We have recently added a new category to our Film Archives – General History. We look forward to continuing to build this out and sharing it with you all.

The Shocking truth of Victorian Entertainment (Cheap and Nasty Penny Gaff Theatres in 1800s London)

“How rude and filthy was Victorian entertainment? At a London Penny Gaff theatre the entrance fee was cheap, and so were the shows. In the 1800s all kinds of vulgar dancing and comic acts could be watched at one of these East End London theatres for just a penny. The language wasn’t only filthy, but it was positively encouraged by an audience that, believe it or not, consisted mostly of working class children and teenagers. Find out what the ‘entertainment’ was like at one of these East End theatres, in a genuine account of a visit made by a Victorian journalist in the 1840s.”