Cinderella thumbnail 1
Cinderella thumbnail 2
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Cinderella

Set Design
1948 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Set model piece for 'Finale' in pantomime Cinderella, London Palladium, 1948.

In 1947, Val Parnell took over the management of the London Palladium, one of the largest theatres in Britain. Under Parnell, the Palladium presented large-scale spectacular pantomimes until 1987 and became known as the Home of Pantomime due to its lavish productions featuring the biggest celebrity names of the time.

Cinderella ran from 24th December 1948 to 19th March 1949 and starred actress Evelyn Laye as Prince Charming and comedian Tommy Trinder as Buttons. The show’s scenery, designed by Charles Reading, achieved great praise, with Michael Bishop of The Times writing, “There has been nothing like it since the Christmas glory that was Drury Lane in the long ago […] There is breath enough left to remark that in the matter of design and colour moreover these vast quantities of scenery are in better taste than they once were.”

The show also featured a comedy sequence with a St. Bernard dog and live ponies to take Cinderella to the ball.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 4 parts.

  • Designs
  • Designs
  • Designs
  • Designs
TitleCinderella (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil on card
Brief description
Set model piece for 'Finale' in pantomime Cinderella, London Palladium, 1948
Physical description
Pencil on card set model pieces for Act 2, Scene 10 in pantomime Cinderella, London Palladium, 1948.
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
Credit line
Given by Roger Fox
Summary
Set model piece for 'Finale' in pantomime Cinderella, London Palladium, 1948.

In 1947, Val Parnell took over the management of the London Palladium, one of the largest theatres in Britain. Under Parnell, the Palladium presented large-scale spectacular pantomimes until 1987 and became known as the Home of Pantomime due to its lavish productions featuring the biggest celebrity names of the time.

Cinderella ran from 24th December 1948 to 19th March 1949 and starred actress Evelyn Laye as Prince Charming and comedian Tommy Trinder as Buttons. The show’s scenery, designed by Charles Reading, achieved great praise, with Michael Bishop of The Times writing, “There has been nothing like it since the Christmas glory that was Drury Lane in the long ago […] There is breath enough left to remark that in the matter of design and colour moreover these vast quantities of scenery are in better taste than they once were.”

The show also featured a comedy sequence with a St. Bernard dog and live ponies to take Cinderella to the ball.
Collection
Accession number
S.2234:1 to 4-2014

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Record createdNovember 14, 2014
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