Around London, in Victorian times, inexpensive minor theatres and outdoor equestrian shows provided cheap entertainment for the common people. In the popular vernacular, a venue was called a “penny gaff”, the “gaff” being the mystery to be revealed to its patrons, each of whom had paid a penny to enter.

Penny gaffs were seen in colonial Australia. Many performers – equestrians, tumblers, clowns and jugglers – received their basic training in penny gaffs before graduating to more lucrative work in an amphitheatre or a travelling circus.