I've been scouring Leeds Libraries' collection of historical theatre playbills for mention of Chinese performers and culture. So far, I've concentrated on the 19th and early 20th century - from the stage's earliest melodramas, through the knockabout era of Victorian music hall, into the heyday of local pantomime. There's loads more research needed to find out how authentic these productions could claim to be (and I'm new to the subject) but it's a hugely interesting topic, characterised by a mixture of stock stereotypes and genuine curiosity about the world beyond Yorkshire. View the original playbills at: www.leodis.net/playbills
1821 production of Aladdin, a 'Grand Melo-Dramatic Romance in Three Acts', at the Leeds Theatre, Hunslet Lane.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=200363_13261050
The earliest known production of Aladdin in Leeds (in 1821) emphasised its Arabian Nights origin and possibly middle-eastern setting. By 1826, however, it had become a mashup of Chinese and Turkish settings.
1826's Aladdin at the Hunslet Lane Theatre - now a 'Grand Oriental' romance.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=200358_71783084
A 'striking Representation of the Chinese mode of Defence & Attack' given by Monsieur Decour at the Theatre in Leeds in 1830.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=2003319_60020083
The 1830s saw Chinese processions and martial arts as grand spectacle on stage and in the circus ring.
Ryan's Circus, which visited Leeds in 1832, included a Grand Chinese Procession 'which is got up at great Expense, in New Splendid Dresses for the Horsemen, and Superb Trappings to a number of the most beautiful and valuable Horses in the Kingdom'.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=200344_7116335
Chinese entertainments at the Victoria Hall in 1862, including 'the Great Impalement of the Human Body to a Board, with Huge Knives'.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=20031015_51374453
During Victorian times, gruesome and nail-biting acts 'direct from China' took centre stage in Leeds, but a certain reverence was shown for the country's Emperor.
Chinese entertainments at the Victoria Hall in 1832, performed by Arr Hee, Samung and Ching Fong.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=20031015_51374453
At the Saloon of Arts on Briggate, waxwork figures of the Emperor of China and 'his favourite lady'.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=20031014_2843874
American explorer Dr. Cady exhibited 'Chinese implements of torture' at Unzie's Palace of Living Novelties in the Tiger Buildings, Kirkgate.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=20031015_15453738
Feats of strength performed by Ching Lau Lauro at the Hunslet Lane Theatre in 1834 included dancing a hornpipe on his head.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=2003618_21752566
In reality, the 'Chinese' magician Ching Lau Lauro is thought to have been from Cornwall. His show, performed in Leeds in 1834, mixed magic tricks and acrobatics, in the persona of a Chinese 'buffo' (the name usually given to the comic character in Italian opera).
One of Ching Lau Lauro's tricks involved 'Sitting in the air upon nothing, At the same time Playing with the Golden Balls, &c.'
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=2003618_51241702
The 'Grand comic Christmas pantomime' of Aladdin was performed at the Theatre Royal in the 1890s.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=200342_58929080
The golden age of Leeds panto in the late 18th/early 19th centuries saw productions that mixed extremely elaborate sets and costumes with bawdy humour and copious local in-jokes. The comedic tone extended to making fun of other cultures, including the Chinese in this version of Aladdin (the script of which is held by Local and Family History at Leeds Central Library).
Characters included magicians, princesses, slaves and fishermen, with an emphasis on silly names. Scenes took place in willow groves, palaces, temples and tea gardens.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=200342_58929080
The 1908 production of A Chinese Honeymoon took place at the Grand Theatre. The comic story concerned English couples arrested for kissing while on honeymoon in China.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=20031112_73608035
Modern China was seen as an exotic and humorous setting for light musicals performed in Leeds in the early 20th century. English characters would find themselves encountering cultural misunderstandings, pretty girls and stern authority figures.
At the Grand Theatre in 1907, a Chinese comic opera with characters called 'Silky-Lips' and 'Forbidden Fruit'.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=2003225_81811160
A 'Musical Farcical Comedy' performed at the Queen's Theatre and Palace of Varieties, Holbeck, in 1913.
http://www.leodis.net/playbills/item.asp?ri=200343_99468631