Babes in the Wood
Set Design
1950 (designed)
1950 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Set design piece for 'The Nursery' in pantomime Babes in the Wood, London Palladium, 1950.
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.
Babes in the Wood starred actor Sonnie Hale as Nurse Glucose and stage and screen actress and singer Adele Dixon as Robin Hood. The production was described by The Times as “up to date [...] with scenery and songs adapted to current standards of taste.” The show’s scenery and costumes were designed by Alec Shanks and Erté, who had previously designed the cat ballet costumes for 1949’s Puss in Boots at the venue.
The show also featured Kirby’s flying ballet and a ‘corps de ballet’ of 33 dancers.
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.
Babes in the Wood starred actor Sonnie Hale as Nurse Glucose and stage and screen actress and singer Adele Dixon as Robin Hood. The production was described by The Times as “up to date [...] with scenery and songs adapted to current standards of taste.” The show’s scenery and costumes were designed by Alec Shanks and Erté, who had previously designed the cat ballet costumes for 1949’s Puss in Boots at the venue.
The show also featured Kirby’s flying ballet and a ‘corps de ballet’ of 33 dancers.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Babes in the Wood (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Gouache and watercolour on card |
| Brief description | Set design piece for an unidentified scene in pantomime Babes in the Wood, London Palladium, 1950 |
| Physical description | Set design piece for an unidentified scene in pantomime Babes in the Wood, London Palladium, 1950. The design is for a town scene. In the foreground on the left there is a pink house with white asymmetrical window and door frames and a maroon door. The centre house is peach with a tower, white window frames, and a brown door. The house on the right is pale purple with white asymmetrical window and door frames, a bell in front, and a dark purple door. The houses in the background are in silhouettes of brown or purple. The sky is a bright blue. There is a pencilled grid on the top of the design. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Roger Fox |
| Summary | Set design piece for 'The Nursery' in pantomime Babes in the Wood, London Palladium, 1950. 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. Babes in the Wood starred actor Sonnie Hale as Nurse Glucose and stage and screen actress and singer Adele Dixon as Robin Hood. The production was described by The Times as “up to date [...] with scenery and songs adapted to current standards of taste.” The show’s scenery and costumes were designed by Alec Shanks and Erté, who had previously designed the cat ballet costumes for 1949’s Puss in Boots at the venue. The show also featured Kirby’s flying ballet and a ‘corps de ballet’ of 33 dancers. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1015-2015 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2015 |
| Record URL |
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