" Twelve o'clock and no sign of Dick" at the audience......I have always thought of the medium as more low brow than the poorest of soaps.
( for my readers that are not well versed in this particular brand of theatre ....please have a look at wikipedia's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime)
Tonight Chris and my sisters, hubbies and sister in law went to Llandudno for a meal and to see Sleeping Beauty......
Some of it was poorly acted
Some of the jokes were bleeding dire
And some of the dancing had old hoofer Chris tutting in his seat.
But do you know what?
After an hour watching a faded tv star hamming things up in a big frock and a Polish accent, I realized that despite my snobbishness
I was actually enjoying the production...
( I particularly liked the evil queen shouting at the audience with a rasping" I've been hissed in the morning, hissed in the afternoon and hissed in the evening"
Fancy that!
That's my kind of critique.
ReplyDeleteAre you hissed? X
ReplyDeleteNo, but you're my best mate. You, accusing a panto of being low-brow!
DeleteLower than a snakes bollocks
DeleteHave you got any snakes? Do they fart?
DeleteLike the queen Mary's hooter!
DeleteOK you two!! This is great Saturday night entertainment! Thanks guys!!
ReplyDeleteI once played a pirate in a panto...I was the original Cpt Jack Sparrow...mincing across the stage like a .....
ReplyDeleteJane x
I shall leave a comment. Oh no you wont! Did you know that pantomime is not really known of in places such as North America. Of course, your huge list of overseas adoring fans will now get an idea of what it's all about. Oh yes they will....What's that behind you, John?
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ReplyDeleteMy English parents took my sister and me (NZ born) to see a London panto when I was 11. 'Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood' at the London Palladium (and featuring, strangely, a man called 'Nurse'...)
ReplyDeleteAlso there: Sid James, Frank Ifield, Arthur Askey, Kenneth Connor, and Roy Kinnear. Of course the names meant nothing to me then.
Yep, definately low brow. But also great fun, lots of laughs, and audience involvement. We were PART of the act. I loved every second. I'm glad they are still Carrying On.
Well, I LOVE PANTO. It's been part of my life ever since I could walk. I must say that the cast at Llandudno doesn't look too good (I've never heard of any of them). Panto needs a really good cast, you need a really good seat (I always have a box), and you need to have visited the pub' before the theatre.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of panto….was never taken as a kid ( I expect it cost too much!) I took my first child ( now aged 35) to a local one when he was 3, and it was so awful we never went again. I think you probably have to get in the spirit as a child and then the " magic" sticks with you.
ReplyDeleteSome panto is slightly more sophisticated these days but I do love it's tackiness!
ReplyDeleteI saw the divine Wayne Sleep as the dame farting her way up a ladder - marvelous stuff !
ReplyDeleteOur village panto is excellent & it's a joy to be involved
( making the teas & scenery painting )
I love to see people from our village transformed into; dames, milkmaids, knights, Basil Fawlty or Captain Mainwaring to name a few!
It's full of innuendo, local jokes, fabulous costumes, props & scenery and all for six quid.
You were with loved ones and enjoying the naffness of it all....great stuff.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea this was still popular. I'd probably enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteOur tastes change as we get .umm..older.
ReplyDelete'He's behind you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
ReplyDeleteOnly ever went to one panto. Must have been about 10 or 11 - 'Jack & the B'. Can't remember who was in it but the main 'star' had the catch phrase "daft as a brush". I remember just two more things - girls dressed as soldiers (or was it sailors?), vaguely of the Napoleonic era, marching around in shiny white trousers which kept getting caught in the crack of their bottoms - and the 'beanstalk' itself, sprouting up from the back of the stage being pulled up to height by a wire, conspicuously visible in the stage lights. Oh, the cherished memories of our youth (and earlier)!
ReplyDeleteIt's just come to me. The 'star' was one Ken Platt.
DeleteIt's behind you!
ReplyDeleteI love hissing.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
So you're expanding your palate a bit, that's all. Some entertainment may be low-brow or juvenile, but a good laugh is a good laugh.
ReplyDeleteAt my last location, a troupe decided to do a panto. I was unsure if they were a group of Anglophiles or if there were a few British ex-pats amongst them.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, they had so much fun doing the panto, that it was great fun to watch, even if it was too camp. It did me good to see something silly, and i'd go again, given the chance.
Ah, the smell of oranges and wet knickers!
ReplyDeleteThat comment was hilarious
DeleteI love pantomimes for the audience participation - any opportunity for shouting out, hissing and booing, and I'm there!
ReplyDelete