Digital Transgender Archive

Dan Leno as "Mother Goose" performing at Drury Lane. Process print after Bassano, 1902.

Mother Goose, act II. Dan Leno as Mother Goose. Photo Bassano

Part of James Gardiner Collection: photograph album labelled ‘Drag’.

Dan Leno in drag, wearing a flowery skirt, a bonnet and make-up. Before his tragically early death from alcoholism and undiagnosed mental problems at the age of forty-three in 1903, Dan Leno had become the best loved and most highly paid comic actor in the world. His part in the development of the pantomime as known today cannot be underestimated. From 1888, under the aegis of Augustus Harris at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, the Christmas season show became a highlight of London's theatrical and Society year. These productions showcased the comic genius of Dan Leno who performed a variety of roles, including Dames unrivalled in their humour and pathos. The present item shows him as Mother Goose, a role he reprised many times (James Gardiner)