Penny gaff
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A penny gaff was a form of popular entertainment for the lower classes in 19th-century
Clowning, dancing, singing and plays were all featured in the penny gaffs. Easy to perform, well-known to the audience, and with simple exciting stories, the deeds of famous highwaymen, robbers and murderers, such as those featured in The Newgate Calendar were popular subjects for the plays. The stories of the 18th-century robber Jack Sheppard, who escaped from prison on numerous occasions, and the gory Red Barn Murder were among the most enduring. Mangled versions of William Shakespeare's plays were also regularly performed. The time constraints meant the stories would often become unrecognisable, with the final act performed in a flurry of activity. If the owner called time, the play would have to be concluded regardless of what point in the script the actors had reached.[1] Joseph Merrick, the so-called Elephant Man, was exhibited at penny gaffs.
As the gaffs became more popular, larger, more spacious venues opened to accommodate them. The
Etymology
The name penny gaff derived from the entrance fee, which was normally one
See also
References
- ^ Mancroff & Trela 1996, pp. 99–100
- ^ Bratton & Featherstone 2006, p. 73
- ^ Shaftesbury 2004, p. 319
- ^ Mancroff & Trela 1996, p. xiii
Sources
- Bratton, Jacky; Featherstone, Ann (2006). The Victorian Clown. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 288. ISBN 0-521-81666-1.
- Mancroff, Debra N.; Trela, D. J., eds. (1996). Victorian urban settings : essays on the nineteenth-century city and its contexts. Garland Science. ISBN 0-8153-1949-5.
- Picard, Liza (2007). Victorian London: The Tale of a City 1840–1870. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-36659-0. See Chapter 16.
- Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of (2004). Speeches of the Earl of Shaftesbury Upon Subjects Having Relation Chiefly to the Claims and Interests of the Laboring Class. Kessinger Publishing Co. ISBN 1-4179-1228-6.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Springhall, John (2006). Youth, Popular Culture and Moral Panics: Penny Gaffs to Gangsta Rap, 1830–1996. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-21395-6.