Photograph of a variety of entertainments for Prince Edward of Wales to enjoy during his visit to Madras (now Chennai). On the left, south Asian women perform a dance whilst another group of women perform a tableau vivant. Musicians can be seen in the centre of the background. A large crowd of onlookers stand in the background, including a number of people in trees.

During the Prince of Wales' visit to Madras, he visited the Cosmopolitan Club where he met local people and watched a performance of tableaux vivant. Tableaux or 'living pictures' involved the performers holding a static pose for a number of minutes like a picture. The scenes could be representations from moments in history or a depiction of a painting using real people. They were often performed to musical accompaniment.    

On October 26 1921, Edward, Prince of Wales left Portsmouth to begin a tour of the Indian Subcontinent and Japan that covered 41,000 miles, lasting 8 months. Prince Edward spent four months in India, travelling from Bombay to Calcutta and then from Madras to Karachi. As the British Empire's Ambassador, the Prince visited India on behalf of his father King George V, to thank the nation for the essential role it had played during the First World War. Moreover, the visit was intended to strengthen links between Britain and its Empire at a time of increasing calls for Indian independence.