Explore the history of pantomime in Wolverhampton at the Light House - with video
A new exhibition is offering an Aladdin's cave of treasures as it looks back at the history of pantomime in Wolverhampton.
The Light House, in Fryer Street, is holding an exhibition called A Grand History of Panto.
The display boasts an array of artefacts showing how pantomime first took to the stage at The Grand Theatre.
The exhibition, which runs until January 22, coincides with this year's pantomime, Aladdin, which features X Factor winner Joe McElderry in the title role.
See the video here:
The Grand Theatre, on Lichfield Street, has a colourful pantomime history. The first panto staged there was Sinbad The Sailor which opened on Christmas Eve 1894, just two weeks after the theatre itself opened.
Since then it has hosted a wealth of star names including John Inman, Linda Lusardi, The Grumbleweeds, The Krankies, Su Pollard, Frank Bruno, Christopher Biggins, Paul Zerdin, Joe Pasquale, Julian Clary and the Chuckle Brothers.
The exhibition is also home to a patchwork magic carpet which forms its focal point. The carpet was pieced together as part of a community project overseen by the theatre's head of creative learning and education Claudia Gilmour.
A total of 24 community groups and schools participated. This ranged from members of Teenage Cancer Trust to local primary schools to Age UK.
The groups experimented with a wide range of textile techniques to create their own individual Aladdin-themed decorative textile designs for a piece of the quilted carpet. One of the completed carpets now hangs in the exhibition. The two carpets feature more than 270 individual pieces which have been sewn together. The second carpet is being displayed at the Grand Theatre during the Aladdin pantomime run to January 22.
Claudia said: "The exhibition is a wonderful showcase for one of our magical flying carpets."
