Description: 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
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.
“ 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.