Editing Harlequin (section)

==English harlequinade and pantomime==
The Harlequin character came to England early in the 17th century and took center stage in the derived genre of the [[Harlequinade]], developed in the early 18th century by the Lincoln's Fields Theatre's actor-manager [[John Rich (producer)|John Rich]], who played the role under the name of Lun.<ref name=SenelickHarlequin/> He developed the character of Harlequin into a mischievous magician who was easily able to evade Pantaloon and his servants to woo [[Columbina|Columbine]]. Harlequin used his magic batte or "slapstick" to transform the scene from the pantomime into the harlequinade and to magically change the settings to various locations during the chase scene.<ref>[[David Mayer (historian)|Mayer, David]]. [http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t177.e2999 "Pantomime, British"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521075433/https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198601746.001.0001/acref-9780198601746 |date=21 May 2024 }}, ''Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance'', Oxford University Press, 2003, accessed 21 October 2011 {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>Dircks, Phyllis T. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/printable/23486 "Rich, John (1692–1761)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, May 2011, accessed 21 October 2011</ref> As the Harlequinade portion of English [[pantomime]] developed, Harlequin was routinely paired with the character [[Harlequinade#Clown|Clown]].

Two developments in 1800, both involving [[Joseph Grimaldi]], greatly changed the pantomime characters.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Harlequin in His Element|last=Mayer III|first=David|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1969|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=3}}</ref> Grimaldi starred as Clown in [[Charles Dibdin the younger|Charles Dibdin's]] 1800 pantomime, ''Peter Wilkins: or Harlequin in the Flying World'' at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]].<ref>Neville, pp. 6–7</ref><ref name=Wilkins>McConnell Stott, pp. 95–100</ref> For this elaborate production, Dibdin and Grimaldi introduced new costume designs. Clown's costume was "garishly colourful ... patterned with large diamonds and circles, and fringed with tassels and ruffs", instead of the tatty servant's outfit that had been used for a century. The production was a hit, and the new costume design was copied by others in London.<ref name=Wilkins/> Later the same year, at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]], in ''Harlequin Amulet; or, The Magick of Mona.'' Harlequin was modified to become "romantic and mercurial, instead of mischievous", leaving Grimaldi's mischievous and brutish Clown as the "undisputed agent" of chaos, and the foil for the more sophisticated Harlequin, who retained and developed stylized dance poses during the 19th century.<ref>McConnell Stott, p. 109</ref> The most influential pair playing Harlequin and Clown in [[Victorian era|Victorian England]] were the [[Payne Brothers]], active during the 1860s and 1870s,<ref>{{cite book|last=Rees|first=Terence|year=1964|title=Thespis – A Gilbert & Sullivan Enigma|location=London|publisher=Dillon's University Bookshop|oclc= 650490931 |page= 16 }}</ref> who contributed to the development of 20th-century "slapstick" comedy.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}