Giles Ramsay on Pantomime: A Very British Feast
The next lecture to be presented by The Arts Society Ealing
A colour lithograph book cover, 1890, showing harlequinade characters
November 12, 2024
In a seasonally appropriate offering, the next lecture in the series presented by The Arts Society Ealing will be on the subject of pantomime.
The talk by Giles Ramsay, titled Pantomime: A Very British Feast, will be given at 7:30pm on Monday 25 November at Barnabas Church Hall, Pitshanger Lane, Ealing (W5 1QG).
He aims to show how, with roots going back two millennia, the format mixes the earliest Greek and Roman drama with commedia dell'arte and medieval morality plays, then stirs in a sprig of C17th masque, a dash of C18th harlequinade and a hefty shot of Victorian music hall and, hey presto, you have the modern Christmas pantomime.
Giles Ramsay is an independent theatre director and producer who specialises in creating new work with artists in developing countries. He is the Founding Director of the charity Developing Artists, a Fellow of St. Chad’s College, Durham University and is a Course Leader in Theatre at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has run theatre projects in Botswana, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Kosovo, Palestine, Mexico, Thailand and Zimbabwe. He has given numerous talks for institutions ranging from The Foundation for Mexican Literature in Mexico City to The Royal College of Physicians in London. He regularly lectures on the history and practice of theatre on the Queen Mary 2.
Visitors are welcome to attend at £8 per lecture (£3 for students); payment can be made in cash or by card on the evening.
The Arts Society Ealing belongs to the large umbrella organisation, The Arts Society, previously known as the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS), which was founded in 1968. The local Society has a membership of around 140.
The Arts Society Ealing holds 10 lectures a year and more information can be found by visiting its web site.
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