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| Folklife Festival 2003 > Scotland > Performers
> Pantomime |
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| pantomime |
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| SCOTTISH PANTOMIME |
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| Pantomime or "panto"
is a uniquely British form of entertainment. An essential part of
the Scottish Christmas season, panto is performed throughout Scotland
in scores of large and small theaters by professional, semi-professional,
and amateur panto troupes. Annually, from early December to late January,
hundreds of thousands of Scottish children and adults attend these
popular plays. |
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We have nothing like panto in the United States.
It is part 19th-century musical hall, part vaudeville, part mummer's
play, part fairy tale, part Italian commedia dell'arte, and part
slick modern showbiz. Panto is a mélange of songs, jokes,
comedy sketches, and dance numbers. It uses a limited number of
well-known fairy tales, such as Cinderella, Aladdin, Snow White,
and Jack and the Beanstalk; some stock characters, such as Buttons,
the Evil Stepmother, the Ugly Sisters, the Dame (usually played
by a man), and the Principal Boy (frequently played by a woman);
and many favorite catch phrases. It weaves references to local personalities,
international news, local gossip, and ad lib comments into each
show.
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unique aspect of panto is its form of audience participation. Audience
members are encouraged to boo-and-hiss "baddies," warn the
"goodies" of impending danger ("It's behind you!")
and talk back to the actors. (When an evildoer says "Oh, no he
won't!" the entire audience knows to yell back in unison "Oh,
yes he will!") Actors toss candies from the stage, lunge into
the audience for "volunteers," and start conversations with
individual audience members. The main concern is fun rather than plot,
and everyone, including the audience, has a traditional role to play
in this form of folk theater. Pantos are not only tremendous entertainment,
but also an extremely effective way to introduce children to the joys
of live theater.
The history of panto has yet
to be fully written. Older theatrical elements - including cross-dressing,
rhymed verse, and clowning - hint that the form might have deep
historical roots. This suggestion is strengthened by panto's run
in midwinter during the ancient Roman holiday of Saturnalia, when
the "Lords of Misrule" traditionally held sway. But even
if panto's past is murky, its future seems bright, especially in
Scotland. A new generation of panto writers and performers, nurtured
by panto luminaries such as Stanley Baxter, Rikki Fulton, Johnny
Beattie, and the late Jimmy Logan, are bringing new life to the
tradition. We are delighted to work with staff and students from
Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dance to bring panto
to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
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| Coming to the Festival... |
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| Pantomime director Alan McHugh
(Glasgow) |
| —who in addition
to his successful acting career Sunset Song; Taggart; etc.) is a respected
"panto" writer and performer of the annual panto at the
Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy -- will be joined by RSAMD students,
William Barlow, Joanna Horton, and Lee O'Driscoll for a series of
workshops on this uniquely British form of holiday entertainment.
Panto is virtually unknown to American audiences, and we will feature
the Scottish version of this distinctive folk theater via Festival
workshops and discussions.
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