Not currently on display at the V&A

Drury Lane Design Collection

Costume Design
1910 (designed)
Artist/Maker

Costume design by Comelli for Market People in Jack and the Beanstalk, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 1910.

Jack and the Beanstalk Jack & the Beanstalk is thought to have originated as Jack the Giant Killer. The first performance of Jack the Giant Killer, as a Christmas play at Drury Lane in 1773, was written by David Garrick and introduced the character of Jack as a lazy but clever hero. The first recorded pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk; or Harlequin and the Ogre was performed in 1819 in which a famous young actress called Eliza Povey played the first ever principal boy, Idle Jack. The basic plot of this pantomime was taken from the English fairy tale, in which Jack trades his cow for magic beans and then seeks adventure and good fortune at the top of the beanstalk. Jack & the Beanstalk also introduced one of the most famous Dames to the English stage in 1886 when Dan Leno made his debut at Drury Lane as Dame Trot, Jack's nagging mother. By the early twentieth century pantomimes were growing increasingly long and elaborate and often included grand processions, huge sets and elaborate ballet sequences in which hundreds of acrobats, dancers, and children took part.

In the 1910 production (produced by Arthur Collins, Frank Dix and J.Hickory Wood) Jack Halleybut was played by Miss Dolly Castles, Princess Dorothy was played by Miss Julia James, Titania was played by Miss Hilda Playfair and Puck was played by Miss Anita Edis.

Comelli (1858-1925) was the house designer of the Royal Opera House from the late 1880s to the early 1920s. During this period he also worked for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and also designed costumes from a number of Gilbert&Sullivan productions.

This design comes from a collection of costume designs, some of which are costumier's copies, which were originally part of the Archives of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleDrury Lane Design Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Costume design by Comelli for Market People in Jack and the Beanstalk Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 1910. Drury Lane Design Collection.
Physical description
Costume design by Comelli for Market People in Jack and the Beanstalk, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 1910. A watercolour costume sketch showing a man dressed in leaf green breeches which button at the knee above thick grey stockings and leaf green shoes. He also wears a brown buttoned waistcoat and a short stone coloured jacket and carries a wooden staff behind his back. A brown cap with a black brim and and a black neckcloth complete his costume. The design is signed and dated Comelli, 1910.
Dimensions
  • Height: 36.2cm
  • Width: 26.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 2 Market People (Handwritten annotation in pencil and ink on the bottom right hand corner of the design)
  • Comelli 1910 (Handwritten signature in pen at the left hand side of the design)
  • 4 K (Handwritten annotation in red ink in the top left hand corner of the design.)
  • Sc. IV (Handwritten annotation in pen at the bottom left hand corner of the design)
  • 2 Chorus Gents/1. Mr. Flyod/2. " Baldwin/Lloyd 5/6-16-22-7-20-30 1/2/10-24/42-30-33-37-13-11 1/2-12 1/2-Wears Padds[?]/Baldwin 5/9 18-7 1/4-20-31 1/4/36-32 1/2/23-26-/44 1/2-32-31-37-13 3/4-12 1/2/Wears Padds[?] (Handwritten annotation in pencil on the rear of the design)
  • Transliteration
Place depicted
Literary referenceJack and the Beanstalk
Summary
Costume design by Comelli for Market People in Jack and the Beanstalk, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 1910.

Jack and the Beanstalk Jack & the Beanstalk is thought to have originated as Jack the Giant Killer. The first performance of Jack the Giant Killer, as a Christmas play at Drury Lane in 1773, was written by David Garrick and introduced the character of Jack as a lazy but clever hero. The first recorded pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk; or Harlequin and the Ogre was performed in 1819 in which a famous young actress called Eliza Povey played the first ever principal boy, Idle Jack. The basic plot of this pantomime was taken from the English fairy tale, in which Jack trades his cow for magic beans and then seeks adventure and good fortune at the top of the beanstalk. Jack & the Beanstalk also introduced one of the most famous Dames to the English stage in 1886 when Dan Leno made his debut at Drury Lane as Dame Trot, Jack's nagging mother. By the early twentieth century pantomimes were growing increasingly long and elaborate and often included grand processions, huge sets and elaborate ballet sequences in which hundreds of acrobats, dancers, and children took part.

In the 1910 production (produced by Arthur Collins, Frank Dix and J.Hickory Wood) Jack Halleybut was played by Miss Dolly Castles, Princess Dorothy was played by Miss Julia James, Titania was played by Miss Hilda Playfair and Puck was played by Miss Anita Edis.

Comelli (1858-1925) was the house designer of the Royal Opera House from the late 1880s to the early 1920s. During this period he also worked for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and also designed costumes from a number of Gilbert&Sullivan productions.

This design comes from a collection of costume designs, some of which are costumier's copies, which were originally part of the Archives of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Other number
Jack and the Beanstalk File
Collection
Accession number
S.2016-2010

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Record createdSeptember 16, 2010
Record URL
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