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HistoryThe performance of pantomime originates at its earliest in ancient Greece, but exploded in popularity during the reign of Augustus in ancient Rome. The name is taken from a single masked dancer called Pantomimus. The style and content of modern pantomime has very clear and strong links with the Commedia dell'arte, a form of popular theatre that arose in Italy in the early middle ages, and which reached England by the 16th century. A "comedy of professional artists" traveling from province to province in Italy and then France, they improvised and told stories which told lessons to the crowd and changed the main character depending on where they were performing. The great clown Grimaldi transformed the format. Each story had the same fixed characters: the lovers, father, servants (one being crafty and the other stupid), etc. These roles/characters can be found in today's pantomimes.
In Restoration England, a pantomime was considered a low form of opera, rather like the Commedia dell'arte but without Harlequin (rather like the French Vaudeville). In 1717, actor and manager John Rich introduced Harlequin to the British stage under the name of "Lun" (for "lunatic") and began performing wildly popular pantomimes. These pantomimes gradually became more topical and comic, often involving as many special theatrical effects as possible. Colley Cibber and his colleagues competed with Rich and produced their own pantomimes, and pantomime was a substantial (if decried) subgenre in Augustan drama. This form had virtually died out by the end of the 19th century. Pantomime traditions and conventionsTraditionally performed at Christmas, with family audiences consisting mainly of children and parents, British pantomime is now a popular form of theatre, incorporating song, dance, buffoonery, slapstick, in-jokes, audience participation and mild sexual innuendo (but to the innocent everything is pure). Plots are often loosely based on traditional children's stories, the most popular titles being:
The form has a number of conventions, some of which have changed or weakened a little over the years.
Guest celebrity in pantomime
Until the decline of the British music hall tradition by the late 1950s, many popular artists played in pantomimes across the country. Nowadays, a pantomime occasionally pulls off a coup by engaging a guest star with an unquestionable thespian reputation, as was the case with the Christmas 2004 production of Aladdin that featured Sir Ian McKellen as Widow Twankey, which he reprised in the 2005 production at the Old Vic theatre in London. As well as being an actor in the Shakespearean tradition, McKellen had become hugely famous with children as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Magneto in X-Men. "At least we can tell our grandchildren that we saw McKellen's Twankey and it was huge," said Michael Billington, theatre critic of The Guardian, December 20, 2004, entering into the pantomime spirit. However in modern times, the value of these celebrities in provincial pantomime, either as actors or attractions, is sometimes questionable with erstwhile soap stars, comedians or sportsmen reviving a declining public career. Modern revival of the traditionOne of the most popular and critically acclaimed (not to mention commercially successful) pantomimes in recent years has been the one at the York Theatre Royal. It features no guest celebrities, but rather a regular cast headed by Berwick Kaler, who has played the dame there for 27 years and has built up a devoted fan-base. Kaler has been credited with reviving a dying tradition. Tickets go on sale April 1; in 2005 the first buyer turned up at 3am. Well before the opening they had sold 30,000 of the 50,000 seats, something that many celebrity-centred pantomimes could only dream of. In a 2004 interview, Kaler said:
Pantomime in AustraliaPantomimes in Australia at Christmas have also always been very popular, and professional productions often feature celebrities. During the 1950s, a Christmas Cinderella pantomime in Sydney featured Danny Kaye as Buttons. There are also radio pantomimes at Christmas which are featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Pantomime in CanadaThe Millennium Players in Maple Ridge, British Columbia offer a yearly traditional Christmas pantomime in December at The ACT Theatre. Past productions have included Cinderella (2003), Little Red Riding Hood (2004), Jack and The Beanstalk (2005) and Aladdin and His Magic Lamp (2006). In Fall 2006, "Broadway Across Canada" presented the Ross Petty Production of Aladdin in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon and Ottawa starring Bret "The Hitman" Hart as the genie, from a Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning script written by David Finley[2]. The Kingston Meistersingers [3] presented an original pantomime production of Cinderella, written by Richard Linley, at l'Octave Theatre in Kingston, Ontario, in late November 2006. Peel Pantomime Players[4] Canada's oldest continually operating pantomime group, celebrating its 36th year in 2006, brought Norman Robbins Rumpelstiltzkin to the stage at the Lester B. Pearson Theatre in Brampton, Ontario, in late November and early December 2006. SMP Dramatic Society in North Vancouver, B.C., has presented a pantomime every January for more than 10 years now, with its most recent production being Robin Hood and the Singing Nun written by Stuart Ardern scheduled for mid-January 2007. The NAGs Players have performed pantomimes at the Tranzac Club in Toronto every February since the 1970s. Recent productions include Snow White and the Several Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel McKenzie, Eh? - A Canadian Panto, and The Emperor's New Clothes. Pantomime in the United States of AmericaIn the United States, pantomime is more commonly understood to refer to the art of mime, as practised by mime artists such as Marcel Marceau. Because of this, pantomime is less common and, more often, many people think of mime as a street performance to generate income, rather than a theatrical performance. The Shoestring Shakespeare Company, a troupe based in San Antonio, Texas, puts on a pantomime every year. The Hideout Players in Chicago presented their first annual Christmas pirate panto in December 2006 entitled "Catfish Girl and her adventures amongst mermaids and pyrates". It featured a pantomime whale/duck named "Moby Duck" and starred Jon Langford as Mrs Hammerhead (pantomime dame), Kelly Hogan as Cap'n Skate and Janet Bean as the Queen of the Mermaids. The Eastern Michigan University Theater Department began producing a Christmas pantomime in 2005 with Pinocchio and then revived the tradition this year with a version of Treasure Island. Shakespeare Santa Cruz has presented several pantomimes during its winter season including Cinderella, The Princess and the Pea, Gretel and Hansel, and the 2006 world premiere of Sleeping Beauty by Kate Hawley, directed by SSC artistic director Paul Whitworth. [5] In New York City, Pantomonium Productions presents holiday pantomimes annually. This non-profit company brings children and families together with a diverse cast of arts professionals and volunteers to create a uniquely American interpretation of this British tradition. Each summer, children collaborate with teachers and composers to write words and music that become part of the annual production. The majority of tickets are donated to disadvantaged children and families through partnerships with social service organizations.[6] Pantomime in the UKThe Pantomime first arrived in England as entr'actes between opera pieces, eventually evolving into separate shows. The Lincoln's Inn Field Theatre and the Drury Lane Theatre were the first to stage pantomimes, creating high competition between them to create the more elaborate show. As manager of Drury Lane in the 1870s, Augustus Harris is now considered the father of modern pantomime. The New Wimbledon Theatre in London is considered to be the "home of London pantomime". PopularityActor Cary Grant, in spite of decades spent in the United States, rarely missed an opportunity to see an English pantomime, which he had loved as a boy in his native Britain. References
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