Panto wouldn’t be panto without the saucy jokes, says Biggins
CHRISTOPHER BIGGINS has called the decision to tone down pantomime innuendo “a joke” and has said he is looking forward to retiring.
His comments come after a decision by Qdos Pantomimes, which stages dozens of shows around the country, to cut a sketch in Dick Whittington from the London Palladium production.
The theatre company told The Daily Telegraph that, in the wake of mounting anger over sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, the visual gag “just feels wrong”.
The routine – in which a male charac- ter looks up a female performer’s skirt – used to get a hearty applause from audiences, but the show’s producer said the visual joke was now past its sell-by date.
Mr Biggins, who is currently starring as Widow Twankey in Aladdin in Richmond, south-west London, said the decision to tone down pantomime performances was “getting out of hand”.
He told Sky News: “The whole thing is ridiculous … In a way I’m pleased I’m nearing the end of my pantomime career. I’m 69, I’ll be 70 next year, hopefully I’ll do one more pantomime and then I’ll retire because it’s a joke, you soon won’t be able to do anything anywhere.
“Innuendo is fantastic and is wonderful and is joyous for the parents and the children.”
Michael Harrison, managing director of Qdos Pantomimes, told The Telegraph that he made the decision to drop the skirt gag in the wake of the slew of claims about abusive behaviour surrounding Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood film producer.
He said that while it was important to discourage potentially demeaning and objectifying behaviour in his productions, there would always be “characters that are a little bit naughty, as it’s part of British pantomime”.
Mr Harrison added: “What I have not done and what I won’t do is change any jokes, as I don’t believe there is a link between sexual harassment and pantomime. Nobody touches anybody in pantomime.”
Earlier this month parents called for Manchester’s Dick Whittington to be closed for making “lewd and offensive” references to the human anatomy.
Other pantomime producers and directors have echoed Mr Harrison’s decision.
Chris Hall, the marketing manager of Paul Holman Associates (PHA), whose productions this year include Jack and the Beanstalk at Leeds and Snow White in Redditch, Worcs, said its theatre company tries to “get the balance right by keeping both adults and children entertained”.
However, he admitted that some audience members had complained that PHA’S productions were not saucy enough.