Proud To Be British.The History of Pantomime
last updated Monday 14th November 2011 - 19:03
John Rich in Harlequin
Pantomimes are the most popular form of theatre during the Christmas season, performed mainly for family audiences with children and adults of all ages.
The stories are based on fairytales with of course a damsel in distress, a handsome prince, a baddie out to spoil the plot and a wacky dame.
The Pantomime first arrived in England as ent’actes between opera pieces which eventually ended being a totally separate show. In Restoration England it was considered a low form of opera, but in 1717, actor and manager John Rich introduced Harlequin to the British stage under the name of ‘Lun’ (for ‘lunatic’) and began performing amusing and popular pantomimes.
By the mid 1800s the stories of Cinderella, Puss in Boots and so many more were introduced, with the transformation of the characters into the harlequinade coming later in the performance and the harlequinade itself becoming shorter and shorter.
Actress Lucy Vestris was already famous for taking roles where she dressed as a man and introduced the first female principal boy in 1837 as the hero Ralph in Puss-in-Boots into pantomime, which is still a tradition today, although the Harlequin was continued to be played by a man.
By now Pantomime had become a part of the ‘traditional’ Christmas, although amongst some, there was debate in Victorian society as to whether this kind of entertainment was suitable for young children.
It took until 1902 for the most popular character of pantomimes to evolve ‘The Dame’ played by Dan Leno as Mother Goose.
A selection of pantomimes and family shows are taking place across the UK over Christmas, visit the sites below, also for a good choice of hotels with discount prices,
visit Hotel in London for more information.
http://www.bigpantoguide.co.uk/london.php
http://www.thisistheatre.com/panto.html
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