The penny gaff, by Gustave Doré in 1872.Penny gaff frequenters, by Gustave Doré.
A penny gaff was a form of popular entertainment for the lower classes in 19th-century England. It consisted of short, theatrical entertainments which could be staged wherever space permitted, such as the back room of a public house or small hall. Unsophisticated, the props and scenery rarely consisted of more than a stage and a piano. The lessee of the venue would often stand by the stage, calling out when each act should finish in an attempt to maximise the evening's revenue.
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 Rotunda in Blackfriars Road, the largest venue in London, could seat 1,000 people and at its peak exhibited shows lasting between an hour and two and a half hours. For the more discerning patron, it offered better seating at the price of tuppence or threepence.[2]
The established penny gaff theatres were feared as breeding grounds for criminals by the Victorian moral reformers, as, in the words of one city missionary: "no respectable person goes, so they have it all their own way, and corrupt the minds of youth without rebuke".[3]
A pennygaff was a form of popular entertainment for the lower classes in 19th-century England. It consisted of short, theatrical entertainments which...
such as utility poles A character in the Blade Runner film franchise Pennygaff, a 19th-century English variety show A magician's trick prop, such as...
touring the East Midlands, Merrick travelled to London to be exhibited in a pennygaff shop rented by showman Tom Norman. The shop was visited by surgeon Frederick...
returned to being a butcher, and, one day, viewed the "novelties" at a pennygaff next to his place of employment in Islington. There, Mlle Electra, "The...
tradition of the pennygaff and "singing saloon". Writing in the mid-1860s, Thomas Wright as itinerant social observer found penny readings "exceedingly...
who agreed to exhibit him as the "Elephant Man". While on display in a pennygaff shop in London, Merrick met a surgeon named Frederick Treves who invited...
Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 continued until 1968. Legitimate theatre Pennygaff Theatre Royal Symons, David (2006). "A Pass for the Birmingham Theatre...
and performances. The 1912 fair, for example, featured a traditional pennygaff as well as short melodramas. The Glasgow Fair also served to introduce...
appearance and reluctant to display him, nonetheless exhibited him at his pennygaff shop at 123 Whitechapel Road, directly across the road from the London...
Harlequin Players. Smith agrees to meet Charlotte that night at a nearby pennygaff at the Fighting Cocks Inn where the Harlequin Players are due to perform...
29, 2010. Springhall, John. Youth, Popular Culture and Moral Panics: PennyGaffs to Gangsta-Rap, 1830–1996. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. Spiegelman...
Archived from the original (television broadcast) on 13 October 2007. The PennyGaff website on history of circus and travelling show people with a focus on...
story of Jack Sheppard and other highwaymen, thieves and murderers, for pennygaffs, cheap plays performed in the back rooms of public houses. James Catnach...
form Team Brown Flowers and was eliminated in the second episode "RuPaul's Gaff-In." "Responsitrannity," the runway theme song for All Stars, was inspired...
Maximilian Fleischmann, immigrants from Austria-Hungary, and James Gaff of Cincinnati, founded Gaff, Fleischmann & Co. at Riverside, Ohio. Their first great forward...
This Morning with Richard Not Judy. Murray's Pub Landlord theatre show, My Gaff, My Rules was short-listed for an Olivier Award in 2002. The Pub Landlord...
Doyle Rawhide – episode – "Incident of the Devil and His Due" (1960) as Gaff Straightaway – episode – "The Tin Caesar" (1961) as Sheriff Bardeen Death...
sending Mimi and Pandora home first. In episode 2, team Shad survived the "gaff-in" challenge, followed by the team winning all three of the final challenges...
Robin Nahas 2009: Jamie MacMillan, Sam Shaw, Ben Sinclair 2010: Andrew Gaff, Patrick Karnezis, Ryan Lester, Sam Crocker, Viv Michie, Alex Browne, Alex...
Stewart's manager, Billy Gaff, after parting ways with DeFries and was signed onto the small Riva Records label. At Gaff's request, Mellencamp moved...
was exhibited at Gallery 1526. Two photos that featured her genitals and gaff were covered up after complaints. Later, the censorship controversy caught...
Aylmer (1930). The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Clarendon Press. Gaffal, Margit; Padilla Gálvez, Jesús (2014). Dynamics of Rational Negotiation:...
all fudge packer homosexual. (mildly derogatory) fuzz (the) The police. gaff House or flat. gaffer Boss, foreman or employer. gander Usually preceded...
included on the complete series DVD (but not iTunes). Parodies include gaffs on The Patriot, Harry Potter, Mission: Impossible 2, X-Men, Pearl Harbor...
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