insideKENT Magazine Issue 55 - October 2016 | Page 26

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

It’s Behind You!
2016 KENT PANTOMIMES

Is there anything more eccentrically British than
the good old pantomime?
With its dames and principal boys, its musical numbers and
dance routines, its silly, funny catchphrases, the panto is a
thigh-slapping, audience-participating event that millions of
us enjoy every Christmas time.
So would it surprise you to discover that this
‘British institution’ is, in fact, not British at all?
Pantomime originated in Italy in the 16th century,
and many of the elements that we know and love
today were evident in what was then called the
Commedia dell’arte street theatre. It was just as
vulgar, just as bawdy, just as funny, and just as
physical as the panto is today.
Throughout the 1500s, small touring companies
took these loud, lewd plays throughout Italy and
France – they made for the big marketplaces and
important annual fairs, and the stories revolved
around the same characters: Pantalone (the old
man), Pierrot (the clown), Columbine (the heroine)
and Arlecchino (the servant).

As their popularity increased, the stories made
their way over to England in the early 1600s. It
was entrepreneur, playwright, director and
producer John Rich who saw just how exciting
(and lucrative!) these characters and stories could
be, and it was he who took the traditional
Commedia dell’arte and turned it into the
Harlequinades, the forerunner to the pantomime
we know today. He changed a few things as he
went – Arlecchino the servant became Harlequin
the magician, and a new level of fun was created.
By the time the Victorians established their
traditional, big Christmas celebrations, the
pantomime had become an important part of it
all. Stories evolved to be (for the most part) fairy
tales with familiar characters, and it was all rather
naughty, albeit in a safe, permitted kind of way.

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Where else would a Victorian gentleman see a
lady’s ankle – and leg, come to that – but at the
pantomime, thanks to the principal boy and her
skimpy costume? Where else could rude jokes
be made in such good spirits that wouldn’t offend
anyone present? Where else could an audience
shout and stamp their feet and sing along and
not only be allowed to, but expected to make a
ruckus?
It could only be the pantomime.
Today the annual outing to the pantomime is just
as much something to look forward to as it always
was – and it is the ideal way to introduce young
children to the theatre, giving them a magical
experience that they will never forget.