Pantomime

Pantomime (not the same as "mime") is a form of British theater done around the Christmas season, usually from early December to mid-January. They also refer to it as "panto." It originated in the 16th Century with traveling productions and has been a regular holiday tradition since. It is not done in the US, but is a tradition in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and other current or former parts of the empire.

Looking in the media, there are tons of performances advertised all over the place. Most of the larger towns have productions. It is very common that they bring in famous names to perform in the leading roles, Patrick Stewart and Ian McClellan were two names mentioned in the article I read about it. The only name I was familiar with was Henry Winkler, starring in what appeared to be the most publicized performance being held in London. They are all based on children's stories, performed for a family audience, they are all musicals, and they are comedies. According to the ads, the Henry Winkler performance was 'Peter Pan', and he was Captain Hook.

The performance we attended was in Windsor - after a day at the palace. The story was 'Cinderella' basically, but with quite a bit of slapstick comedy thrown in. No actors we were familiar with. The characters interact with the audience quite a bit. The audience boos the villans and cheers the heros. In the second half, one of the leading characters named 'Buttons' (you don't remember Buttons from the Cinderella story???) stopped the show and invited four children on stage for a rousing, audience participation version of "Wheels On The Bus." They also had a list of birthdays they read out. Clearly the play is re-written annually because several of the production numbers were done to current songs, two from Hairspray and one from High School Musical 2. There was ballet, big production numbers, and even tap dancing. The ugly stepsisters were played by middle aged men, so quite ugly, but hilarious. (cross dressing is also part of the tradition) There was also a recurring character, Rupert Bear (a person in a pooh-like bear costume), who is evidently the star of a children's TV show and evidently much loved British children's books who would walk on occaissionally and advance the plot. I never did understand why he (it?) was involved.

It was great fun, two hours of singing, dancing and laughing. A wonderful family tradition we will experience again next Christmas.