Humpty Dumpty
Set Design
1959 (designed)
1959 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Set dressing design for an unidentified scene in 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, descriped the finale to Act One:
"The scenery is lavish without being too artistic, and the pagent of the four seasons ends in a wonderous 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, descriped the finale to Act One:
"The scenery is lavish without being too artistic, and the pagent of the four seasons ends in a wonderous 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 | Ink and pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Set dressing design for an unidentified scene in pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959 |
| Physical description | Set dressing design for an unidentified scene in pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959. This design depicts two throne chairs and a trumpet with banner. The throne chair on the left depicts the object from a front view with a carved high back and carved underlegs. The throne chair in the middle is the profile detail of the chair on the left. On the far right is a profile view of a trumpet with a banner that is trimmed in fringe with tassels at the bottom corners. The reverse has a pencil sketch depicting the throne chairs side-by-side. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Roger Fox |
| Summary | Set dressing design for an unidentified scene in 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, descriped the finale to Act One: "The scenery is lavish without being too artistic, and the pagent of the four seasons ends in a wonderous 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.1090-2015 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2015 |
| Record URL |
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