"Our gang" is off to the panto this evening - Cinderella, starring Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood as the Dame indeed!
It's a British tradition that I attempted to explain @adecaceago this week:
Here in the UK, it is traditional for children's theatrical entertainment at this time of year to include old men dressed as women, women dressed as boys and kissing other women, grown men dressed as cows or horses, slapstick humour, and lots of double-entendres that only adults can appreciate. Yes, it's the pantomime season again!
The rest of the world does not understand this arcane art...
You'll like it.
"Oh yes, you will!"
"Oh no, I won't!"
Oh yes, you will!"
Ad infinitum...
Well, we will, anyhow!
I'm so glad you like it, but you are correct, the rest of the world does not get it. We think the British are quaintly demented.
ReplyDeleteHey ho. We look at ridiculous spectacles like American Football - loads of men dressed up in weird padded armour spending ages moving a ball around yet never actually going anywhere - and think them to be preposterous too. So much whooping! For what? Jx
DeleteIt sounds a lot like Comedy d 'artes from the Vencie Renaissance Carnivale. Specifically, Gnaga (cat mask usually men dressing as women with a basket of kittens, later the kittens were replaced by bunches of flowers, much more manageable ! LOL) and Pantalone (old man, beaked nose and heavy eyebrows.)
ReplyDeleteBTW on my newest post I hope you watch the short YouTube link over about growing vertical meadows in London and let me know what you think or if you've seen any of them. You're in London, aren't you?
Hope you had a fun outing! Ta-ta for now!
The V&A article cites exactly that as the likeliest roots of today's pantomime - although there are elements of ribald cross-dressing in the medieval mummering and wassailing traditions, trust the Italians to make it into a form of "art"! Jx
DeletePS I am a bit behind in visiting everyone's blogs, so will check yours out a.s.a.p.
I would love to see a Panto one day. The closest I've gotten is probably some zany drag skit at a cabaret club in New York several years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe main difference between a drag show and panto is that the "Dame" is generally the one to be laughed at, rather than with, and that's why she's meant to be outrageously OTT and generally made up to look ugly (although Craig Revel Horwood's outfits were very glam - a true queen!). Next time you're in London at this time of year... Jx
DeleteI love panto, but haven't been to one in an absolute age, so I'm rather envious of you, Jon. I'm sure it was the most ridulous fun (although, I'm not sure Craig R-H would have done as good a job as you despite his wig & costume budget being higher).
ReplyDeleteHa! I have worn some sparkling outfits in my time, but never quite as "Dame-y" as Mr Revel Horwood's wardrobe last night! Jx
DeleteIt was a hoot wasn't it. I couldn't have enjoyed the evening more! Who new Craig could sing like that ! All I can say is 'Fab U Lous' Darling - 10.
ReplyDeletePantomime is absolutely bonkers but pure joy for the young and old alike.
It does have its roots in the Italian 'Commedia dell'arte' mixed with medieval 'mummers plays' and a healthy dose of Victorian 'Music Hall'. The result is Pantomime and has been ratified by the 2003 UNESCO Convention as part of Britain's intangible cultural heritage .
Oh Yes it has !
I should have read your reply before I wrote mine (to ProximaBlue above).
DeletePure joy? Oh yes, it was!! Jx
What fun. I love that you have a gang.
ReplyDeleteIt is huge fun - the sort of entertainment that takes very little in the way of concentration, but lets you immerse yourself in its utter silliness. The kids in the audience loved it (of course), but the secret of the "formula" is that it is also peppered with the sort of "nudge nudge, wink wink" innuendo that only adults "get", so everyone else has a great time too. Jx
DeleteThere are some things that only the English can do. Panto is a classic example.
ReplyDeleteBritish.
DeleteBut yes, I agree. Panto, drag artists who sing rather than pose and mime, satire, talking about the weather, queuing - all British specialities! Jx