Strangely unmentioned in the exhibition is the fact that on the front row for the third night of Aladdin in 1943 was a young naval lieutenant called Prince Philip of Greece. “I have never known Lilibet more animated”, Princess Elizabeth’s then governess, Marion Crawford, observed. “There was a sparkle about her none of us [has] ever seen before”.

Among the costumes for Old Mother Red Riding Boots was a chintz shirt, trousers and sunhat, worn for a seaside scene by Princess Elizabeth (in the lead role of Lady Christina Sherwood). As interesting as any outfit on show, however, are the 16 pictures on the walls.

The Waterloo Chamber is famous for its portraits by Thomas Lawrence of key figures who had helped defeat Napoleon at Waterloo. During the Second World War, the canvases were removed for safekeeping, leaving numerous empty frames – which were duly filled by watercolours serving as decorations for the pantos. Claude Whatham, a student at Wycombe Technical Institute and School of Art, was asked to depict a colourful set of fairytale characters – and impressive they are too. They recall the Constructivist designs for avant-garde Russian theatre in the 1920s, and one can easily imagine their complementing, but never overshadowing, the action on stage.

After the War, the Lawrences were restored and the Whathams obscured. However, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the first Windsor pantomime, the former have been removed from their frames again and the latter left visible anew.

There isn’t much of this exhibition, but what there is is charming and engaging, all the more so for being staged in the same space as the original shows were eight decades ago. According to his biographer, Basil Boothroyd, Princess Elizabeth was such a funny Aladdin she had Prince Philip “rolling in the aisles”.
 

To Jan 31 2022. Entry as part of general admission ticket; rct.uk