Humpty Dumpty
Set Design
1959 (designed)
1959 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Set model piece for the pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959.
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.
Humpty Dumpty starred Harry Secombe as Humpty Dumpty and Roy Castle as Simple Simon. The show’s scenery was designed by Tod Kingman and Edward Delany and was said to be so spectacular that, according to the Times, there were “times when the stage [could] almost be heard to creak under the loads of scenery.”
The Observer commended the production’s “imaginatively designed costumes and sets” and many newspapers, including the Guardian, described the finale to act one:
“The scenery is lavish without being too artistic, and the pageant of the four seasons ends in a wondrous snowfall, with the entry aloft of Father Christmas’s sleigh (real) which suddenly – when your heart is already in your mouth – bursts into twinkling lights, and tough men find they are gulping.” Guardian.
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.
Humpty Dumpty starred Harry Secombe as Humpty Dumpty and Roy Castle as Simple Simon. The show’s scenery was designed by Tod Kingman and Edward Delany and was said to be so spectacular that, according to the Times, there were “times when the stage [could] almost be heard to creak under the loads of scenery.”
The Observer commended the production’s “imaginatively designed costumes and sets” and many newspapers, including the Guardian, described the finale to act one:
“The scenery is lavish without being too artistic, and the pageant of the four seasons ends in a wondrous snowfall, with the entry aloft of Father Christmas’s sleigh (real) which suddenly – when your heart is already in your mouth – bursts into twinkling lights, and tough men find they are gulping.” Guardian.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Humpty Dumpty (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Gouache and watercolour and pencil on card, with sellotape. |
| Brief description | Set model piece for the pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959 |
| Physical description | Set model piece for the pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959. The set model piece is painted in tones of pale purple and yellow. It features a street scene. Two tall, narrow, houses with small, sloping roofs, and parallel rows of windows dominate the left hand side of the set piece. Another building with a central dome, and three entrace doors, each surmounted with a pointed roof, is positioned at the right. A fold line runs between the houses, and the building on the right. When folded, and positioned upright (as the set piece would be on the stage), the two sets of buildings face one another. A line of sellotape runs down the far left edge of the set model piece. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Roger Fox |
| Summary | Set model piece for the pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959. 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. Humpty Dumpty starred Harry Secombe as Humpty Dumpty and Roy Castle as Simple Simon. The show’s scenery was designed by Tod Kingman and Edward Delany and was said to be so spectacular that, according to the Times, there were “times when the stage [could] almost be heard to creak under the loads of scenery.” The Observer commended the production’s “imaginatively designed costumes and sets” and many newspapers, including the Guardian, described the finale to act one: “The scenery is lavish without being too artistic, and the pageant of the four seasons ends in a wondrous snowfall, with the entry aloft of Father Christmas’s sleigh (real) which suddenly – when your heart is already in your mouth – bursts into twinkling lights, and tough men find they are gulping.” Guardian. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.2543-2014 |
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| Record created | December 23, 2014 |
| Record URL |
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