Primary Times North London October 2018
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The Whimsical<br />
World of<br />
British<br />
Pantomime<br />
"a childwho hasn't seen apantomime<br />
is apublicdanger!"<br />
GeorgeBernard Shaw<br />
Pantomimes are a<br />
wonderful annual<br />
tradition for many<br />
families in the UK, providing<br />
slapstick comedy and topical<br />
humour to entertain every<br />
age. The performances are<br />
almost always based on<br />
popular children’s stories and<br />
fairy tales, and are held ina<br />
wide variety of venues, from<br />
prestigious theatres to local<br />
town and village halls across<br />
Britain. Pantomimes tend to<br />
be more playful and comical<br />
than regular theatre, and<br />
involve eccentric costumes,<br />
musical numbers, audience<br />
participation, and ahappy<br />
ending in every show.<br />
Although less strictly<br />
followed today, traditionally a<br />
number of the main roles were<br />
gender swapped. The Dame<br />
is an older female character in<br />
pantomime, often the hero’s<br />
mother, who regularly wears<br />
the most bizarre and garish<br />
outfits, and tothis day<br />
is almost always played<br />
by aman. .The gender<br />
swapping between the<br />
principal boy and girl is<br />
followed less frequently<br />
in more recent years,<br />
but traditionallyionally these<br />
would also be<br />
notable features of<br />
the performances. rmances.<br />
One of the most<br />
popular additions to<br />
British pantomime shows are<br />
the celebrity cast members.<br />
They both help to draw in<br />
crowds for the theatres,<br />
and provide audiences with<br />
the opportunity to see their<br />
favourite stars taking part in<br />
over-the-top, farcical comedy<br />
guaranteed to have them<br />
roaring with laughter. The<br />
type of humour we know in<br />
pantomimes today was first<br />
introduced in 1843 when<br />
the Theatres Act was lifted<br />
and allowed all theatres the<br />
use of spoken word intheir<br />
performances. Witty puns,<br />
word play, and audience<br />
participation began to be<br />
introduced by writers at the<br />
time, and these are still some<br />
of the main factors to the<br />
modern British pantomime<br />
providing fun, feel-good<br />
shows for all ages!<br />
© Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler 2004<br />
ADAPTED FROM JULIA DONALDSON<br />
AND AXEL SCHEFFLER’S<br />
AWARD-WINNING PICTURE BOOK<br />
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‘Everything good<br />
children’s theatre<br />
should be’<br />
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Guess How Much ILove YouTM ©Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram 2016. Licensed by Walker Books Ltd<br />
www.primarytimes.co.uk/northlondon | OCTOBER <strong>2018</strong> 17
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