Pantomime means ‘Form of Entertainment’ and is generally performed
throughout Britain, during the Christmas Season. This
performance technique dates back to the Middle Ages
where it was originally referred to as ‘Panto’.
Pantomime’s are generally aimed towards the younger
generation and incorporate elements from the Italian
Practice, ‘Commedia dell’Arte’. One can most easily
recognize this through a Pantomime’s song and dance
segments. Although it has been introduced abroad, Pantomime has only found small success in areas
such as Canada, Australia and South Africa. There
has been very little success in the US, apart from New York’s, Olympic Theatre
production of ‘Humpty Dumpty’ in 1868. The show produced nearly 1200 performances,
making it America’s most successful Pantomime (It’s Behind You). According to
Historical Photo Detective ‘Maureen Taylor’, Figure 1 could possibly be G.L. Fox, in
costume, for the performance of Humpty Dumpty, in New York, on March 10th, 1968
(Maureen Taylor).
Twenty years ago, a Pantomime production would run from the week before
Christmas up until the end of February. Nowadays, most productions only last six to eight
weeks. Exceptions to this change are the Mayflower Theatre (Southampton), the Grand
Theatre (Wolverhampton) and the Hippodrome Theatre (Birmingham). In terms of the
economic factor, to present a ‘modern’ Pantomime that would tour for many years, in
today’s economy, the cost would range between 150,000 and over 500,000 pounds. In
1827, Pantomime’s produced at Covent Garden and Drury Lane were only 1000 pounds
each (It’s Behind You).
Throughout the 1870’s, the ‘Father of Modern Pantomime’ was Augustus Harris.
Harris was the manager of the ‘Drury Lane Theatre’ and created ‘Lavish productions that
popularized the genre’ (It’s Behind You). The popularization he created, forced
managements all over Britain, to enforce that every town had at least one (if not two),
Pantomimes running every Christmas Season. During the 1930s, Francis Laidler became
the ‘King of Pantomime’, presenting shows at the ‘Alhambra Theatre’ in Bradford. In the
50s and 60s, the title went to Derek Salberg and the ‘Alexandra Theatre’ in Birmingham
(It’s Behind You).
One of the main reasons for Pantomime’s survival over the years has been its
adaption of elements from other theatre practices. In order to withhold the term
‘traditional’ when describing the practice of Pantomime, each Pantomime must have a
strong story line that consists of battling against evil. Traditionally, stage left portrays the
dark side where the villain must enter first and stage right portrays the good side where
the villains ‘advisory good fairy’ (It’s Behind You), will enter afterwards. This technique
is similar to that of theatre throughout the Medieval Times where Heaven and Hell were
placed in the same locations (Heaven on stage right and Hell on stage left) (It’s Behind
You).
The plot for a Pantomime is as follows: ‘A girl will dress up as a boy, who is
usually the son of a man who is dressed up as a woman, who will always win the other
girl (and surprisingly dresses as a girl), with the help of a person dressed in animal skins’.
Despite how confusing this plot may seem, regardless of a Pantomime’s setting, it will
contain each of the elements above (HubPages).
The recurring characters in a Pantomime are:
- · The Demon King (villain)
- · The Fairy Queen (‘goody’ (Hubpages))
(The two characters above vary in title. Hubpages’ example of this variation is Peter Pan
and Hook).
- · The Principle Boy (normally played by a
woman)
- · The Principle Girl (portrays innocence
and youth, usually the ‘prettiest’ girl in
the cast, always lives happily ever after
with the Principle Boy.)
- · The Dame (principle boy part dressed in
outrageous costumes) (Figure 2)
(HubPages)
Pantomime is an English tradition that has been around for centuries. Its survival
over the years shows its significance in Britain’s heart. Therefore, with a bit of luck, this
British tradition will be around for many more centuries to come.
Word Count: 653
Works Cited
Ellacott, Nigel, and Peter Robbins. "The History of Pantomime." It's Behind You. Qdos Entertainment,
n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.its-behind-you.com/Factsheets/
The%20History%20of%20Pantomime.pdf>.
In pictures: Behind the scenes at the pantomime. 16 Dec. 2009. BBC. BBC , 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/tyne/hi/things_to_do/newsid_8416000/8416270.stm>.
J. Gurney & Sons. The Costume Votes are In! 10 Mar. 1968. Maureen Taylor. Maureen Taylor, 2010. Web.
18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.maureentaylor.com/category/uncategorized/page/2/>.
Scotslass. "History of Pantomime." HubPages. HubPages, 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
<http://scotslass.hubpages.com/hub/History-of-Pantomime>.
Taylor, Maureen. "The Costume Votes are In!" Maureen Taylor. Maureen Taylor, 2010. Web. 18 Sept.
2011. <http://www.maureentaylor.com/category/uncategorized/page/2/>.
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