase scenes, in which Harlequin and Columbine manage to escape from

3564-653: The capability of dance to render complex stories and express human emotion. In the Middle Ages, the Mummers Play was a traditional English folk play, based loosely on the Saint George and the Dragon legend, usually performed during Christmas gatherings, which contained the origin of many of the archetypal elements of the pantomime, such as stage fights, coarse humour and fantastic creatures, gender role reversal, and good defeating evil. Precursors of pantomime also included

3645-516: The city with a child strapped to his back. The practice which had become so popular was both dangerous and, the correspondent thought, likely to be unlawful, particularly in the risk of harming others. In reporting on the fall of a woman from a tightrope at an 1869 performance of Pablo Fanque 's Circus in Bolton , the Illustrated London News described the tightrope walker , Madame Caroline, as

3726-418: The clutches of Clown and Pantaloon, despite the acrobatic leaps of the former through windows, atop ladders, often because of well-meaning but misguided actions of the policeman. Eventually, there was a "dark scene", such as a cave or forest, in which the lovers were caught, and Harlequin's magic wand was seized from his grasp by Clown, who would flourish it in triumph. The good fairy would then reappear, and once

3807-516: The country. Kitty Gurnos-Davies states in her doctoral dissertation that pantomime is responsible for 20% of all live performances in the UK in any one year. The 2018–2019 season saw pantomime performances generating over £60m for the first time in recorded British history. It was first produced annually in Andorra by the English-speaking Mums' group, from the British expatriate community, in

3888-537: The craziness of the harlequinade chase scene. It was the most exciting part of the "panto", because it was fast-paced and included spectacular scenic magic as well as slapstick comedy, dancing and acrobatics. The presence of slapstick in this part of the show evolved from the characters found in Italian commedia dell'arte. The plot of the harlequinade was relatively simple; the star-crossed lovers, Harlequin and Columbine, run away from Columbine's foolish father, Pantaloon, who

3969-476: The crowd, changing the main character depending on where they were performing. Each "scenario" used some of the same stock characters. These included the innamorati (young lovers); the vecchi (old men) such as Pantalone ; and zanni (servants) such as Arlecchino , Colombina , Scaramouche and Pierrot . Italian masque performances in the 17th century sometimes included the Harlequin character. In

4050-415: The early 1800s, the pantomime's classical stories were often supplanted by stories adapted from European fairy tales , fables , folk tales , classic English literature or nursery rhymes . Also, the harlequinade grew in importance until it often was the longest and most important part of the entertainment. Pantomimes usually had dual titles that gave an often humorous idea of both the pantomime story and

4131-483: The effeminacy of its dancing; Aristides's work was responded to by Libanius , in his oration "On Behalf of the Dancers", written probably around 361 AD. Roman pantomime was a production, usually based upon myth or legend, for a solo male dancer—clad in a long silk tunic and a short mantle ( pallium ) that was often used as a "prop" —accompanied by a sung libretto (called the fabula saltica or "dance-story") rendered by

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4212-488: The entertainment, he or she likely adds to its overall effect, while if it becomes a "showcase for a star" who "stands outside the action", the celebrity's presence likely detracts, notwithstanding the marketing advantage that the star brings to the piece. Billington said that Ian McKellen in a 2004 Aladdin "lets down his hair and lifts up his skirt to reveal a nifty pair of legs and an appetite for double entendre : when told by decorators that 'your front porch could do with

4293-414: The fair, the young nor the old, were ashamed to laugh till tears coursed down their cheeks at Joe and his comicalities." Grimaldi's performances were important in expanding the importance of the harlequinade until it dominated the pantomime entertainment. By the 1800s, therefore, children went to the theatre around the Christmas and New Year holiday (and often at Easter or other times) primarily to witness

4374-416: The father agreed to the marriage of the young lovers, she would transport the whole company to a grand final scene. Despite its visible decline by 1836, the pantomime still fought to stay alive. After 1843, when theatres other than the original patent theatres were permitted to perform spoken dialogue, the importance of the silent harlequinade began to decrease, while the importance of the fairy-tale part of

4455-648: The genre has declined greatly since the middle of the 20th century. Several later professional productions did not recover their costs. Christmas pantomimes are performed yearly at the Hudson Village Theatre in Quebec. Since 1996, Ross Petty Productions has staged pantomimes at Toronto's Elgin Theatre each Christmas season. Pantomimes imported from England were produced at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in

4536-443: The ground with their feet side by side, the base of support is wide in the lateral direction but narrow in the sagittal (back-to-front) direction. In the case of highwire-walkers, their feet are parallel with each other, one foot positioned in front of the other while on the wire. Therefore, a tightwire walker's sway is side to side, their lateral support having been drastically reduced. In both cases, whether side by side or parallel,

4617-475: The harlequinade remained essentially the same for more than 150 years, except that a bumbling policeman was added to the chase. In the first two decades of the 18th century, two rival London theatres, Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (the patent theatres ) presented productions that began seriously with classical stories that contained elements of opera and ballet and ended with

4698-717: The harlequinade. "Harlequin and ________", or "Harlequin _______; or, the ________". In the second case, harlequin was used as an adjective, followed by words that described the pantomime "opening", for example: Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren; or, Fortunatus and the Water of Life, the Three Bears, the Three Gifts, the Three Wishes, and the Little Man who Woo'd the Little Maid . Harlequin

4779-459: The late 19th century, when Augustus Harris was proprietor of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and hired well-known variety artists for his pantomimes. Contemporary pantomime productions are often adapted to allow the star to showcase their well-known act, even when such a spot has little relation to the pantomime's plot. Critic Michael Billington has argued that if the star enters into the spirit of

4860-410: The leads from the opening fairy story into their new identities as the harlequinade characters. Following is an example of the speech that the fairy would give during this transformation: Lovers stand forth. With you we shall begin. You will be fair Columbine – you Harlequin. King Jamie there, the bonnie Scottish loon, Will be a famous cheild for Pantaloon. Though Guy Fawkes now

4941-547: The limits imposed upon Roman citizens' dance, the populism of its song-texts and other factors, the art was as much despised as adored, and its practitioners were usually slaves or freedmen. Because of the low status and the disappearance of its libretti , the Roman pantomime received little modern scholarly attention until the late 20th century, despite its great influence upon Roman culture as perceived in Roman art, in statues of famous dancers, graffiti, objects and literature. After

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5022-481: The occasion. The bicycle was manufactured by Messrs. Gardiner and Mackintosh, engineers at New Cross and had no weights or attachments of any kind. The bicycle was a replica of a normal bicycle with the exception of the wheels which were deeply grooved to hold the rope. On 3 August 1896, at the age of 71, Blondin walked on a tightrope across Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park Leeds, several times. On one crossing he

5103-705: The originality of the settings of his acts, made him a popular favourite. Blondin went to the United States in 1855. He was encouraged by William Niblo to perform with the Ravel troupe in New York City and was subsequently part proprietor of a circus. He especially owed his celebrity and fortune to his idea to cross the Niagara Gorge (on the Canada–U.S. border ) on a tightrope, 1,100 ft (340 m) long, 3.25 in (8.3 cm) in diameter and 160 ft (49 m) above

5184-410: The pantomime increased. Two writers who helped to elevate the importance and popularity of the fairy-tale portion of the pantomime were James Planché and Henry James Byron . They emphasized puns and humorous word play, a tradition that continues in pantomime today. As manager of Drury Lane in the 1870s, Augustus Harris produced and co-wrote a series of extraordinarily popular pantomimes, focusing on

5265-413: The pantomime stories. The last harlequinade was played at the Lyceum Theatre in 1939. Well-known pantomime artists of this era included William Payne , his sons, the Payne Brothers , Vesta Tilley , Dan Leno , Herbert Campbell , Little Tich , Clarice Mayne , Dorothy Ward and Cullen and Carthy . Traditionally performed around Christmas with family audiences, British pantomime continues as

5346-431: The pantomime, until the late 19th century, was the harlequinade . Outside of the British Isles, the word "pantomime" is often understood to mean miming , rather than the theatrical form described here. The word pantomime was adopted from the Latin word pantomimus , which in turn derives from the Greek word παντόμιμος ( pantomimos ), consisting of παντο- ( panto- ) meaning "all", and μῖμος ( mimos ), meaning

5427-420: The plot is common. Straight retellings of the original stories are rare. The form has a number of conventions, some of which have changed or weakened a little over the years, and by no means all of which are obligatory. Some of these conventions were once common to other genres of popular theatre such as melodrama . Another pantomime tradition is to engage celebrity guest stars, a practice that dates back to

5508-418: The plot. For instance "panto" versions of Aladdin may include elements from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves or other Arabian Nights tales; while Jack and the Beanstalk might include references to nursery rhymes and other children's stories involving characters called "Jack", such as Jack and Jill . Certain familiar scenes tend to recur, regardless of plot relevance, and highly unlikely resolution of

5589-526: The renaissance of classical culture, Roman pantomime was a decisive influence upon modern European concert dance , helping to transform ballet from a mere entertainment, a display of technical virtuosity, into the dramatic ballet d'action . It became an antecedent which, through writers and ballet-masters of the 17th and 18th centuries such as Claude-François Ménestrier (1631–1705), John Weaver (1673–1760), Jean-Georges Noverre (1727–1810) and Gasparo Angiolini (1731–1803), earned it respectability and attested to

5670-511: The rope. On 23 August 1860, he performed at the Royal Portobello Gardens, on South Circular Road , Portobello, Dublin , on a rope 50 feet (15 m) feet above the ground. While he was performing, the rope broke, which led to the collapse of the scaffolding. Blondin was not injured, but two workers who were on the scaffolding fell to their deaths. An investigation was held, and the broken rope (reportedly 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter and 5 inches (13 cm) in circumference) examined. No blame

5751-429: The spectacle of the productions, that pushed this transition by emphasizing comic business in the pantomime opening and grand processionals. By the end of the 19th century, the harlequinade had become merely a brief epilogue to the pantomime, dwindling into a brief display of dancing and acrobatics. It lingered for a few decades longer but finally disappeared, although a few of its comic elements had been incorporated into

5832-516: The subject of Perseus and Andromeda . After this, pantomime was regular feature at Drury Lane. In 1717 at Lincoln's Inn, actor and manager John Rich introduced Harlequin into the theatres' pantomimes under the name of "Lun" (for "lunatic"). He gained great popularity for his pantomimes, especially beginning with his 1724 production of The Necromancer; or, History of Dr. Faustus . These early pantomimes were silent, or "dumb show", performances consisting of only dancing and gestures. Spoken drama

5913-411: The water, near the location of the current Rainbow Bridge . This he did on 30 June 1859, and a number of times thereafter, often with different theatrical variations: blindfolded, in a sack, trundling a wheelbarrow , on stilts , carrying a man (his manager, Harry Colcord ) on his back, sitting down midway while he cooked and ate an omelette , or standing on a chair with only one of its legs balanced on

5994-420: The wire can be grasped between the big and second toe. This is more often done when using a rope, as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire. The word funambulism , the phrase walking a tightrope , and associated variants also occur in metaphorical contexts not referring to any actual acrobatic acts. For instance, politicians are said to "walk

6075-431: Was allowed in London only in the two (later three) patent theatres until Parliament changed this restriction in 1843. A large number of French performers played in London following the suppression of unlicensed theatres in Paris. Although this constraint was only temporary, English pantomimes remained primarily visual for some decades before dialogue was introduced. An 18th-century author wrote of David Garrick : "He formed

6156-406: Was attributed at the time to either Blondin or his manager; the judge said that the rope manufacturer had a lot to answer for. The organiser of the event, a Mr. Kirby, said he would never have another one like it. A bench warrant for the arrest of Blondin and his manager was issued when they did not appear at a further trial, having returned to the US. In 1861, Blondin first appeared in London, at

6237-611: Was blindfolded and on another he stopped to cook himself an omelette and eat it. After a period of retirement, Blondin reappeared in 1880 and starred in the 1893–94 season of the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at the Crystal Palace , organised by Oscar Barrett. His final performance was in Belfast , Ireland in 1896. Blondin died from complications of diabetes at his "Niagara House" in Ealing , London, on 22 February 1897, at age 72 and

6318-550: Was born on 28 February 1824 in Hesdin , Pas-de-Calais , France. His birth name was Jean-François Gravelet, though he was known by many other names and nicknames: Charles Blondin, Jean-François Blondin, Chevalier Blondin, and The Great Blondin. At the age of five, he was sent to the École de Gymnase in Lyon and, after six months of training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as "The Boy Wonder". His superior skill and grace, as well as

6399-717: Was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery . His estate at death was valued at £1,832 (£252,000 as of 2023). Charles Blondin married Marie Blancherie on 6 August 1846, legitimising their son Aime Leopold, after which they had two more children. It is not known what happened to his French family after he went to the United States. While in the U.S. he married a second wife, Charlotte Lawrence in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852. Together they had five children: Adele (b. 1854), Edward (b. 1855), Iris (b. 1861), Henry Coleman (b. 1862), and Charlotte (b. 1866). In 1895, Blondin married again, this time in

6480-425: Was the first word (or the first word after the "or") because Harlequin was initially the most important character. The titles continued to include the word Harlequin even after the first decade of the 1800s, when Joseph Grimaldi came to dominate London pantomime and made the character, Clown, a colourful agent of chaos, as important in the entertainment as Harlequin. At the same time, Harlequin began to be portrayed in

6561-518: Was valuable to America in the wheelbarrow he was pushing before him." A political cartoon in Frank Leslie's Budget of Fun took up this quotation on 1 September 1864 depicting Lincoln on a tightrope, pushing a wheelbarrow and carrying two men on his back—Navy Secretary Gideon Welles and War Secretary Edwin Stanton —while " John Bull ", Napoleon III , Jefferson Davis (representing England, France, and

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