Not currently on display at the V&A

The Sleeping Beauty

Set Design
1958 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Set design for 'The Wonderland of the World: Mysterious East' in pantomime The Sleeping Beauty, London Palladium, 1958.

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.

The Sleeping Beauty starred Charlie Drake as The King, Bruce Forsyth as Presto the Jester and Edmund Hockeridge as Prince Michael. The show’s scenary was designed by Edward Delany and Tod Kingman and was described as “bold and brazen” by the Sunday Times, featuring settings diverse as an Alpine Village, A Medieval Castle, Paris, The Golden West and the Mystic East.

To encorporate Canadian singer Hockeridge into the show, writers Phil Park and David Croft created a backstory for their Prince, who had been raised on the American prairie as a cowboy.

This was the only Palladium pantomime to not feature a Dame.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Sleeping Beauty (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Gouache, pastel and glitter on black paper
Brief description
Set design for 'The Wonderland of the World: Mysterious East' in pantomime The Sleeping Beauty, London Palladium, 1958
Physical description
Gouache, pastel and glitter on black paper set design for 'The Wonderland of the World: Mysterious East' in pantomime The Sleeping Beauty, London Palladium, 1958. The design features a purple and pink decorative Eastern design.
Dimensions
  • Height: 52cm
  • Width: 37.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
Credit line
Given by Roger Fox
Summary
Set design for 'The Wonderland of the World: Mysterious East' in pantomime The Sleeping Beauty, London Palladium, 1958.

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.

The Sleeping Beauty starred Charlie Drake as The King, Bruce Forsyth as Presto the Jester and Edmund Hockeridge as Prince Michael. The show’s scenary was designed by Edward Delany and Tod Kingman and was described as “bold and brazen” by the Sunday Times, featuring settings diverse as an Alpine Village, A Medieval Castle, Paris, The Golden West and the Mystic East.

To encorporate Canadian singer Hockeridge into the show, writers Phil Park and David Croft created a backstory for their Prince, who had been raised on the American prairie as a cowboy.

This was the only Palladium pantomime to not feature a Dame.
Collection
Accession number
S.182-2015

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Record createdMarch 4, 2015
Record URL
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