The local pantomime or panto

Getting involved with the local panto is a really good way to keep the community spirit up. The preparation and dedication involved both by the actors and the back stage crew is considerable. Our local pantomime is The Woldingham Panto, who start preparation back in April for performances in January. The auditions are in September at the village hall. This year it is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. There will be 7 performances (2 matinees & 5 evenings) that run from the 1st January 2010 through to the 6th January 2010 (Matinee on 1st and 6th, Evenings from 2nd-6th).

There are many different performances that you will see but in fact they tend to be repeats of the same theme. Based usually on children's stories. Although they will almost always be changed to allow for current affairs or to add additional humour. The pantomime involves audience participation (he's behind you), risque scripts full of double entendre, singing, dancing, costume changes, men in drag and women dress as men.

Support your local theatre group, school or church and book a ticket at a panto this year. Or better still get involved yourself.

A bit of pantomime history

The pantomime was a popular form of entertainment in ancient Greece and later Rome. Unfortunately, the pantomime has always been considered as less important than some other forms of theatre, like Opera for example.

The modern pantomime has it origins in the Commedia dell'arte, a popular Italian theatre style which reached Britain in the 1600s. The slapstick element of the pantomime owes its origins to the older type of theatrical performance the Harlequinade.

Today's pantomime owe a lot to Joseph Grimaldi (born in London 18 Dec 1778, son of Italian born Signor Joseph 'Iron Legs' Grimaldi) who formed and fashioned the character types we see today.

List of perhaps the most common pantomime scripts:

Aladdin, Babes in the Wood, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Mother Goose, Peter Pan, Puss in Boots, Robinson Crusoe, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Princess and the Pea, The Snow Queen and Goody Two Shoes.

Pantomime rehearsals 1870

A list of current pantomimes

Traditional Main Characters

The principal Boy - Usually played by a young woman in breeches.

The principal girl - Actually played by the best looking girl in the cast.

The Dame - The mother of the principal boy usually played by a man.

The Ugly sisters - always men in drag, the comic villains.

The animals - the pantomime horse for example play by two actors.