“Teaching the Illegitimate: A London Street Scene and Other Stratagems.”

Jane Moody’s inspirational and groundbreaking study Illegitimate Theatre in London (2000) offers the entry point for this exploration of approaches to teaching students about illegitimate theatre during the Romantic period. John Orlando Parry’s watercolor painting known as _A London Street Scene_ or _The Poster Man_ (1835) offers an illuminating case study. As an enthralling product of late Romantic-era visual culture, it typifies its illegitimate affiliation in the palimpsest-like quality of the countless playbills advertising theatrical spectacles, pantomimes, and performances of all sorts. As such, it is a rewarding teaching tool, which encourages students to access and experience the multifarious, wildly imaginative world of illegitimate theatrical culture.