During the summer months pantomime season seems so far away but these colourful and spectacular shows are constantly being devised, written and put together throughout the whole year, some may even start as early as January! Auditions for pantomime performers start in the spring and many actors will be auditioning or performing in pantomime for their very first time. Lucky them!
If you are a seasoned pantomime actor you will most probably not need to read this article, because pantomime skills are learned, practiced and developed over a number of years. Each panto offers a new array of jokes, songs and panto sketches and no panto is ever the same. But for the new panto virgin, it’s a whole new ‘pandora’s box’ of performance skills waiting to be introduced.
Actor Hub Pantomime Hints and Tips!
What is Pantomime or Panto?
Visitors to the UK are always a bit confused about what a pantomime actually is. Some expect some kind of mime performance, a stage full of white faced characters dressed in black garb silently acting out a story to a captivated audience. In fact it’s the complete opposite! Pantomime is probably the most colourful, noisiest, rowdiest sort of theatre you can attend in Britain.
British pantomimes take familiar fairy tales and popular children’s stories like Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White, Mother Goose, Dick Whittington and adds a bit of British vaudeville music hall, contemporary references and huge amounts of audience participation to create a raucous, noisy entertainment that’s fun for all the family. In a nut shell it’s ‘good versus evil’ stories, bright scenery, outrageous costumes, visual comedy, singing, dancing, and lots of audience participation.
Pantomimes are and will always remain popular. You wouldn’t expect 5 year olds to sit through ‘Hamlet’ or some 80 year olds to sit through a ‘One Direction’ concert but a panto audience will include people from all ages and backgrounds. It’s totally unique.
In addition to the innuendo and bawdy gags there is always a breathtaking ‘transformation’ scene which should always wow the audience. Most pantos have a moment when the set designers bring out their most magical special effects with twinkly lights, disappearing characters, clouds of smoke and other magical effects. Every story has it’s traditional transformation scene like Cinderella’s emergence in her ball gown with her coach and footmen or Aladdin’s discovery of the genie in the cave of glittering jewels.
Pantomime has always been a regular source of employment for actors and performers every Christmas and New Year who are armed with a special set of performance skills to master the lively audience.
All too often newcomers to the colourful world of pantomime totally underestimate what they’re letting themselves in for. Some presume that the audition and even the pantomime will be a ‘breeze’ because it’s just singing and performing in front of a rowdy, jolly and festive family audience. Of all the aspects of theatre, pantomime is perhaps the most demanding, and some say the most unforgiving, when it comes to performance.
Nowadays you have to be an ‘all rounder’ when working in pantomime. You have to act, sing, improvise and dance numerous routines not to mention the essential comic timing and spontaneity. The number of companies using specialist dancers seem to be decreasing year by year as budgets become tighter and the need to utilise a company to maximum effect becomes ever stronger.
If you are interested in being in a pantomime, or get your first panto audition we recommend that you read ‘The Pantomime Book’ by Paul Harris. It’s a great introduction to any panto career and can offer you guidance and a professional insight into all the panto gags, routines, sketches and useful tricks of the trade.
Pantomime Roles
British pantomime has very deep roots, drawing on the 15th and 16th century traditions of Commedia del Arte for an assortment of stock characters and other conventions. Nothing has changed, the British pantomime has a cast of these stock characters which will include:
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Principle Boy/GirlThis is usually the main character in the pantomime and is usually played by a young actress dressed in male attire. It’s quite common for Aladdin or Dick Whittington to be played by a female. Parts like Snow White and Cinderella are always performed by a young female actress. -
DameThe Panto Dame is usually the hero’s mother and is traditionally performed by a middle aged male actor in drag. The Dame has to be exceptionally good at comedy and have excellent comic timing. The mainstream pantomimes usually hire a celebrity to play the part or use a seasoned Dame who comes every year with their own numerous costumes, wigs, gags and banter. Think of Jack’s Mother in Jack in the Beanstalk or Widow Twankey from Aladdin. A panto dame should always be full of fun and be very likeable. Some great famous panto dames include the late Danny la Rue, Norman Evans, John Inman and Les Dawson. -
Co-Principal Boy/GirlThis part is normally the hero’s love interest and like the Principle can be sometimes played by a female actress. On the other hand Prince Charming will always be played by a young dashing male actor who will sweep Snow White or Cinderella off their feet. The principle lovers will always have a romantic duet to sing during the show and live happily ever after! -
Comic LeadThe comic lead is the part that relates to the audience and is usually played by a male actor. The comic lead is usually played by an actor with good comedy skills and be very good at slapstick. Buttons in Cinderella is a good example of a comic lead role who will encourage the audience to participate in the singing. The comic lead often has phrases that he repeats several times during the show in which the audience will naturally respond to. For example he may say “Oh no it isn’t” and the audience will reply “Oh yes it is”. -
VillainSome actors really relish in the part of the panto villain. This is the pantomime’s antagonist. The part is the enemy of the various pantomime characters and the audience and can be portrayed as a wizard, witch or be just plain old nasty! The villain can be played by both male and female actors. Think of the Wicked Queen in Snow White or the Ugly Sisters. Good male panto villains are Captain Hook from Peter Pan, Baron HardUp from Cinderella, King Rat from Dick Whittington or the Evil Abanazar from Aladdin. This character usually gets booed and hissed everytime they enter on and off stage and they are always overthrown at the end. In fact the more boos you get, the better you have done your job! -
Villainous SidekickSome pantomimes will have a sidekick for the Villain to scold and to get them to do their dirty work. This pairing can usually create lots of humour and slapstick entertainment due to the inadequacy of the sidekick. Think of Smee in Peter Pan or the Magic Mirror in Snow White. They always tend to be a bit dim. -
Double ActsMost pantomimes have a good double act. Cinderella has the Ugly Sisters. Mother Goose has the Bailiffs. Alice in Wonderland has Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee and one version of Aladdin even has two inept comic policeman called Pep-si and Ko-la! These are great roles and are worth getting. Some pantos employ comic duos or pair actors up during auditions. -
Good Fairy or Wise WomanThis role is usually performed by a female actor or sometimes by a male performer in drag. A good example of this role would be the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. The Wise Woman character also helps the traditional silly hero defeat the more intelligent villain. This type of character role is vital for the resolution of the plot. There are also many ‘supernatural parts’ like spirits and genies to add to the mix. -
Pantomime AnimalsSomeone has to do it! The role of the panto horse or cow is vital to any pantomime and is very hard physical work. The cow or horse is made up of two actors who become the front and back of the animal and the character is always well loved by the audience. Daisy or Buttercup is Jack’s cow in Jack and the Beanstalk and is a good example of this back breaking role. On the other hand you may get the part of the Cat in Dick Whittington or the Goose in Mother Goose! If any panto is written without a panto animal, chances are that the director will shoe-horn one in somewhere. The audiences just love them! The casting panel usually look for actors with good acrobatic or physical theatre skills. -
Chorus or EnsembleNew pantomime performers usually begin their careers in an ‘ensemble’, where they will be employed as much for their singing and acting skills as for their movement abilities. Some ensemble performers will usually have small minor speaking roles and will definitely be expected to understudy principal performers. There’s no better way to learn about pantomime than starting out in the ‘ensemble’. -
DancersAnother ensemble team maybe made up of a group of dancers or the dance numbers may be performed by the chorus or ensemble. Quite a few pantomimes these days include a childrens dance school or academy who are used in large dance spots during the pantomime, which can be a lovely touch as some of the dancers are very talented children, who the audience will adore.
