This Danish stamp issue of 16.5.1974 depicts the delightful
Pantomime Theatre in the Tivoli Garden’s in Copenhagen.
The Pantomime Theatre (Danish: Pantomimeteateret) is
an open-air theatre located in the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. As
indicated by the name, it is primarily used for pantomime theatre in the
classical Italian commedia dell'arte tradition which is performed daily.
Besides this original function, the theatre leads a second life as a venue for ballet
and modern dance.
The
Pantomime Theatre is Tivoli's open-air silent stage (as depicted on the stamp).
Every night, the Chinese Peacock Theatre presents a drama without words of the
romantic love between Columbine and Harle-quin, with the foolish clown Pierrot
as the eter-nal guardian of Columbine's virtue.
The pantomime came to
Denmark from Italy in 1800 at a time when it was popular and widely performed
all over Europe. Naturally, Tivoli also wished to introduce this attractive
entertainment, and it has been a tradition in Tivoli since 1844.
As in silent movies, the humour is
slapstick: blows and falls, silly mistakes and cunning rudeness. This is
combined with graceful steps and a special sign language, which replaces
dia-logue in Tivoli's pantomimes.
Many of the plays
performed today are several hundred years old and date from the time when
travelling troupes of actors toured Europe. Today, the Pantomime Theatre
operates only in the summer season and for the rest of the year a majority of
the performers are employed at the Royal Ballet.
Thank you Maria.
No comments:
Post a Comment