Set design for Act II Scene 3: 'The Wedding Celebrations' in pantomime The Wonderful Lamp, or Aladdin, London Palladium, 1956.

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.

1956’s The Wonderful Lamp marked a new era of pantomime at the London Palladium. Taking over from Val Parnell, who had produced the Palladium pantomime since 1947, Robert Nesbitt and Charles Henry dispensed with the tradition of the female Principal Boy and cast comic actor Norman Wisdom as Aladdin. The Observer’s critic applauded the change in casting practice, commenting “the principal boy is a boy, which is a relief,” whilst The Telegraph concluded “the innovation works surprisingly well up to a point.”
There was also a change in set designer as Edward Delany, who had previously been one of a team of Palladium pantomime set painters, took over from Charles Reading. The production was described as “mightily lavish” by The Observer and featured a trip to the moon in Act Two.