Widow Twankey - History

History

The story of Aladdin is drawn from One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle-Eastern fables. It was first published in England between 1704 and 1714; and this story was dramatised in 1788 by John O'Keefe for Covent Garden. In 1813, a comic character of the "dumb slave" was introduced to Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp, as a vehicle for the clown, Joseph Grimaldi, and at the same time, a washer-woman, Ching Mustapha was introduced to the play.

Widow Twankey first occurs in 1861; the character runs a Chinese laundry in Peking, China and is a pantomime dame; that is, always played by a man. One of her sons, Aladdin, is the hero of the pantomime, while her other son, often named Wishy Washy (or Wishee Washee), just helps in the laundry. She is not pivotal in the plot (such as it is), but more a source of interaction with the audience through jokes and innuendo – mostly centred on items of underwear on the washing line.

The character has had a number of different names over the years: Ching Mustapha was followed by Wee Ping, Chow Chow, and Tan King. In 1861, the character became the Widow Twankay – named for a cheap blend of China tea. Twankay (Chinese), or 'twankey tea' is an inferior grade of green tea, with an old, ragged, open leaf – the implication is that the widow is 'past her best'. The -kay, or -key ending derives from the Chinese (Mandarin) for tea – chá – a soft pronunciation gives the English slang char. Occasionally the spelling of her name in the programme (but not the pronunciation on the stage) is varied to make it look more like a "Chinese" personal name – e.g., "Tuang Kee Chung" in a 1979 musical version.

The story is located in a mythical China, but with many Arabic ideas, names and places which betray its Middle-Eastern origins. In some productions, the Chinese laundry is located in Limehouse, in the East End of London. There was a considerable chinatown located here, since the early 19th century, to serve the needs of Chinese seamen. The area became infamous through exaggerated reports of opium dens and slum housing. Since the destruction of World War II, it has relocated to Soho.