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n its earliest form, pantomime was essentially an
iteration of Commedia dell’arte, a type of street theatre with its origins in 16th century Italy. It had set types of characters, including Arlechino (a mischievous miscreant, later known as the ‘Harlequin’), Columbine (Arlechino’s lover), Pantaloon (Columbine’s father) and a clown character. In Dublin, newspaper articles refer to pantomimes in the Theatre Royal, Smock Alley as early as 1737 and it had become an established feature of the Irish theatre repertoire by the early 1820s. It was adopted and localised for an Irish audience over this time with pantomime dames such as the Window Twankey being introduced alongside with local jokes and mythology. An 1855 review in The Freeman’s Journal of a pantomime in the Queen’s Theatre on Pearse Street which was originally the Adelphi had the following to say: “The Pantomime… at this favourite little theatre continues to attract crowded audiences every evening. The dramatic entertainments are varied and amusing, and the pantomime display goes off each night with increased smoothness and effect. The costumes and scenery are really most creditable to the good taste of the designers and the entertainments may be said fairly to deserve the support they have received from the public.” By the 1870s, the Harlequinade saw a decline, and pantomime stories as we know them, based on fairy tales, began to emerge. Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Aladdin and Robinson Crusoe were popular stories adapted for a new genre of pantomime. Gender switching also became a regular feature of Victorian panto. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Irish theatres could no longer rely on the theatres of London to supply pantomimes. However, many homegrown productions flourished. The Gaiety pantos, which started in 1874, continued throughout the war including a 1939 production of Jimmy and the Leprechaun. The mid-1940s saw the development of the Abbey’s Irish language pantomimes, many directed by Frank Dermody, which ran for 21 years until the mid-1960s. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the iconic figures of the scene included Noel Purcell, Jimmy O’Dea and Ursula Doyle, Jack Cruise and Vernon Hayden, while the 1970s saw Maureen Potter reach her heyday. In this same decade, The Billie Barry kids emerged – another panto stalwart to this day. During the 1980s and 1990s, Twink and June Rodgers performed in rival pantos in the Olympia and Gaiety while Dustin the Turkey also emerged as a subversive presence on stage. Alan Hughes started his long-running stint in the Tivoli up until its demolition and has established a ‘Pantodome’ in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham this winter. Pantomime still flourishes in the city and here is a selection of posters and faces associated with it down through the years. MAUREEN POTTER Maureen Potter and Jimmy O’Dea Maureen Potter enjoyed a career spanning 70 years in the entertainment business, performing not only in pantomimes but also in variety shows, television, cinema and straight theatre. Born in 1925, she toured Europe with Jack Hylton’s band in the 1930s as a Shirley Temple impersonator, billed as the Pocket Mimic. in 1938, she performed in front of Adolf Hitler. He was so impressed with her that he sent her a handwritten note, which was promptly mined by her mother. At the age of ten, she performed in one of Jimmy O’Dea’s pantomimes performing a sketch mimicking the Lord Mayor of Dublin Alfie Byrne. After O’Dea’s death in 1965, Potter took the lead in the Gaiety pantos and become known as the Queen of Pantomime in Dublin where she performed until 1987. She became the first star to place their handprints outside the theatre in 2001. 24