There is nothing like a dame in family pantos . . . oh no, there isn’t!
Oh yes, it is ... panto season! There are, into the New Year, virtual offerings and live shows, performed under social distanced measures, across the UK.
With their “it’s behind you” and “oh no, it isn’t” slapstick routines and traditional cross-dressing – men playing dames and women playing principal boys – pantomime is uniquely British, writes Sue Wilkinson.
The dame – in ‘her’ garish gowns, mud-thick make-up, wild wigs, cheeky pick-up lines and camp characteristics – is one of panto’s key characters.
Characters who are played as pantomime dames are often, though not exclusively, older matronly women.
They may be the protagonist’s mother, as in Jack and the Beanstalk and Robinson Crusoe, or a nursemaid to the protagonist, as in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.
Although often warm and sympathetic characters, dames may also be employed as comic antagonists, such as with the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella.
Other examples of dame characters include ...
Widow Twankey, Aladdin’s mother in the pantomime versions of the story Mother Goose
The nanny or nurse in Babes in the Woods
The cook in Dick Whittington
The queen in Puss in
Boots
Goldilocks’ mother in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, who runs a circus in many versions of the pantomime.
Berwick Kaler is Britain’s longest-serving dame. Kaler has played his extremely non–camp dame at York Theatre Royal since 1977.
This year he was due to move to York Opera House and play Dame in one of the Qdos pantomimes.
Qdos is the biggest producer of pantomimes in the country and has taken the seasonal offering to a new level with star quality and 3D effects.
Notable pantomime dames include music hall greats Dan Leno, Norman Evans and Tommy Trafford.
Scottish comedian Stanley Baxter was famous for his lavish productions, notably at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow.
The late great Les Dawson regularly played dame. I was lucky enough to see him in Babes in the Wood at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton.
He was quite clearly a man in drag, as was John Inman – also an accomplished dame – and Melvyn Hayes, of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum fame, and Patrick Fyffe, creator of Dame Hilda Bracket, one half of Hinge and Bracket.
Bringing a touch of glamour to the role have been Danny La Rue and in more recent times Paul O’Grady, also known once as Lily Savage.
Here are some of the most famous dames of all ...
Roy Hudd starred in pantomimes for more than 35 years before he decided to play a dame.
He told The Stage: “I decided I should really have a go at a dame before I snuff it.” As a result, he found himself finally playing Mother Goose.
The actor went on to write and star in his own show Mother Goose and wrote several books covering music hall and pantomime.
Could Danny La Rue be the most glamorous dame of all? The flamboyant performer played the role of pantomime dame from the 1960s to 2000.
Mother Goose, Queen Passionella, the Very “Merry” Widow Twankey and the Fairy Godmother are just a few dames to his name. The actor played in more than 30 Royal performances and three Royal Command Performances.
Christopher Biggins, often simply referred to as Biggins, is one of the most renowned pantomime dames of all time. He regularly plays dame in Qdos shows.
In 2016 he announced to the Daily Mail that after more than 40 years playing the dame, he was ready to say goodbye.
“I don’t want to go on too long and finish my career as a panto dame in some little theatre you’ve hardly heard of. And on walking sticks.
“I don’t want to die in a dress.” He later changed his mind.
John Inman will be recognised by most people from his outrageously camp role in hit ’70s TV show Are You Being Served? A truly British institution in its own right, he appeared in more than 40 pantomimes.
John’s pantomime dame career started in the 1960s when he teamed up with fellow actor Barry Howard, best known for playing Barry Stuart-Hargreaves in BBC holiday camp sitcom Hi-de-Hi!