The Panto

[sufi]

Did anyone?
I got reports from Lyric Hammersmith: "jokes about Boris constantly" and somewhere in S London where it was "sanitised" and anodyne and seemed moribund.
I didnt go this year, our local is always raucous, entry level soap actors.

it's a right peculiar thing if you think about it, and echoes in all sorts of places

The story of pantomime is a tale of dragons and serpents. It features men dressed as women, and women masquerading as young men. Pantomime presents a tale of good and evil, where hope triumphs over adversity after danger and virtual despair. It has its roots in ancient Greece, and via Italy and France, insinuates itself into Britain. Pantomime's unique fusion of eccentricity, ambiguity and absurdity has much to tell us about our national identity. Christmas, for many of us, would not be Christmas without pantomime; and pantomime was the place we first discovered the magic of theatre.

"It's behind you!" A look into the history of pantomime - News and events, University of York

www.york.ac.uk

The Big, Bonkers, British, Christmas Pantomime - Longreads

Oh, yes I did! An attempt to explain the bizarre tradition of the British Christmas pantomime.

longreads.com

 

[john eden]

Not been for ages. It’s good to take younger kids to. The Hackney Empire one was an incredible thing in the noughties with lots of sly references to pop culture and gentrification. Even included Janet Kay in the cast one year.

 

[john eden]

There was a wild Twitter thread recently with some American alt right twat trying to slag off the mayor of Islington for ”posing next to a drag Queen” at a panto.

You could sense the mental contortions of “decadence” but also “old British tradition”. Made me smile.

 

[martin]

The only one I remember going to was a pirate one (Treasure Island?) and the pirates had massive scimitars made out of baking foil and there was a parrot puppet. They were singling out kids in the audience and making jokes about them, and I probably felt mortified and went dead shy. Apart from that, it was alright. I can't remember where in London it was (thinking Finchley?) or even how old I was, but pretty sure it was a Christmas event. Not the same thing, but I saw Maureen Lipman doing Meg & Mog at the Unicorn Theatre too.

Obligatory seasonal reminder that Kevin Tomkins of noise nutter band Sutcliffe Jugend - author of ditties like "Severed Cock", "Bloodfucking" and "Legalise Child Abuse" - was outed performing as Widow Twanky in a local production in his family's village. Sadly, the pics have been memory-holed.