2013 Mother Goose

MotherGoose - Mother GooseDirected by Mark Miller

Mother Goose Program pdf
The story of Mother Goose is possibly the oldest story to be turned in to a pantomime. It dates back to an ancient Greek legend about a goose that laid golden eggs.  It is also one of the earliest pantomimes seen in Great Britain, over two hundred years ago.

Mother Goose the pantomime can be confusing.  People know about the “Tales of Mother Goose” and “Mother Goose’s nursery rhymes”.  However the pantomime is about the Dame, Mother Goose herself and not the Goose, which is usually called Priscilla.

Mother Goose - Priscilla lays a golden eggThe story first appeared in 1806, as an early pantomime called “Harlequin and Mother Goose, or The Golden Egg”.  It opened on Boxing Day and played for 92 days, making it the most successful pantomime to date.

The pantomime of “Mother Goose” as we know it today is not as old.  In 1902 the writer J. Hickory Wood created a new pantomime especially for the leading comedian of the day, Dan Leno.  When the pantomime was finished it told the story that we know today and created the biggest part for a Dame in any pantomime.

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