‘It’s behind you!’ How Britain goes wild for pantomimes during the holidays : NPR
The wicked witch ‘Adelphaba’ (played by Gigi Zahir) on stage at the Pleasance Theater in north London
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Ella Carmen Dale/Handout
LONDON – Eerie music begins. A scary green witch announces her arrival with a giggle. This is the opening of Wicked Witchesa British holiday play known as a “pantomime”, at a theater in north London.
But shortly after entering the stage, it’s clear that the witch is not happy with the audience.
She says the audience is too quiet and should boo her as loud as possible, because she is the “villain” of the pantomime. She leaves the stage and returns – and this time the audience does as they are told, heckling with loud boos.
Throughout the two-hour play, the audience is expected to join in by shouting classic lines that most audience members already know, even if they haven’t seen this play. Pantomimes are famous for crowds shouting slogans like “It’s behind you!” » — to alert the actors to something or someone they can’t see on stage.
Across Britain during the festive period, families attend pantomimes – often shortened to ‘pantos’ – which help them get into the Christmas spirit. Pantomimes are usually based on a well-known story, often a fairy tale, which is then given a bawdy twist. Traditionally, they feature female characters, or “ladies”, played by a man in drag, and include lots of music, particularly pop parodies.
The Pleasance Theater show is inspired by THE Wizard of Oz And Wicked. Its storyline imagines a snowstorm that brings Dorothy (whose name has become Dor) back to Oz, 20 years after that first visit. But in many ways, the plot comes second to the silly jokes, innuendoes, and songs.
Actor Sir Ian McKellen plays Toto the dog in a music video from the pantomime Wicked Witches.
Plaisance Theater
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Plaisance Theater
Pantomimes are also known for featuring celebrities and public figures. This one features the politician Jeremy Corbyn, who led the British Labor Party. He appears in the video under the name The Wizard of Oz-lington, a play on words on Islington, the district of London which he represents, now as an independent, in Parliament. Even more exciting is actor Ian McKellen – famous for playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films – who is seen in a music video as Toto the dog.
THE Wicked Witches The north London pantomime was actually written by an American, Shane “ShayShay” Konno, who is originally from California’s Bay Area but has lived in the UK for 12 years. “I didn’t grow up in the UK and when I moved here, starting to understand pantomime felt like a huge cultural hurdle,” says Konno.
Pantomime has its roots in Italian commedia dell’arte, a form of theater that dates back to the 16th century. In Britain it has gradually developed over the years. “The real history of pantomime started in East London, and it used to be a huge thing where the whole community came together,” says Konno.
Konno is non-binary and their pantomime is consciously LGBTQ-inclusive, featuring a non-binary character in the lead role of Dor and a message that people should accept people who are different from them. “I wanted to do something that did an explicitly LGBT version of The Wizard of Oz And Wickedbecause it’s a franchise that’s very beloved by the queer community,” Konno says.
There are two versions: one for families with children and one reserved for adults. But Konno says they’re not as different as you might think. Most of the crudest jokes remain on the family show, but they are carefully disguised. “When a joke is said that’s pretty crude, but it goes over the kids’ heads, it tickles the adults in the room more than it would on an adult show, because they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe they said that in front of the kids,'” Konno says.
December 6: Characters perform on stage at the Wicked Witches pantomime in north London.
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Most British theaters put on an annual pantomime over the festive period – and it is often their most popular production of the year. Johnny McKnight, originally from Paisley, a town near Glasgow, Scotland, has been performing and writing pantomimes in Scotland for 20 years and says it is an essential part of many Britons’ Christmas celebrations.
“I always told everyone that when you do a pantomime and you do 12 shows a week, you’re giving people their Christmas ritual, their Christmas evening,” McKnight said. McKnight often plays the role of the lady, dressing in drag.
McKnight has seen different generations of the same families grow up watching his shows and explains that pantomime is often the first time British children visit the theatre. “Most of the time, it’s a child’s first point of entry,” McKnight says. “It was definitely mine, my first entry point into theater.”
At Wicked Witches show in North London, there are a lot of children at the theater for the first time. Imogen Coackley is 8 years old and hangs out with her father Alex and her sister Emily, 5. Imogen explains that she likes pantomime because “they say very funny jokes and talk to the audience”.
McKnight says seeing kids enjoy his shows is one of the best parts of his job. “There’s something… magical about it, that you’re creating something accessible that speaks to its audience rather than to them, asking them to participate,” he says.
