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Not currently on display at the V&A

Robinson Crusoe

Property Design
1957 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Scale drawn design for an ornate chandelier, created for Robinson Crusoe, London Palladium, 1957.

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.

Robinson Crusoe was the West End’s only pantomime in 1957 and ran until 5th April 1958 starring comics Arthur Askey as Big Hearted Martha and Tommy Cooper as Abu.

The show’s scenary, designed by Edward Delany, achieved great praise, with the Daily Telegraph describing it as “lavish and glittering” and the Observer commenting that “magnificent and ever-changing splendours hold the eye.”
The production cost £40,000 to stage and is reported by the [Manchester] Guardian as having drawn “noises of pleasure” from the audience as scenes such as the Port of Panama, Davy Jones’ Locker, The Belly of a Whale and the Island of Juan Fernandez were revealed.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRobinson Crusoe (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Gouache and watercolour on dark green card.
Brief description
Scale drawn design for an ornate chandelier, created for Robinson Crusoe, London Palladium, 1957
Physical description
Scale drawn design for an ornate chandelier, created for Robinson Crusoe, London Palladium, 1957. It shows an ornate gold metalwork chandelier, decorated with hanging, cut glass, jewels and curling tendrils ending in stylised stars. A horizontal line, indicating scale, runs across the bottom of the design. The design is executed in gouache and watercolour on dark green card.
Dimensions
  • Height: 43.5cm
  • Width: 24.7cm (approximate)
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'G.E.C.' (Printed label, white text on a black ground, positioned in the bottom right hand corner.)
  • '0, 1, 2, FT' (Handwritten annotation on the scale bar running across the base of the design.)
  • Transliteration
Credit line
Given by Roger Fox
Summary
Scale drawn design for an ornate chandelier, created for Robinson Crusoe, London Palladium, 1957.

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.

Robinson Crusoe was the West End’s only pantomime in 1957 and ran until 5th April 1958 starring comics Arthur Askey as Big Hearted Martha and Tommy Cooper as Abu.

The show’s scenary, designed by Edward Delany, achieved great praise, with the Daily Telegraph describing it as “lavish and glittering” and the Observer commenting that “magnificent and ever-changing splendours hold the eye.”
The production cost £40,000 to stage and is reported by the [Manchester] Guardian as having drawn “noises of pleasure” from the audience as scenes such as the Port of Panama, Davy Jones’ Locker, The Belly of a Whale and the Island of Juan Fernandez were revealed.
Collection
Accession number
S.152-2015

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Record createdFebruary 26, 2015
Record URL
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