Panto!

Last weekend, Tim, Maddie, Ethan, and I got to experience another British tradition: Panto! A Panto is a type of play that is traditionally put on each year around Christmastime. The Panto that we went to see was Aladdin.There are a number of characteristics that are typical of Pantos:

• The leading male character is traditionally played by a young woman (Aladdin was indeed played by a woman).(This picture is of Aladdin and his brother Wishy-Washy)
  
• An older woman character is usually played by a man in drag (Aladdin's mother was indeed a man... very funny! And hilarious costumes!!)
• The audience is encouraged to participate throughout the play. We would "Boooo!' the villain every time he came on stage and shout out warnings like, "He's behind you!," etc. The actors would prompt us with calls like, "Oh yes it is!" and we would have to shout back, "Oh no it isn't!"
• There is often a sing-off between the two sides of the audience. We had to sing "Wishy Washy likes Kung-Fu" to the tune of "Old McDonald."
• Pantomimes tend to include animal roles in their plays. Aladdin had a pet panda called Pandora.
• At some point during a panto, a character throws sweets out to the audience. Also, the villain typically shoots a water gun out at the audience. Our villain had a BIG water gun, but thankfully it didn't reach us!
  
• Often Pantos include a messy scene with some "goo" involved. In Aladdin, Wishy-Washy's character stood under a tube squirting out blue-goo!

It was so much fun for all of us. I couldn't help but be reminded of a year ago when I took Tim and Maddie to see Mary Poppins. Before we went into that show, Maddie had a complete meltdown. But this weekend, Maddie sat there and laughed and shouted and sang! It really was fun for people of all ages!

I should mention that we went to the Harrogate Theater to see the play. Harrogate Theater originally opened in January 1900 (and the first play that performed there was a Panto!). Since then, the theater has closed and re-opened many times due to lack of popularity (for example, it closed in the 1950s when the television became so popular!) The theater has also gone through a few refurbishments in the past century.

Last month, Maddie and I actually got to tour the theater with her Daisy Troop. We met a few of the actors, saw their dressing rooms, and saw the room where they make the costumes. We also got a closer look at the theater itself. When touring the theater, we got to see the view from one of the box seats. I was stunned at what a terrible perspective it was! You couldn't see the stage very well at all. But you did have a very good view of backstage and of the audience. Our tour guide told us that when the theater was built, the box seats (which she called "rubbish seats") were designed intentionally this way. The purpose of this layout was so that the audience could get a good view of who was sitting in them (and it was usually a person of some great importance who would go to the theater to be seen rather than to see the play).(The view from the box seats.)

Next year, Harrogate Theater will be putting on a Panto called "Dick Whittingdon" which was the first play ever performed in this theater. We may just have to go see it!!!