Going to a panto
Do you know what happens in some British theatres at Christmas? It’s panto season. VANESSA CLARK presents language to talk about going to a pantomime.
What is a pantomime?
Pantomimes are loud, brightly coloured shows, with singing, dancing and general craziness. Most are based on traditional tales, such as Cinderella or Jack and the
Beanstalk. Every pantomime has certain stock characters, with many of the main parts given to TV stars.
The absolute star of every panto is the dame, always played by a man in drag. The dame is usually a widow, and she will pick on a man in the front row of the audience to flirt with and make jokes about.
The principal boy is the hero of the panto and is traditionally played by a young woman in tights, thigh boots and a short costume. At the end of the play, he marries the principal girl, and they both live happily ever after.
The evil villain always enters from stage left (the right from the audience’s point of view), whereas the good fairy always comes on from stage right. This tradition dates back to medieval times, when the two sides of the stage represented heaven and hell.
The pantomime horse (or cow or camel) is played by two actors in one costume. Like all the two-legged characters, the animal has to dance in the grand finale, which is usually a wedding scene.