Pantomime is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to the era of classical theatre and developed partly from the 16th century commedia dellarte tradition of Italy and other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques and music hall. Pantomime is performed mostly during the Christmas and New Year season in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Australasia, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, Malta, and Andorra, among other places.
Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers. Audience participation is a very important part of a pantomime, and the audience is encouraged to boo the villain whenever he enters the stage, argue with the Dame (who is always a man), and warn the Principal Boy (who is always a girl) when the villain is behind them by shouting out “He’s behind you!”.
Pantomimes are nearly always based on well-known children’s stories such as Peter Pan, Aladdin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. The timing of the British pantomime at Christmas and the role reversal of the lead characters (the principal boy being played by a girl and the Dame by a man) may have evolved from the Tudor “Feast of Fools,” presided over by the Lord of Misrule.
Pantomime presents a tale of good and evil, where hope triumphs over adversity after danger and virtual despair. It is a type of theatre classified as Commedia dell’ Arte, a theatre genre originating in renaissance Italy.
