Many people know the line “ It's behind you!” and the dialogue “ Yes it Is” and “No it isn't” is traditional to pantomime, but did you know that this is known as the “ghost spectacle” ?
It always involves one of the characters, usually the Dame, expressing her fear of ghosts, spiders, pirates … anything that can be made to appear stealthily and carry off members of the cast one at a time. Then she will ask for the audience's help to protect her from the scary thing.......do they succeed? It depends how loud they shout!
Audience participation is expected and encouraged by the use of “The Songsheet”, where a simple song has lyrics displayed on a large screen, and all are instructed in singing along, sometimes as a round, or competitively, with the audience spilt into groups to sing against each other. It is also at this point in the panto that young children may be brought from the auditorium to the stage to be “interviewed” by the dame and her male counterpart, who can be sometimes the hero of the piece such as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk, or his sidekick such as Wishee Washee in Aladdin.
And then of course, there is the seaside postcard Double Entendre aimed at the adult part of the audience, supposedly going over the heads of the children, and giving the adults the opportunity to laugh at the ruder bits of the dialogue.
In pantomime, there is something for everyone; fun, laughter, songs and dance, colourful costumes and fantastic special effects. Magic and spectacle to keep all amused for a couple of hours on a chilly winter day. For some pantomime is the essence of a family Christmas celebration and an introduction to the magic of theatre for our children.
Having said that, like marmite, it is a theatrical form that you either love or hate, and not everyone appreciates the mayhem that ensues.
If you want to know more about the history and stories of pantomime, or find scripts to perform, there are some excellent sites : www.its-behind-you.com , www.noda.org.uk/Pantomimes, www.tlc-creative.co.uk/ are just a few.
No comments:
Post a Comment