Pantomime is seen as a truly
British affair. It is a testimony to the quirkiness of the British sense of humor
and traditions -- and often includes gender reversal.
It’s like roast beef and gravy,
part of the empire and all that. However the history of the pantomime can be
traced back to the Greek and Romans, where the plays encompassed music, comedy
and sex, as well as a bit of tragedy.
Famous poets of the day wrote
libretto for the shows, possibly for a good fee, but sadly none have survived
-- which may be due to pantomime being looked down upon as a lower class of
entertainment. It would be fitting to find an ancient ‘Oh No it Isn’t’ set in
Greek!
The British pantomime (or more
affectionately known as ‘panto’) is not exactly a modern invention and goes
back to the 17th century, where it seems to have evolved from Italian popular
theatre of the day. Some similarities with pantomime have been noted are from
the pagan 12th night celebrations and the midwinter feasts where the natural
order of things are turned around for a short time. (Mind you…… all that
dancing round in the morning dew at midwinter solstice plays havoc with the
lumbago! )
These similarities are typified by
the gender reversal that has become one of the most recognisable parts of
panto, along with the pantomime horse and the Harlequin.
In the early days of panto, the
Harlequin was the most influential creature of the show, clad in a costume with
bright diamonds of red, yellow, blue and black. The colours were of
significance as the character would strike a pose and touch the colour on his
costume to signify what mood he was presenting – red for anger, blue for
faithfulness, yellow for jealousy (Green was considered an unlucky colour
onstage, and we all know how much the theatre is steeped with superstition ….
So go and break a leg! ) however black was a special colour in that it would
make him invisible! (So Marvel and DC comics were a little behind the times
here!)
Cross Dressing
(now we’re getting to the good
part!)
Panto is strongly interlinked with
cross dressing, as traditionally most of the main characters are cross-dressed
during the show.
The principle boy is always a girl,
the dame is always a boy, and there are often supporting ugly sisters who are
men; however the leading lady is the only exception in always being a woman.
….confusing isn’t it – and that is before we even get to the plot!
The Pantomime Dames first treaded
the boards in the early 1800’s and were usually cast as the mother of the hero.
It is a comic part where the dame has the quick fire dialogue and elaborate
costumes. Taking the clues from the early Harlequin, the Dame has an outrageous
and topical banter, pointing jokes at various famous politicians and
celebrities. The audience are never excluded and are often the target of
humorous ribbing, inviting participation through an all too familiar
dialogue….. ‘Oh no it isn’t….. Oh yes it is!’
Many Dames have been played by
famous stars of the day. One such star was Danny La Rue (seen in photo above),
a truly well-loved female impersonator of the 70’s and 80’s and brought a brand
of high glamor to the Dame role. Dannys’ outfits were always elaborate, but
given the ‘over the top’ style of a Dame, the outfits went stellar!
Playing a Dame is very demanding,
more so than drag. It’s a comic female role made to be bawdy for the adults and
having to play to young children at the same time, as well as adlibbing and
following a plot, and engaging with a live interactive audience! Slapstick
comedy with slick timing is never easy, adding a fantastic frock, heels and an
outrageous hairstyle takes it all to a new dimension, then keep it up for 2
hours plus! Not for the faint hearted!
The ugly sisters are often a bad,
spiteful pair that give the audience someone to ‘Boo’ at, but their role is a
difficult balance between humor and sinister, without being frightening and
offensive.
Whilst the name of the Dame goes
with the show that is being performed. Widow Twanky from Aladdin, Dame Trott
from Jack and the Beanstalk, for example, the names of the ugly sisters change
from show to show, moving with the times and poking fun at popular culture.
Names such as Daisy and Buttercup were common names for cows in the 50’s, Tracy
and Sharon were middle class names of the 80’s, to Hysteria and Hypothermia of
the 90’s, it’s a part of drag culture that crosses over from panto.
The role of the principal boy is
also one of skill, the part is that of a male lead, which is portrayed by a
feminine girl, clad in a short tunic, showing her legs and dancing in heels.
Indeed the femininity of the actress is paramount to that of the role.
The principal girl is often the
damsel in distress of the show. She plays the love interest for the principal
boy and has to dance and sing in a romantic setting.
Diversity at its best, portrayed in
a popular stage play up and down the country every year, entertaining thousands
of children and adults for over 200 years!
The Plot
Yes what about the plot! Well take
a well know fairy tail, add a large pinch of salt, throw in some elaborate
costumes, add some corny jokes, some fun songs, a wicked witch, the odd
fairy godmother, a talking horse, and a big wedding finally, not forgetting a
loud excited screaming audience of adults and young children – then you’re just
about there! Mix this all together for about two hours and you’re done !
Its not possible to get any sense
of the atmosphere of a performance on the telly, its one of those things that
you’ve got to be there ! So if the opportunity arises, take the plunge and dive
in to a panto, otherwise its always going to be just …. ‘behind you’
!
For more information on pantomime,
take a look at these sites where I got lots of help from:-
Danny LaRue Video
To quote Kenny Everett, 'Oh but Michael I'm giving away the plot, but it's all done in the best possible taste!'
ReplyDeleteAmazed to see a cast photo with Julian Clary AND Lily Savage together. that could have been a real bitchfest.
We met Kenny a few times as we frequented the same clubs in those days and had the opportunity to thank him for his characters - Cupid was one of my favs!
ReplyDeletewe saw Julian in Australia commentating on the sydney pride march and he was hilarious!
Hugs
Dawn x