Humpty Dumpty
Set Design
1959 (designed)
1959 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Backcloth for 'The King and Queen's Castle of Cards' in 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 | |
| Parts | This object consists of 8 parts.
|
| Title | Humpty Dumpty (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Gouache and watercolour and pencil on card and tracing paper. |
| Brief description | Backcloth for the 'The King and Queen's Castle of Cards' in the pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959 |
| Physical description | Backcloth for the 'The King and Queen's Castle of Cards' in the pantomime Humpty Dumpty, London Palladium, 1959 |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Roger Fox |
| Summary | Backcloth for 'The King and Queen's Castle of Cards' in 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.2549:1 to 8-2014 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | December 31, 2014 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
