''The Forty Thieves'' is a "

Pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

Burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

Robert Reece Robert Reece (2 May 1838 – 8 July 1891) was a British comic playwright and librettist active in the Victorian era. He wrote many successful musical burlesques, comic operas, farces and adaptations from the French, including the English-lang ...

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

F. C. Burnand Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''. The son of ...

and

Henry J. Byron Henry James Byron (8 January 1835 – 11 April 1884) was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor. After an abortive start at a medical career, Byron struggled as a provincial ...

, created in 1878 as a charity benefit, produced by the Beefsteak Club of London. The Beefsteak Club still meets in Irving Street, London. It was founded by actor

John Lawrence Toole John Lawrence (J. L.) Toole (12 March 1830 – 30 July 1906) was an English comic actor, actor-manager and theatrical producer. He was famous for his roles in farce and in serio-comic melodramas, in a career that spanned more than four decades, ...

and others in 1876, in rooms above the Folly Theatre, King William IV Street. It became an essential after theatre club for the bohemian theatre set, such as

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

, Toole, John Hare, W. H. Kendal,

Henry Labouchère Henry Du Pré Labouchère (9 November 1831 – 15 January 1912) was an English politician, writer, publisher and theatre owner in the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian eras. He is now most remembered for the Labouchere Amendment, Labouchè ...

and two hundred of their peers. It soon moved to Green Street. The Club occasionally performed amateur plays for their own amusement and to raise funds for charities. The story of ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' was a popular subject for pantomime. This entertainment was first produced at the Gaiety Theatre by its proprietor,

John Hollingshead John Hollingshead (9 September 1827 – 9 October 1904) was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. After a journalism career, Hollingshead managed the Alhambra Theatre and was later th ...

(also a member of the Club), as the Wednesday matinee on 13 February 1878.Hollingshead, John. ''Good Old Gaiety: An Historiette & Remembrance'', pp. 39–41 (1903) London: Gaity Theatre Co Robert Soutar (

Nellie Farren Ellen "Nellie" Farren (16 April 1848 – 29 April 1904) was an English actress and singer best known for her roles as the "principal boy" in musical burlesques at the Gaiety Theatre. Born into a theatrical family, Farren began acting as a ch ...

's husband) acted as director/stage manager, with

John D'Auban Frederick John D'Auban (1842 – 15 April 1922) was an English dancer, choreographer and actor of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Famous during his lifetime as the ballet-master at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, he is best remembered as the c ...

choreographing the

Harlequinade ''Harlequinade'' is a British comic theatrical genre, defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts". It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th cent ...

that was played at the end of the pantomime.

Meyer Lutz Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and burlesques of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age of 19, Lutz started as ...

conducted the music. Hollingshead secured the services of the professional female actors, the male amateur actors, the distinguished writers, Hollingshead later remembered, " e gem of the performance was the grimly earnest and determined Harlequin of W. S. Gilbert. It gave me an idea of what

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

would have made of the character." Proceeds from the first performance of the piece were 700 pounds sterling, owing to a sell-out charity crowd paying enhanced prices. The Prince and Princess of Wales and many other dignitaries attended. Most of the proceeds were given to the Royal General Theatrical Fund and some to hospitals. The entertainment was presented again, with similar success, at Brighton on 9 March 1878 and again at the Gaiety on 10 April, to benefit wives and children of seamen killed in the sinking of .Stedman, p. 156

Roles and cast

The male cast members were amateur actors who were members of The Beefsteak Club. The female cast members were professional actresses. *Ali Baba (''a Woodcutter'') – Captain Arthur Gooch *Ganem (''his Son'') – W. F. Quintin (Quintin Twiss) *Cassim (''his Brother'') – Algernon Bastard *Hassarac (''Captain of the Forty Thieves'') – Joseph Maclean (the only male non-member of the Beefsteak Club) *Abdallah (''his Lieutenant'') – Mr. Colnaghi (

Helen Barry Helen Barry (born Elizabeth Short, 5 January 1840 – 20 July 1904) was an English actress. She began her acting career at age 32 after her first marriage dissolved. She performed leading roles in West End theatres in the 1870s in comedy, dram ...

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...

) *Mesrour – F. H. McCalmont *Gentlemen of "The Forty" (''The Deserving Hanging Committee''): (portrayed by:)

William Yardley William Yardley (1632 – 6 May 1693) was an early settler of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is the namesake of the borough of Yardley, Pennsylvania. As a persecuted Quaker minister, Yardley and his wife, Jane ( nee Heath) moved from Ranscloug ...

Leslie Ward Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (21 November 1851 – 15 May 1922) was a British portrait artist and caricaturist who over four decades painted 1,325 portraits which were regularly published by '' Vanity Fair'', under the pseudonyms "Spy" and "Drawl". ...

, Gilbert Farquhar, Hon. F. Parker, W. Higgins, Major Rolls, Archibald Stuart-Wortley, E. Darell, J. Westropp, J. Cumming, C. Ringrose, C. Daly, Hugh Drummond, J. Graham, Cecil Chapman, A. B. Cook, Benson, Amphlett and Hon. C. Vivian *Morgiana –

Lydia Thompson Lydia Thompson (born Eliza Thompson; 19 February 1838 – 17 November 1908), was an English dancer, comedian, actor and theatrical producer. From 1852, as a teenager, she danced and performed in pantomimes, in the UK and then in Europe and soo ...

*Cogia –

Eleanor Bufton Eleanor Bufton (2 June 1842 – 9 April 1893) was a Welsh actress of the Victorian era. She began acting in her teens and spent most of her career in London, playing in Shakespeare, Victorian burlesque, and a range of drama and comedy roles. ...

*The Good Fairy –

Lucy Buckstone Lucy Isabella Buckstone (September 1857 – 17 March 1893) was an English actress born to a noted British stage family. She was perhaps best remembered for her portrayals of Annette in the Leopold David Lewis drama '' The Bells'', and Lucy Ormond ...

*Twenty young ladies from the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

;Characters in The Harlequinade *Clown – William Gerald Elliot *Pantaloon – Thomas Knox Holmes *Columbine – Mdlle. Rosa *Harlequin –

*Swell – Lord De Clifford *Tailor – W. F. Quinton *Butterman – C. Ringrose *Baker – L. Ward *Sweep – W. Higgins *Waiter – J. Westropp *Ung Mossoo – Algernon Bastard *Policeman – Captain H. E. Colvile *Artist –

*Bricklayer – J. Graham *Butcher – C. Chapman *A Gent – A. B. Cook *Old Woman – F. H. McCalmont

Synopsis

;Ali Baba *Scene 1. Written by

– Exterior of Ali Baba's House *Scene 2. Written by

– The Wood *Scene 3. Written by

– Interior of Ali Baba's House *Scene 4. Written by

H. J. Byron Henry James Byron (8 January 1835 – 11 April 1884) was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor. After an abortive start at a medical career, Byron struggled as a provincial ...

– The Cave ;The Transformation ;The Harlequinade *Scene 1. A Quiet Street *Scene 2. An Equally Quiet Bedroom

Notes

References

*Elliot, William Gerald
"The Amateur Pantomime of 1878", ''Amateur Clubs and Actors'', Chapter VI, pp. 107–31
(1898) London: E. Arnold * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forty Thieves, The Works by W. S. Gilbert Works based on Ali Baba 1878 plays