Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, fifth series, no. 156, vol. III, December 25, 1886

Ever wondered what lies behind the velvet curtain of a grand theatre? This essay invites listeners into the hidden world of backstage workshops, where multiple underground levels and towering fly‑systems support the spectacles seen onstage. By comparing the primitive flats of earlier days with today’s swift, almost magical scene changes, the author shows how modern houses in London and New York have become engineering marvels, allowing entire castles or furnished apartments to appear in a heartbeat.

One striking illustration comes from the flamboyant French pantomime “Le Roi Carotte,” where a seemingly impossible dismemberment and rebirth is performed without a hitch. The narrator walks us through the clever trapdoors, moving scenery, and coordinated timing that let an old magician vanish, a live book sprout dancing gnomes, and a youthful hero emerge from an imagined furnace. The description captures the wonder of theatrical invention while keeping the mystery of what audiences still cannot see.