by Kay Lockett
Panto time is here again. Oh yes it is!
It's pantomime season. A unique British entertainment that takes place in theatres across the land and there's no other art form quite like it. Pantomime is a great Christmas tradition in London; as much a part of Christmas as decorating Christmas trees, Christmas shopping and turkey. And theatre land is awash with pantomime productions this year.
There are hundreds of theatres to chose from across London, where you can see Jack
trade a cow for some beans, Cinderella lose her crystal slipper or seven dwarves
go off to work. Pantomimes are typically based on traditional children’s fairy stories.
Today, traditional family panto’s contain song, dance, comedy, slapstick, magic,
innuendo-riddled wordplay, cross-dressing and, of course, audience participation.
The tradition of Christmas pantomimes seems to have developed in the 1800s as a form of low opera. The origins of British Pantomime or "Panto" as it is known date back to the middle ages, taking on board the traditions of the Italian "Commedia dell’ Arte”, the Italian night scenes and British Music hall to produce an intrinsic art form that constantly adapted to survive up to the present day.
The Subjects
Pantomime, as we know it today is a show predominantly aimed at children, based on a popular fairy tale or folk legend. The most popular subjects being Cinderella, followed by Aladdin, Dick Whittington and Snow White. Other popular titles are Jack & the Beanstalk, Babes in the Wood, (usually combining the legend of Robin Hood) and Sleeping Beauty.
Pantomime has become a thriving business. Large theatres vie with each other for the subjects and star names that will attract full houses, and the pantomime can often run for six to eight weeks, providing much needed revenue to box offices up and down the country.
Tradition
Pantomime has combined many elements of theatre throughout its existence, and by adapting it has survived. The element of novelty has always been to the forefront.
Elements that a pantomime should have, to be described as traditional begin with a strong story line. The fable or fairy tale has to be well told, incorporating the all-important elements of good battling against evil, and emerging triumphant. In this respect, the concept varies little from the medieval morality plays, performed on village greens. To this day tradition says that the pantomime villain should be the first to enter, from the dark side (stage left), followed by his adversary the good fairy from stage right. This echoes the tradition in medieval times when the entrances to heaven and hell were placed on these sides.
Enter The Dame
The Pantomime Dame, usually the hero’s mother, such as Widow Twankey in Aladdin or
Dame Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk was a creation that emerged from the early Music
Halls of the Victorian era. The public warmed to seeing their favourite comedian
playing the role of Jack’s mother, or the King’s cook and bottle washer. Often the
Dame’s costumes would be used to good comic effect by parodying the fashions of the
day, in much the same way as the modern Dame or Ugly Sister does at the moment.
The Ugly Sisters were first seen played by women in Rossini’s opera, "La Cenerentola" in London, but were swiftly transformed into men playing the roles in 1860, at the Royal Strand Theatre, London. The Ugly Sisters differ from the Dame in that they have to tread the thin tightrope between being hugely comic characters, and yet still remain the villains of the piece.
Superstitions and Tradition
Pantomime, and the Theatre itself is the stronghold for superstitions, and tradition. As an art form that is handed down' from one performer to another, it is rife with traditions and superstitions.
In a pantomime the last lines said in the finale, traditionally in rhyming couplets should never be spoken in rehearsal, but for the first time on the opening night. Several artists have got so used to not saying them, that they have 'dried', that is, forgotten to utter them in performance!
Flowers have always been at the centre of superstition. It is very unlucky to have real flowers on stage, unless handed up to the leading lady at the curtain call.
Actors fear the fates. No actor will wish another 'Good Luck' before they go on stage. In fact, the opposite - 'Break a leg', as if to reverse the luck.
Pantomime traditions are as old as pantomime, and indeed some of the classics written into scripts can be hundred of years old. A ghost scene on stage involves children voluntarily calling out “It's Behind You!’” The traditional “Oh, yes it is!” is always gustily followed by the children shouting, '”Oh, no it isn't'’.
Popular titles
Traditionally performed at Christmas, with family audiences consisting mainly of children and parents, British pantomime is now a popular form of theatre, incorporating song, dance, buffoonery, slapstick, cross-dressing, in-jokes, audience participation, and mild sexual innuendo. There are a number of traditional story lines, and there is also a fairly well defined set of performance conventions.
The most popular titles are:
* Aladdin (sometimes combined with Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and/or other Arabian Nights tales.
* Babes in the Wood (often combined with Robin Hood)
* Beauty and the Beast
* Cinderella, the most popular of all pantomimes and first shown in 1870 in Covent Garden, London
* Dick Whittington and His Cat, first staged as a pantomime in 1814, based on a 17th century play.
* Goldilocks and the Three Bears
* Jack and the Beanstalk
* Little Red Riding Hood
* Mother Goose
* Peter Pan
* Puss in Boots
* Robinson Crusoe
* Sleeping Beauty
* Snow White
* The Princess and the Pea
* The Snow Queen
* Goody Two Shoes
Guest celebrity in pantomime
Another contemporary pantomime tradition is the celebrity guest star, a practice that dates back to the late 19th century, when Augustus Harris, proprietor of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, hired well-known variety artists for his pantomimes. Many modern pantomimes use popular artists to promote the pantomime, and the play is often adapted to allow the star to showcase their well-known act, even when such a spot has little relation to the plot.
Visit a theatre near you and enjoy the magic of pantomime this Christmas.
In South West London you can take your pick from the following shows:
Dick Whittingham
Colour House Theatre
Date(s): Sat 28/11/2009 - Sun 31/01/2010
Saturdays and Sundays
Time(s): 2pm and 4pm
Full Price Tickets: £9.00 per seat
Suitable for all the family age 3 and up
Address: Colour House Theatre
Merton Abbey Mills
Watermill Way
Collier's Wood
London SW19 2RD
http://www.colourhousetheatre.co.uk - tel:020 8640 5111
Ali the Barber and his Forty Thieves
Performances on January 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th to be performed in Southfields SW18.
www.southfieldstheatregroup.org.uk - tel: 020 8789 3828
Aladdin
New Wimbledon Theatre
Friday 04 December 2009 to Sunday 10 January 2010
Address: New Wimbledon Theatre
The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1QG
www.ambassadortickets.com/New-Wimbledon-Theatre, - tel: 0844 871 7696
