Whittington and his Cat

作者：E. L. BLANCHARD

播音：Philippa

音频：8

更新：08.mp3

进度：

WhittingtonandhisCat,orHarlequinLordMayorofLondonwasthe26thGrandComicChristmasAnnual,writtenbyE.L.BlanchardforperformanceattheTheatreRoyal,DruryLane,Londonin1875.PantomimesareafavouriteChristmasentertainmentinEngland,andinVictoriantimeswereusuallywritteninrhymingcouplets.TheyfeaturedaPrincipalBoy(playedbyagirl)andaDame(playedbyaman).Overtheyearstheybecameevermoreelaboratewithfantasticcostumes,hugecastsandspectaculartransformationscenes.Weshallhavetoleavethesetoyourimagination,dearlistener,butwehopethatourperformancewillgiveyouaflavourofVictorianpanto.ThisversionofthestoryofDickWhittingtonwasproducedfromatornandwell-usedcopyofthepantomimescript,andalongsearchonlineandinvariousBritishlibrariesfortheoriginalmusic,detailsofwhichmaybefoundhere.Thelyricsofthelastsongarethecast'scurtaincallandincludethenamesWright,VokesandCoveney,theVokesfamilyandHarrietCoveneybeingfamouscelebritiesinVictorianpantomime.DickarrivesinLondontosearchforthefabled"streetspavedwithgold"andafterbeingreunitedwithhiscatTomwhohasfollowedhim,findsthemercerMr.Fitzwarren(forwhombusinessisnotgoingwell),hislovelydaughterAliceandthefearsomeDorothytheCook.Manyhighjinksensue.