Scherrikar Bell:
Roll up, roll up!
Scherrikar Bell:
Come and see the greatest equestrian performer and circus owner of Victorian Britain.
Pablo Fanque:
Pablo Fanque.
Crowd:
[APPLAUSE]
Scherrikar Bell:
This great showman astounded the Victorians and even inspired a song by the Beatles. Pablo's travelling circus was amongst the most famous of the Victorian age. His shows pulled people to packed out performances for the best part of 30 years. The circus was a popular and accessible form of entertainment for Victorian people.
Pablo Fanque:
The tent will stay in this town for weeks.
Scherrikar Bell:
And because of the popularity of Fanque…
Scherrikar Bell:
… people would flock to see the show. Pablo worked with a lot of different performers to put his acts together. And a lot of his most popular moves are now considered circus classics.
Pablo Fanque:
Acrobatics from the high wires and swings in the top of the top of the big tent. Balancing at great heights on narrow beams. Gymnastics, flips and jumps from the ground. Juggling anything and everything. Jumping through rings of fire. Trampolines and springboard jumping.
Scherrikar Bell:
Pablo trained for years under various tutors to improve his skills. All this practice made him a great performer and Pablo's personal favourite type of performance?
Pablo Fanque:
Horsemanship.
Scherrikar Bell:
Pablo loved his horses. He used to raise and train his own horses and owned up to thirty at a time.
Scherrikar Bell:
He even bought a horse from Queen Victoria's own stables. Pablo's signature trick was to jump from horseback through a big drum balanced on the top of a horse's carriage. He also used to…
Pablo Fanque:
Ride through town with 12 horses at once.
Crowd:
[APPLAUSE]
Scherrikar Bell:
Pablo trained his horses to do something special.
Pablo Fanque:
Something that no other horses can do.
Scherrikar Bell:
He trained them to dance to music. Now, it might sound like something a lot of people could do but as ever, Pablo did it better. Instead of training the horses to move and telling the musicians to keep up, he trained the horses to keep up with the musicians.
Pablo Fanque:
The whole performance is seamless.
Scherrikar Bell:
Pablo knew how music worked. The key was in the time signature. Time signatures dictate the way that the beats in the music are organised. For example, most music these days uses a 4/4 time signature. Some music uses a 3/4 time signature and so you can count along, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. Music with a 3/4 time signature is called a waltz and waltzes were really popular in Victorian times. And it wasn't just the Victorians that Pablo impressed. John Lennon from The Beatles was in an antique store one day when he saw an old poster for one of Pablo's circus performances. The poster inspired him to write, "Being for the benefit of Mr Kite." and the lyrics specifically mention our mate Pablo. The song even talks about a horse dancing the waltz. Pablo's posters inspired The Beatles to write the song and in the Victorian times, they inspired people to go and see the show. They are an early example of advertising and they used language in the same way that advertising does today. Some of the language is there just to get the reader excited about what's on offer like…
Pablo Fanque:
Grandest night of the season! This production will be one of the most splendid ever produced in this town.
Scherrikar Bell:
The lucky things. Some of the language gives information.
Pablo Fanque:
Last night but three on Tuesday evening February 14th 1843, trampoline leaps and somersaults!
Scherrikar Bell:
Oh, a lovely valentine's treat for a Victorian couple. Advertisers use the same techniques today to get audiences excited about a new product. Pablo used advertising to drive success making sure that people knew he was in town, where to go and what time to get there. But Pablo wasn't just a successful businessman, he was charitable as well, often giving all of the money he made from his shows to people less fortunate than him like the show he did for the benefit of Mr Kite. Part of what made Pablo's success so outstanding wasn't just that he was known up and down the country before mobile phones were invented, it's that he was successful at a time when ethnic minorities were mistreated, maligned and often excluded from society altogether. Yet in 1905 many years after Fanque's death, the chaplain of the Showman's Guild wrote…
Pablo Fanque:
In the great brotherhood of the equestrian world there is no colour line.
Scherrikar Bell:
Everyone loves a show from a skilled performer. It doesn't matter where that performer is from or what they look like and that was a big lesson from the Victorians. Pablo Fanque: was a horse riding, tight rope walking, people pleasing, nation touring, outstanding showman and performer whose skills were so impressive that even The Beatles wanted to write a song about him. And that's why he is the greatest Victorian showman.
Roll up, roll up! Come and see the greatest Victorian showman, Pablo Fanque.
Pablo Fanque was an inspirational performer who’s daring stunts, expert horsemanship and generosity captured the attention of the Victorians and The Beatles!
In this short film, we learn a little about his performance skills, passions and the work that he did to help others. Narrator Scherrikar Bell tells us all about Pablo Fanque and how he was one of the biggest names in Victorian entertainment.
This film discusses how Pablo Fanque’s travelling circus act would tour the country. With such expertise as tight-rope walking, juggling horseback and acrobatics, Pablo’s circus was clearly something to behold.
We even discover how Pablo trained horses to dance in time with music.
Scherrikar explains how Pablo put together music and time signatures and explores Pablo’s use of language in his advertising, which captured the attention of John Lennon.
This short film is from the BBC series, The Victorians.
Teacher Notes
These films introduce a character that can be used as a jumping off point for cross-curricular learning. This can be applied to a variety of subjects across the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
This series of films is designed to introduce real historical figures in an engaging context that can be explored by both students and teachers to help understand a variety of subjects.
The format runs through a few key stories or elements from the lives of the historical figures and applies them to a subject that can be discussed or explored in the classroom. The films act as a catalyst to kick-start ideas and introduce students to a world that can cover all kinds of subjects.
Each film should offer you lots of opportunities to create activities and schemes of work that take an element of the film and expand on it in the classroom with a curriculum based learning objective in mind.
The films should leave the students feeling like they have both a basic knowledge of the Victorian character and that they are engaged with the fun personalities that the film portrays.
The aim is give students a context to understand a variety of subjects that co-exist in real scenarios.
Before Watching
Before getting started with the film, you could introduce your students to the Victorian era. Roughly when it took place historically, what it was like to live in that time and how it’s different from today.
Another useful approach would be to give the students a short introduction to the character, just sticking to the key points to peak their interest.
Before playing the film you should ask the children to keep an eye out for the different subjects, ideas, and objects that are spoken about in the film. At the end of the film you could ask the class to speak about what they’ve seen. This should bring up plenty of jumping off points for you to expand on.
To really bring the history to life you could set a themed day and ask students to wear costumes or adopt a special timetable to reflect the Victorian classroom.
You could ask the students what they already know about the character that features in the film to get a feel for their understanding. Then if the film mentions something they know and have mentioned they’ll feel affirmed in their knowledge and engaged with the film, but also any new information will help them to feel like their understanding has improved.
After watching
Following the film there should be activities lined up to take the learning in the film further. Introducing more detail to the stories and developing the understanding of the elements that have been touched up in the film.
These could be based around a subject. For example as the film talks about the moves that Pablo used to use in his circus performances, if possible, it could make for an interesting P.E. lesson to let your students try and create a performance of their own.
Pablo’s film also talks in detail about the language of advertising and how it is used today. You could follow up the film by analysing real modern adverts, looking at the language and asking the students to write their own adverts for modern brands or shows.
The film also touches on issues surrounding race. This could be a good way of introducing the subject in the classroom and exploring both equality and meritocracy.
Next Steps
The next step should be to take the understanding of the subject that is in the Victorian context in the film and develop it into a deeper understanding of the subject that is required by the curriculum.
This short film is suitable for teaching at Key Stage 2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Curriculum for Excellence First and Second Level in Scotland.
Charles Darwin – The biggest name in Victorian science. video
A short film exploring the life and work of Charles Darwin and explaining his theory of evolution.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel – A total genius of engineering. video
A short film exploring the life and work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, explaining who he was and what he did to build Victorian Britain.
Florence Nightingale – The founder of modern nursing. video
A short film about Florence Nightingale and the work she did to transform nursing during the Victorian era.
Queen Victoria – The ultimate Victorian. video
A short film about Queen Victoria, explaining the curiosities and inventions that arose during her reign as well as what made her a brilliant monarch.
