‘He’s behind you!’ Panto memories
As many pantomimes adapt to new ways of putting on a show this year, we explore how panto has changed over time and why it’s still a cherished Christmas tradition
here are few things quite so British as sitting in a theatre shouting, “Oh no, it isn’t,” at a gruff-voiced dame while a misshapen fabric horse throws sweets at us. Yet for all its eccentricities, the great British panto is nevertheless something many of us hold dear to our hearts.
Whether it was your first introduction to live theatre as a child or something that’s since become an annual tradition to enjoy with all the family, panto is part and parcel of the Christmas experience for many. This year, though, will be different. Sadly some pantos have had to close, but many have come up with all sorts of ways to bring us a little panto silliness.
For example, the Car Park Panto will bring a drive-in panto experience to locations including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh, while York Theatre Royal is presenting a travelling pantomime
Tthat will tour back gardens, sheds, social clubs and church halls around the city, all adhering to coronavirus guidelines. Inevitably in a year that’s made our lives increasingly digital, Blue Peter star Peter Duncan has also
filmed a large-scale panto
Frankie Howerd playing Buttons in panto in 1966 in his back garden that will be streamed online over the festive period. But other shows are going ahead live on stage with socially distanced audiences, including Pantoland at the Palladium in London, with an all star cast including Elaine Paige, Nigel Havers and Beverley Knight. While these circumstances may be unprecedented, this creativity and ability to move with the times is nothing new in the world of panto, as is the determination that the show must go on whatever happens. The panto as we know it first started life not in Britain, as may be expected, but on the streets
‘They soon grew to be huge, zany productions’
of 16th Century Italy in a tradition known as Commedia dell’arte. This saw touring shows set up in marketplaces and fairgrounds, where larger-than-life characters would tell stories of lovers, with magic, chases,