Tarax Show Christmas Pantomimes Restoration

A Window into a Unique Era of Childrens Television

The Christmas Pantomimes were a different level of production from the daily Happy/Tarax Show, and the latter ones had high production values by the standards of the day. Almost all of them have been preserved on 16mm film. They represent perhaps the richest surviving record from the era of the original Happy/Tarax Show — the period 1957 to 1964.

Bringing the Christmas Pantomimes a Wider Audience

The family of Denzil Howson is working on restoring and releasing some or all of the surviving Christmas Pantomimes.

This will provide a unique and rare glimpse into the early days of children’s television in Melbourne and an opportunity to see once again popular Happy/Tarax Show personalities such as Gerry Gee, Ron Blaskett, King Corky, Joffa Boy, Patti McGrath, Susan-Gaye Anderson, Elaine McKenna, Bernard the Magician, Uncle Norman and Professor Ratbaggy.

You can keep informed about this project by subscribing to our mailing list on the home page of this site.

Restoring the Christmas Pantomimes

Progress on the restoration of the Tarax Show Christmas Pantomimes is being covered in the Film Restoration Blog.