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Theatre productions of Dan Leno

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File:Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell.jpg

Dan Leno (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904) was an English comedian and stage actor of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, famous for performing in music hall. As a child, he was known for his clog dancing, and in his teen years, he became the star of his family's music hall act throughout Britain.Brandreth, p. 3 He was an increasingly popular solo artist during the late 1880s and 1890s.Anthony, p. 97[http://www.gowr.net/History/danleno.html "King Rat Dan Leno"], History: Grand Order of Water Rats, Gowr.net, accessed 13 January 2013 He also performed in pantomimes and a few Victorian burlesques and comic plays and musicals, especially in the last two decades of his career.Newton, p. 30

Leno's first theatre appearance (as distinguished from music hall) was in pantomime in Liverpool in 1865, where he had a supporting part as a juvenile clown in Fortunatus; or, The Magic Wishing Cap alongside his parents, who appeared as "Mr and Mrs Leno – Comic Duettists".Anthony, p. 16 Leno earned wider theatrical notice as Dame Durden in a pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at London's Surrey Theatre in 1886, having been spotted singing "Going to Buy Milk" by the theatre's manager.Brandreth, p. 26 The piece was a success, and Leno received rave reviews; as a result, he was booked to star as Tinpanz the Tinker in the following year's pantomime, Sinbad and the Little Old Man of the Sea; or, The Tinker, the Tailor, the Soldier, the Sailor, Apothecary, Ploughboy, Gentleman Thief.Brandreth, p. 27 The Era reported that Leno "made a capital Tinker, full of drollery and grotesque business."The Era, 30 December 1887, p. 13

File:Mrs. Kelly.jpg, 1890s]]

Sinbad brought Leno to the attention of Augustus Harris, the manager of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, one of the largest London theatres, which staged elaborate pantomime spectacles every Christmas."Mr. Pitcher's Art", Obituary, The Times, 3 March 1925Anthony, p. 87 Harris offered Leno a role in the theatre's 1888 Christmas pantomime, Babes in the Wood.

[http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre_performance/features/history_of_music_halls/music_hall_stars/dan_leno/index.html "Biography of Dan Leno"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314121042/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre_performance/features/history_of_music_halls/music_hall_stars/dan_leno/index.html |date=2011-03-14 }} , Victoria and Albert Museum website, accessed 13 January 2013

One critic wrote that "'the cake' for frolicsome humour is taken by the dapper new-comer, Mr. Dan Leno, who is sketched as the galvanic baroness in the wonderfully amusing dance which sets the house in a roar. The substantial "babes", Mr. Herbert Campbell and Mr. Harry Nicholls, would have no excuse if they did not vie in drollery with the light footed Dan Leno."Penny Illustrated Paper, 5 January 1887, pp. 12–13 Babes was a triumph: the theatre reported record attendance, and the run was extended until 27 April 1889.Brandreth, p. 28 Leno went on to star in a total of 16 Christmas pantomimes at Drury Lane from 1888 to 1904.Anthony, p. 88; after Harris died in 1896, Arthur Collins became manager at Drury Lane and helped to write the pantomimes. In 15 of these, he played alongside Herbert Campbell, a veteran pantomime performer, with Leno playing predominantly dame roles.Disher, p. 56 Leno became famous for his characterisations of dame roles, and he was described as the "precursor of contemporary pantomime dames".Taylor, p. 108

Leno also performed in a few other theatre productions during his career, including burlesques and musical comedies, while continuing to perform in his own popular music hall act, in London and on tour in the British provinces.Hogg, James. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34497?docPos=1 "Leno, Dan"], Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, accessed January 2013 {{ODNBsub}} By 1902, he had become an alcoholic and had begun to decline physically and mentally; he was briefly admitted to a mental asylum in 1903 and, upon his release later that year, played in only one more production.Brandreth, pp. 85–89 Leno died the following year, aged 43."Death of Dan Leno", Western Times, 1 November 1904, p. 5

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Productions

File:Augustus Harris.jpg]]

File:Campbell and Nicholls 1888.jpg and Herbert Campbell]]

Image:1896 DanLeno-WidowTwankey.jpg, 1896]]

File:Leno, Danvers and Campbell.jpg, c. 1898, with Drury Lane co-star Herbert Campbell (bottom)]]

File:Dan Leno Dressed for the Park.jpg

File:Leno as Sister Anne 1901.jpg

File:Dan Leno as Mother Goose.jpg

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! scope="col" | Date

! scope="col" | Production

! scope="col" | Genre

! scope="col" | Role

! scope="col" | Theatre

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1865|Dec|18}}

|Fortunatus; or, The Magic Wishing Cap

|Pantomime

|Juvenile clown

|Royal Colosseum, Liverpool

|Leno's first recorded theatrical performance; he appeared in the harlequinade, while his parents, Louisa and Will, played the principal boy Fortunatus and Ursa Major Britain, respectively. His parents were billed as "Mr and Mrs Leno – Comic Duettists". The music hall comic Harry Liston was also in the cast.

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1869|Jan|18}}

| Old King Humpty; or, Harlequin Emerald Isle and Katty of Killarney

| Pantomime

| Various

|Monsters Saloon, Crampton Court, Dublin

| By Will Leno. Performed during a tour of Ireland; young Dan Leno received praise from Charles Dickens, who was in the audience and told him: "Good little man, you'll make headway!"Brandreth, p. 12

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1870|Jan|22}}

| Jack the Giant Killer; or, Harlequin Grim Gosling, or the Good Fairy Queen of the Golden Pine Grove

| Pantomime

| Jack the Giant Killer

| Rotunda Music Hall, Liverpool

| By Will Leno. The Lenos also featured in the variety entertainment that preceded the pantomime,Anthony, p. 22 which offered Dan Leno a chance to "demonstrate his all-round talents".The Era, 9 January 1870, p. 11

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1886|Dec|26}}

| Jack and the Beanstalk, which grew to the moon; or, the Giant, Jack Frost and the Ha-Ha Balloon

| Pantomime

| {{sort|Durden|Dame Durden}}

| Surrey

| By George Augustus Conquest and Henry Spry. Leno and his wife Lydia were jointly paid £20 a week.Anthony, pp. 71–72

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1887|Dec|26}}

| Sinbad and the Little Old Man of the Sea; or, The Tinker, the Tailor, the Soldier, the Sailor, Apothecary, Ploughboy, Gentleman Thief

| Pantomime

| Tinpaz

| Surrey

| By George Conquest and Henry Spry. Co-starring Leno's wife Lydia, the pantomime was the last of Conquest's performances.Anthony, p. 77

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1888|Apr|2}}

| Two Lovely Black-Eyed Susan

| Burlesque

| Susan

| Strand

| By Horace Lennard. This reworking of the F. C. Burnand burlesque, The Latest Edition of Black-Eyed Susan; or, the Little Bill that Was Taken Up, was not well received.Anthony, pp. 78–79 However, The Entr'acte called Leno's dancing "quite phenomenal".The Entr'acte, 14 April 1888, p. 6

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1888|Nov}}

| Atalanta

| Burlesque

| Leontes

| Strand

| Opened on 17 November, with Leno joining at the end of the month."Atlanta", Leeds Times, 3 November 1888, p. 6

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1888|Dec|26}}

| Babes in the Wood

| Pantomime

| Baroness

| Drury Lane

| By Augustus Harris. Co-starring E. L. Blanchard and Harry Nicholls.Anthony, p. 88

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1889|May| 9}}

| Penelope

| Comic opera

| Pitcher

| Comedy

| By George P. Hawtrey (words) and Edward Solomon (music).The piece was a musical version of the farce The Area Belle. See Anthony, p. 90

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1889|Dec|26}}

| Jack and the Beanstalk; or, Harlequin and the Midwinter Night's Dream

| Pantomime

| {{sort|Simpson|Mrs. Simpson}}

| Drury Lane

| By Augustus Harris and Harry Nicholls. Nicholls and Campbell played King and Queen.[http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/evanion/Record.aspx?EvanID=024-000004906&ImageIndex=0 "Theatre Royal, Drury Lane: Jack and the Beanstalk, 1890"], British Library Evonian Catalogue, accessed 15 January 2013Anthony, p. 91

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1890|Dec|26}}

| Beauty and the Beast

| Pantomime

| {{sort|Streete|Mr. Lombarde Streete}}

| Drury Lane

| By W. Yardley and Augustus Harris. Nicholls and Campbell both played dame roles.Bolton, p. 186

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1891|Dec|26}}

| Humpty Dumpty; or, Harlequin the Yellow Dwarf and the Fair One with the Golden Locks

| Pantomime

| Queen of Hearts

| Drury Lane

| By Harry Nicholls and Augustus Harris. Little Tich played the title role with Marie Lloyd as Princess Allfair and Fanny Leslie as King Dulcimar.Anthony, p. 114

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1892|Dec|26}}

| Little Bo-Peep, Little Red Riding Hood and Hop o' My Thumb

| Pantomime

| Daddy Thumb

| Drury Lane

| By Augustus Harris and Wilton Jones, co-starring Marie Lloyd, Little Tich, Marie Loftus and Herbert Campbell. The pantomime received negative reviews from the press for its lengthy script,Anthony, p. 115 which was of the "roughest Cockney texture".The Times, 1 April 1892, p. 3

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1893|Dec|26}}

| Robinson Crusoe

| Pantomime

| {{sort|Crusoe|Mrs. Crusoe}}

| Drury Lane

| By Augustus Harris and Harry Nicholls. The production co-starred Marie Lloyd as Polly Perkins and Little Tich as Man Friday.[http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/pantomime-origins/ "The origin of popular pantomime stories"], Victoria and Albert Museum website, accessed 10 February 2013

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1894|Dec|26}}

| Dick Whittington

| Pantomime

| Idle Jack

| Drury Lane

| By Augustus Harris, Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton. Herbert Campbell played the dame called Alice.

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1895|Dec|26}}

| Cinderella

| Pantomime

| Baroness

| Drury Lane

| By Augustus Harris, Cecil Raleigh and Arthur Sturgess. The lavish production included a carriage drawn by real horses and "the use of thousands of lights".Penny Illustrated Paper, 28 December 1895, p. 7Anthony, p. 133

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1896|Dec|26}}

| Aladdin

| Pantomime

| {{sort|Twankey|Widow Twankey}}

| Drury Lane

| By Arthur Sturgess and H. Leonard. The production was considered to be one of the weakest of the Drury Lane pantomimes, but Leno's characterisation of Widow Twankey was admired as one of his finest Dame roles.

[http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/p/dames-principal-boys-impersonators/ "Principal Boys, Dames and Animal Impersonators in Pantomime"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322223632/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/p/dames-principal-boys-impersonators/ |date=2013-03-22 }} , Victoria and Albert Museum website, accessed 11 February 2013

Ackroyd, p. 168

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1897|Dec|26}}

| {{sort|Babes in the Wood|The Babes in the Wood}}

| Pantomime

| Reggie

| Drury Lane

| By Arthur Sturgess and Arthur Collins. Herbert Campbell starred as the dame Chrissie.Anthony, p. 166

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1898|Aug|1}}

| Orlando Dando, the Volunteer

| Musical farce

| {{sort|Dando|Orlando Dando}}

| The Grand Theatre, Fulham

| By Basil Hood (words) and Walter Slaughter (music).Brandreth, p. 69; produced by the manager Milton Bode, the piece initially played in a suburban London theatre before Leno was available to play in it. See [http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2010/New%20York%20NY%20Dramatic%20Mirror/New%20York%20NY%20Dramatic%20Mirror%201897%20Dec-Oct%201898%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Dramatic%20Mirror%201897%20Dec-Oct%201898%20Grayscale%20-%201159.pdf "The Foreign Stage"], The New York Dramatic Mirror, 10 September 1898, p. 8, accessed 16 January 2013

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1898|Dec|26}}

| {{sort|Forty Thieves|The Forty Thieves}}

| Pantomime

| Abdallah

| Drury Lane

| By Arthur Sturgess and Arthur Collins. Herbert Campbell played The Fair Zuleika, and Leno's uncle, Johnny Danvers, played Ali Baba.[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/pdf/O158625/mr-dan-leno-as-the-drawing-scotson-clark-ferguson/ "Mr Dan Leno as the Captain of The Forty Thieves"], Victoria and Albert Museum website, accessed 11 February 2013

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1899|Oct|9}}

| In Gay Piccadilly!

| Musical farce

| {{sort|Honeybun|Aubrey Honeybun}}

| Theatre Royal, Glasgow

| By George R. Sims (words) and Clarence Corri (music). A provincial tour followed.Produced by the manager Milton Bode; Leno's uncle Johnny Danvers appeared in the piece. See "Amusements in Birmingham: Grand Theatre", The Era, 11 November 1899, p. 23a; Brandreth, p. 69; and "Dan Leno at The Theatre Royal", Sheffield Independent, 31 October 1899, p. 11Booth (1996), p. 203.

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1899|Dec|26}}

| Jack and the Beanstalk

| Pantomime

| {{sort|Trot|Dame Trot}}

| Drury Lane

| By Arthur Sturgess and Arthur Collins. Music by Walter Slaughter. Leno starred with Harry Nicholls, Herbert Campbell, Johnny Danvers and Charles Lauri."Jack and the Beanstalk", The Era, 2 December 1899, p. 8

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1900|Dec|26}}

| {{sort|Sleeping Beauty and the Beast|The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast}}

| Pantomime

| Queen Ravia

| Drury Lane

| By J. Hickory Wood and Arthur Collins.Booth (1976), p. 379

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1901|Dec|26}}

| Bluebeard

| Pantomime

| Sister Anne

| Drury Lane

| By J. Hickory Wood and Arthur Collins. Leno starred opposite Herbert Campbell's Bluebeard.

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1902|July|21}}

| Mr. Wix of Wickham

| Musical comedy

| {{sort|Wix|Mr. Wix}}

| Stratford Borough Theatre

| By Herbert Darnley, George Everard, Frank Seddon and Frank E. Tours. A provincial tour followed.Produced by the manager Milton Bode. Booth (1996), p. 203; the musical was revived on Broadway in 1904 with many of the songs composed or re-set with new music by the young Jerome Kern.

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1902|Dec|26}}

| Mother Goose

| Pantomime

| Mother Goose

| Drury Lane

| By J. Hickory Wood and Arthur Collins. The role was created for Leno.Zarrilli, McConaghie, Williams, p. 350

scope="row" | {{Dts|format=dmy|1903|Dec|26}}

| Humpty Dumpty

| Pantomime

| Queen Spritely

| Drury Lane

| By J. Hickory Wood and Arthur Collins."Dan Leno and Drury Lane Pantomime", Manchester Evening News, 26 November 1903, p. 4

:Note: The source for Leno's stage performances, except as otherwise noted, is Barry Anthony, The Kings Jester, pp. 215–16.

See also

References

{{reflist|25em}}

Sources

  • {{cite book| last=Ackroyd| first=Peter| year=2007| title=Dan Leno & the Limehouse Golem| location=London| publisher=Vintage Publishing| isbn=978-0-7493-9659-6| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/danlenolimehouse00ackr}}
  • {{cite book | last= Anthony| first=Barry | year=2010| title=The King's Jester| location=London | publisher=I. B. Taurus & Co| isbn=978-1-84885-430-7}}
  • {{cite book | last= Bolton | first=H. Philip | year=2000| title= Women Writers Dramatized: A Calendar of Performances from Narrative Works Published in English to 1900 | location=London | publisher=Mansell Publishing | isbn= 0-7201-2117-5}}
  • {{cite book | last= Booth | first=Michael | year=1996 | title= The Edwardian Theatre: Essays on Performance and the Stage | location=Cambridge | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn= 978-0-521-45375-2}}
  • {{cite book | last=Booth | first=Michael | year=1976 | title=English Plays of the Nineteenth Century: Pantomimes, Extravaganzas, and Burlesques, vol. 5 | location=Michigan | publisher=Clarendon Publishing | isbn=978-0-19-812519-8 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/englishplaysofni0005unse }}
  • {{cite book | last= Brandreth| first=Gyles | authorlink= Gyles Brandreth | year=1977 | title=The Funniest Man on Earth: The Story of Dan Leno| location=London | publisher=Hamish Hamilton | isbn=978-0-241-89810-9}}
  • {{cite book | last= Disher| first=M.W. | year=1942 | title=Fairs, Circuses and Music Halls| location=London | publisher=William Collins | oclc=604161468}}
  • {{cite book | last = Newton | first = H. Chance | year = 1928 | title = Idols of the Halls | location = London | publisher = Heath Cranton | asin = B00087ABNQ }}
  • {{cite book | last= Taylor | first=Millie | year=2007| title= British Pantomime Performance | location=Bristol | publisher=Intellect Books | isbn= 978-1-84150-987-7}}
  • {{cite book | last= Zarrilli| first= Philip. B |author2=Bruce A. McConachie; Gary Jay Williams Thorn (eds)| year= 2006| title= Theatre Histories: An Introduction | location=Oxford | publisher= Routledge | isbn= 978-0-415-46223-5}}

External links

  • {{IMDb name|502124|name=Dan Leno}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20060922044049/http://www.rfwilmut.clara.net/musichll/xleno.html Dan Leno profile] and recordings of "The Huntsman" (1901) and "Going To The Races" (1903)
  • [http://www.wardsbookofdays.com/20december.htm The legacy of Dan Leno at Ward's Book of Days]

Category:Pantomime

Category:Music hall

Category:Burlesque

Category:Musical theatre in the United Kingdom