BHD Creative created series of display panels as part of the Grand History of Panto exhibition at the Light House, Wolverhampton.

1. Over the decades, national treasures like Jack Tripp,
Norman Wisdom and Les Dawson have
transformed themselves into fairytale royalty on the
Grand Theatre stage. In the 1970s, there was a
dazzling array of acts from Jim Davidson and
The Barron Knights to members of the Wolves
football team and real lions! In recent years, soap
opera favourites from Neighbours and EastEnders
and classic comedy acts such as Cannon and
Ball and The Krankies have all performed at
the Grand.
This exhibition, supported by the theatre’s
Creative Learning Fund, will take you through the
vibrant and colourful history of pantomime at the
Grand. Sharing the pantomime magic of years ago
with you, today.
Grand historyPantomime has played a crucial part in the entire history of
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. For many, it is their first experience
of live theatre, a magic that stays with them forever.
A GRAND
HISTORY
OF
PANTOMIME

2. The beginning
The first pantomime to be performed
at the Grand Theatre was SINBAD
THE SAILOR, which opened on
Christmas Eve in 1894. It was the first
production to follow the D’Oyly Carte
Opera Company who had opened the
Grand earlier that month. Pantomime
was clearly a central part of audience’s
experience of the Grand. The first
panto that we have an archived
poster of is ALADDIN, staged at the
Grand in 1900.
For many people a family trip to watch the Grand’s
pantomime is an annual tradition, Gordon Hands,
Chairman of the Friends of the Grand has been to every
pantomime at the Grand since 1941; when as a four-
year-old, he saw the actor who played the Cat in
DICK WHITTINGTON perform a hair-raising stunt!
We sat on the front row of the Circle, which
I still sit in today, and I vividly remember the Cat
walking along the balustrade of the Circle and he
actually ruffled my hair! That wouldn’t go down
with Health & Safety today, but this Cat going
along the Circle- which I gather happened at
every performance- actually started in the Box,
so climbed out of the Box and round on to this
balustrade.
Whilst acquiring overnight fame,
Norman Wisdom performed in two
pantomimes at the Grand;
ROBINSON CRUSOE in 1949 and
CINDERELLA in 1951. Jane Titley
brings her grandchildren to
pantomimes at the Grand and
remembers that they seemed very
different when she came as a child
over sixty years ago:
My favourite memory of the
pantomime was when Norman Wisdom played
Billy Crusoe in ROBINSON CRUSOE and he was
absolutely brilliant… These days you usually get
one star that is known through television or film,
which wasn’t the case then, because Norman
Wisdom wasn’t well-known when I saw him in
pantomime here, it was later on that he
became well-known… he always wore ill-fitting
suits in all his parts and it was a tailor in
Wolverhampton that used to make those suits
for him.
THE
BEGINNING
OF THE
GRAND
PANTOMIME
“
”
”
“

3. DonMaclean
DON
MACLEAN
IN
PANTOMIME
A pantomime veteran, Don Maclean has performed in
two pantomimes at the Grand Theatre; his first
being GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS in
1976/7, where he played alongside Anne Aston,
taking on the role of The Helper. Julia Prior recalls when
she took her daughter Selina, who was three on
Christmas Day to watch Maclean in a performance of
GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS:
Selina really was quite a little shy girl and we
were sitting in the stalls and all of a sudden
Don Maclean comes and says ‘Is there any little
girl who’d like to come on the stage?’ and I could
not believe it when up shot this little hand and
before I knew where I was Selina was up on the
stage. When we came out of the theatre we were
given a piece of paper saying ‘If you would like a
poster, made with your daughter’s name
included in the cast list, send it in with £1 and
you can have it done and I have the poster
still today.
To follow on from his debut pantomime performance
at the Grand, Maclean returned in SNOW WHITE
AND THE SEVEN DWARFS in 2006/7 alongside
Lesley Joseph and Matt Slack.
“
”

4. JimDavidsonJIM
DAVIDSON
IN
PANTOMIME
Jim Davidson’s one and only pantomime
performance at the Grand was in 1978/9, where
he took on the role of Buttons in CINDERELLA.
He performed alongside Debbie Young, who played
the title role. During the run, patrons braved the winter
weather to ensure they were able to see this Grand
pantomime performance, as Jennifer Edwards
remembers:
One year we booked tickets, it was a terrible
night, deep snow, and we didn’t think we were
going to get here, but we did. A lot of people
didn’t come, and one of the staff asked if we
could have Cinderella’s slipper. She said later on in
the performance everyone would be told to look
under their seats for Cinderella’s slipper and
whoever had it had to go on the stage with
Jim Davidson. We already knew that we’d got
the slipper!
In recent years Davidson has returned to the Grand a
number of times to perform his own stand-up comedy
shows, during which he would often refer to his panto
runs here.
“
”

5. LindaLusardiLINDA
LUSARDI
IN SNOW WHITE
AND THE
SEVEN DWARFS
1993/4
Actress and model Linda Lusardi has graced the stage
at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in pantomime a
number of times, playing both the princess and
‘wicked’ roles. Her first pantomime at the Grand
was SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS in
1993/4 where she played the title role of Snow
White alongside Grand pantomime favourites,
The Chuckle Brothers.
Lusardi returned again in 1998/9, this time
performing the princess role of Maid Marion in
ROBIN HOOD, with another comedy duo who are no
strangers to the Grand’s stage, The Grumbleweeds.
In 2011/12 Lusardi returned to the Grand in the same
pantomime as her original performance, SNOW
WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. This time she
played the Wicked Queen alongside Sam Kane,
Niki Evans and The Grumbleweeds.

6. RobinsonCrusoe
The most famous Grand pantomime
story of all is the staging of
ROBINSON CRUSOE in 1973/4,
featuring four real lions! The director
and General Manager of the Grand,
Humphrey Stanbury explains his
directorial decision:
I thought we must have a
real jungle scene, let’s have real
wild animals, let’s have lions!
……..We had lions on stage at
the Grand – one lion and three lionesses. I always
remember the circus proprietor came to see me
in September. We stood on the empty stage and
he said “right we’ll build a couple of cages for
you and each night for your jungle scene, we’ll
put up a ring on your stage of about 12 feet high
and we’ll build a tunnel. Each night we’ll open
the trap and the lions will come down the tunnel
and straight onto your stage – perfect!” I gulped
and said “ought there to be a net over the top of
the ring?” “Well,“ he said, “Different authorities
in different town have different ideas. My advice
to you is to put a net over the top of the ring for
the first couple of performances until they settle
down.” I said “You mean when the lions settle
down?” He said “No, I mean when the
authorities settle down!
During the Boxing Day performance
in front of an audience filled
with children there was a rather
unexpected display of both
aggression and affection. Humphrey
recalls the infamous performance
that so many patrons remember
during the panto run:
For the first few
performances it was excellent.
They came out into the ring
and they reared and roared and snarled and it
couldn’t have been better… until Boxing Day
1973. One of the lionesses had come into season
– the atmosphere inside the cage was electric.
The first thing that happened was two lionesses
came down into the ring and they had a terrible
fight – they tumbled and snarled and crashed.
The cage concertinaed out of position and in their
excitement, they peed and the urine fused the
footlights… eventually the third lioness came
down into the ring, followed by the lion and
what happened then in front of an audience of
1,400 children? I think the best thing to say is
that they got engaged!
It is safe to say that the Grand has never had live lions
on stage since!
“
”
“
”
ROBINSON
CRUSOE
1973/4

7. troductiontopantoAN
INTRODUCTION
TO
PANTO
Pantomime is a long standing theatre tradition in
British culture that engages with audiences of all ages
and generations. With a theatrical history dating back
to classical theatre, pantomime has a story of its
own to tell.
AN INTRODUCTION TO PANTO, launched this year,
is the Grand Theatre’s first ever in-house produced
schools tour. It was conceived to provide an
opportunity for all children to experience the magic
of pantomime, whilst teaching them the history
behind the tradition.
The Grand’s very own pantomime dame, Ian Adams,
visited 20 local primary and middle schools along with
a cast of actors and performed to over 4,000 children!
Through an interactive workshop, live performance of
ALADDIN and a Q&A session the children had the
opportunity to learn about and experience the magic
that is pantomime.
AN INTRODUCTION TO PANTO was funded by the
Grand’s Creative Learning Fund, which relies on the
kind donations of our patrons. The fund supports
educational and community development projects,
enabling the theatre to engage with and provide
opportunities for both schools and the local
community and helping to create the next
generation of theatre-goers, to ensure a bright future
for the Grand Theatre.
Actors
Widow Twankey – Ian Adams
Aladdin – Julie Paton
Princess/Genie – Lizzie Alderson and Katie Astbury
Abanazar – John Brooking
Costume and set design by John Brooking
Script & Direction by Ian Adams

8. communitypantoThis carpet was designed and created with
contributions from over 240 people of all ages and
backgrounds within the local community. Supported by
the Creative Learning Fund, our community panto
project Come Fly With Us visited 24 local community
groups and schools, ranging from Teenage Cancer Trust
to local primary schools to Age UK. Each group received
a free textile design workshop where they experimented
with a wide range of textile design techniques to create
their own individual decorative designs based on the
theme of ALADDIN.
After the workshops these designs were joined
together to create two vibrant magical flying carpets;
one which you see displayed above, and another one
which will be displayed at the theatre during the
pantomime.
We would like to thank all of the groups and schools
that took part in the community project – there are over
270 designs in the finished magic carpets! Don’t forget
to have a look at the other magic carpet when you visit
the theatre during panto too.
Participant Groups Include:
• Age UK- Sandwell
• Highley Primary School
• Kinver High School
• Mount Pleasant Primary School
• Murray Hall Community Trust
• Options for Life
• Queen Victoria Primary School
• Rowley Regis Culster Children’s Centres
(Health for Living)
• RSPB Sandwell Valley Reserve Community Forum
• Sandwell Visually Impaired
• South Wolverhampton & Bilston Academy
• St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
• St Luke’s CE (Aided) Primary School
• Teenage Cancer Trust
• The Heantun Group
• The What Centre?
• Wednesfield High Specialist Engineering Academy
• Wolverhampton Embroiderers Guild
Workshops delivered in collaboration with
Pauline Fletcher at Heath House Studios.
Look up, and you’ll see ALADDIN’s magical flying carpet, ready to
transport you over to the Grand Theatre for your pantomime adventure!
“COME FLY
WITH US”
COMMUNITY
PANTO
PROJECT

9. During the last 10 years, pantomime has continued to
maintain its popularity both locally and nationally, which
has led to long pantomime runs and an array of
celebrities performing at the Grand, ranging from
comedians such as Julian Clary and Joe Pasquale to
actors such as Stefan Dennis, Sherrie Hewson and
Paul Nicholas.
This year is no exception with a six week run of
ALADDIN from Saturday 10 December – Sunday 22
January, starring X Factor and Popstar to Opera Star
winner Joe McElderry as Aladdin, actress and television
presenter Lisa Riley as Slave of the Ring, fabulous dame
Ian Adams as Widow Twankey, CBeebies Ben Faulks
as The Policeman, and the laziest Empress in panto-land,
internet sensation Doreen.
Aladdin2016ALADDIN
2016
With tickets selling at record speed, don’t leave booking
any longer unless you’ve got a magical Genie on hand to help you
get a ticket!

10. 1979
SINBAD THE
SAILOR
first
pantomime
performed
at the Grand
ALADDIN
earliest
panto poster
in the
archive
DICK
WHITTINGTON
ROBINSON
CRUSOE
with
Norman
Wisdom
CINDERELLA
with
Norman
Wisdom
ALADDIN ROBINSON
CRUSOE
featuring
four real
lions
JACK
AND THE
BEANSTALK
featuring
Little and
Large
GOLDILOCKS
AND THE
THREE
BEARS
with Don
Maclean
CINDERELLA
with Jim
Davidson
CINDERELLA
with Les
Dawson,
Michael
Barrymore
and the Roly
Polys
SNOW
WHITE AND
THE SEVEN
DWARFS
with the
Chuckle
Brothers and
Linda Lusardi
PETER PAN
with Joe
Pasquale,
Leslie
Grantham
and
Michaela
Strachan
DICK
WHITTINGTON
with
Lisa Riley,
Shobna
Gulati
and Jimmy
Cricket
SNOW
WHITE AND
THE SEVEN
DWARFS
with Lesley
Joseph and
Don
Maclean
SNOW
WHITE AND
THE SEVEN
DWARFS
with Linda
Lusardi and
Sam Kane
SLEEPING
BEAUTY
with Joe
Pasquale and
Ceri Dupree
ALADDIN
with Joe
McElderry and
Lisa Riley
timeline1900
1970
1894
1941
1900
1949
1951
1962
1970
ALADDIN
This pantomime brought to a close the most
successful association with an outside management
company in the history of the Grand Theatre. This was
the last Salberg pantomime at the Grand Theatre.
Leon Salberg, and after his death, Derek Salberg,
had presented all the pantomimes at the Grand
Theatre from 1936 to 1970/71 as well as
pantomimes at other leading theatres in
the country.
1973
1975
1976
1978
1979
ALADDIN
During the 1979/80 run of ALADDIN the decision was made
to close the Grand Theatre due to financial difficulties. Barry
Noakes explains how the closure of the Grand in 1980 came
as a shock to unsuspecting staff: “We’d got another week
of panto to go and we had no inkling front of house until
the dancers were coming down crying, staff were coming
down crying. It was closed at a minute’s notice. The curtain
came down on the panto and Humphrey Stanbury walked
on stage to say the theatre was now closed. It was a sad, sad
night.” The Grand re-opened on Wednesday 31st August
1983, operated by a newly formed charitable trust, with a
professional production of GREASE, ready to bring back the
pantomime magic to the theatre again with
CINDERELLA.
1983
1983
1996
2000
2006
2011
2013
2016
1983
1996
TIMELINE
OF SOME
MEMORABLE
GRAND
PANTOMIMES
2000
2006
2013
1951
1975