Music hall is a type of British theatrical
entertainment that was popular from the early
Victorian era circa 1850 and lasting until 1960. It involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts and
variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. British music hall was similar to American
vaudeville, featuring rousing songs and comic acts, while in the United Kingdom the term "vaudeville"' referred to more working-class types of entertainment that would have been termed "
burlesque" in America.