Welcome to the Penny Gaff
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.
Welcome to The Penny Gaff
“Penny Gaff” is a term that was once used in relation to a popular form of cheap entertainment in Victorian England. Today, we explore how the saga of circus is woven into the historical fabric of modern Australia.
Here, St Leon explores how circus in Australia today, in both its traditional and contemporary genres, is the outcome of a continuum that extends not only over some 175 years of modern Australia’s history, but also back to its London medieval and ancient roots.
Welcome
to The Penny Gaff
“Penny Gaff” is a term that was once used in relation to a popular form of cheap entertainment in Victorian England. Today, we explore how the saga of circus is woven into the historical fabric of modern Australia.
Here, St Leon explores how circus in Australia today, in both its traditional and contemporary genres, is the outcome of a continuum that extends not only over some 175 years of modern Australia’s history, but also back to its London medieval and ancient roots.
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Ida Jennie St Leon, actress, c. 1924
I recently purchased this lovely portrait of Ida Jennie St Leon, 3rd generation "St Leon", off an eBay site. [...]
An unidentified casting act, USA, c. 1910
Here is a fine postcard of an unusual “casting act” presented at some outdoor location, possibly a county fair, [...]
Latest Blog Posts
George Loyal & Ella Zuila: Pioneering Aerialists
My article “George Loyal & Ella Zuila: Pioneering Aerialists” was published in the latest edition of Bandwagon, The Journal [...]
Ida Jennie St Leon, actress, c. 1924
I recently purchased this lovely portrait of Ida Jennie St Leon, 3rd generation "St Leon", off an eBay site. [...]
An unidentified casting act, USA, c. 1910
Here is a fine postcard of an unusual “casting act” presented at some outdoor location, possibly a county fair, [...]
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