Pantomime for Americans

Given that it's June and pantomime season is nowhere near upon us, I thought that now would be the worst perfect time to explain what pantomime is for Americans.

WARNING FOR BRITS - A lot of this post might seem obvious to you. If you aren't interested in learning about pantomime from scratch, this isn't the page for you.


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We'll start by dispelling some of the elephants in the room.

1. 'Pantomime' is still a word in America, but it means something completely different. In the US of A, it means to move one's lips to match someone's singing. See also: lip-syncing. Here in the U of K though, a pantomime is a type of theatre show. 

2. Above I mentioned 'pantomime season'. This is the time of year when theatres around the country show pantomimes. It is usually defined as mid-November to mid-February.

3. During pantomime season, pantomimes are only performed in independent theatres. Theatres in the West End which are only showing one show constantly, e.g. The Vaudeville: Magic Goes Wrong;  The Adelphi: Waitress The Musical (Both correct as of UK Lockdown March 23, 2020) continue showing their respective shows year-round.

4. I may at some point refer to the term 'panto'. Don't be scared, that's just short for pantomime.

5. If I use a term that you may be unfamiliar with, my Theatre Glossary will usually be there to help.

Theatre Glossary

Theatre Glossary (n.) - Interuption of the main blog to define a term pertaining to the theatre industry or acting etc. See also recursive.

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The Story

We'll start with the story. The story tends to be a fairytale, and popular ones include:

• Cinderella
• Aladdin
• Dick Whittington
• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Sleeping Beauty (This one often has a lengthy and rather boring section in the middle sometimes referred to as 'naptime')

Theatre Glossary

Naptime (n.) - Ideal period for a nap

• Snow White
• Peter Pan
• Robin Hood

These are stories which the audience is presumed to be relatively familiar with, so that they can focus more on the retelling without having to concentrate too much on the plot.

The Characters

Although obviously the characters are different in every show (I've seen almost no versions of Jack and the Beanstalk that starred Captain Hook), there tend to be a number of character tropes used, such as:

The Principal Boy - The male lead/hero of the show, e.g. Aladdin. Sometimes this part is played by a young woman, although not always (Although if played by a male, this part is usually referred to as 'male lead' instead of Principal Boy)

The Pantomime Dame - Usually the hero's mother, e.g. Widow Twankey. This part is always played by a male, usually middle-aged, in drag. The dame usually wears many outfits, often never being seen twice in the same outfit. Said outfits are over-the-top and sometimes hint at 'her' occupation (Twankey, as a washerwoman, sometimes wears a dress and/or wig containing washing lines)

The Principal Girl - The female lead of the show, e.g. Princess Jasmine. Played by a woman. Is the Principal Boy's love interest.

The Comic Lead - This is the comic relief of the show, e.g. the Chinese Policemen. As comic relief isn't actually required in a comedy, which pantos are, in this case, the term means that they exist exclusively for laughs and affect the plot very little if at all. Sometimes the Comic Lead is one person, but often this role is taken by two people, or in some cases by a ventriloquist (1 1/2 people).

Sometimes these roles are taken by famous double acts such as The Chuckle Brothers or The Krankies.

Theatre Glossary

Chuckle Brothers (n.) - Double act of brothers Paul and Barry Chuckle (not their real surname), probably best known for their TV series ChuckleVision. The brothers no longer perform due to the death of Barry in 2018. Their funniest panto clip.

Krankies (n.) - Double act of husband and wife Janette and Ian Tough. Most famous for her playing a schoolboy despite being 73 (correct as of July 2020) 

In larger productions, the parts of Principal Boy and Girl are often taken by minor celebrities, usually from the local area.

[All the above examples come from the show Aladdin]