Widow Twankey is a female character in the pantomime Aladdin. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man.
Dan Leno in the role of Widow Twankey, for an 1896 performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Pantomime is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It generally combines gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale. Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers.
The Christmas Pantomime colour lithograph book cover, 1890, showing harlequinade characters
2nd-century Macedonian theatrical sculpture, thought to represent a pantomime's mask
John Rich as Harlequin, c. 1720
Playbill of an English circus and pantomime performance, 1803