Sunday, 23 February 2014

Amateur Panto is the Best

Photo by Lynette Hill                  
Former pirates Pat (Kim Benton) and Pete (Tina Cherry) show off their amazing Dispensomatic machine to the Chancellor (Rod Fine) and Queen Frederica of Denmark (Matt Drew).
Professional or amateur, panto is fun.

If you enjoy live theatre and fairy tales, you will enjoy pantomime. Pantomime, or panto to its friends, is the British Christmas tradition of light-hearted, gender-bending family-oriented live musical theatre. 


It has become one of my favourite experiences since moving here. 

Professional panto is fun.   

 Photo courtesy CNNHenry Winkler as CaptainHook

Photo courtesy CNN
Henry Winkler as Captain Hook
It’s also a good place to find former American television stars. ‘The Fonz’ Henry Winkler graced Milton Keynes Theatre’s stage as the villainous Captain Hook for the 2008 Christmas season (Here’s a link to a CNN story about some of Henry Winkler’s other adventures in Pantoland) . For the 2010 season Dirk Benedict of A-Team and Battlestar Galactica fame played Dick Whittington’s nemesis, the evil King Rat.  

Dirk Benedict as King Rat
But amateur panto is so much better. This is where you will find panto as it’s meant to be experienced. 

My favourite panto is the amateur production put on annually by the Launton Village Players at the Cooper School Performance Hall in Bicester, Oxfordshire. The whole community gets behind it and they sell out all of their six performances every year.


It’s also the reason I’m writing about Panto now, in February.  The Launton Village Players hold their Panto in February every year because that’s when they can get the stage space. 

While the panto is loosely based on a popular fairy tale (this year in Bicester it's the Little Mermaid) the scripts, music and every other part of the production is created by local folks

You know the story: Young mermaid Crystal saves the life of Eric, Crown Prince of Denmark, after a terrible ship wreck. Of course they fall in love. Of course such a match is impossible. Crystal unwisely seeks the help of Ingrid, the witch of Snaggle Rock. All Ingrid asks in payment for her services is Crystal's voice. Crystal doesn't realize that Ingrid actually caused Eric's shipwreck and is quite miffed that he survived. Ingrid plots to use Crystal's voice to win Eric for herself.

Can true love prevail? Will Crystal get her man? Well, it is panto after all.

Amateur or professional, any reasonably traditional panto includes certain elements:

It's camp. 
By tradition in panto, men often play female characters and women often play male characters. (Those of a certain age will remember Mary Martin in Peter Pan.)

The Dame: The Dame is the star of the show. She is always larger than life and played to comic effect by a man in drag. She must have big hair and extravagantly colourful clothing. She is usually (but not always) on the side of the hero.

Jack, our hero: The hero of the story is generally (but not always) a plucky young boy played by a female actor. At some point in the play he/she must slap his leg in an exaggerated manner while coming to some conclusion important to the plot. If the Jack character is not the hero of the story (as in The Little Mermaid, where the heroine is Crystal) he will generally still show up as the comic relief.

The Villain: This part can be played by the Dame but that's unusual. The villain can be of either gender and is always obvious from the very beginning of the play. Every entrance the villain makes is always greeted by hisses and boos. 

The Chorus: A panto is a musical. So you must have a chorus to sing and dance and a band to play along.  

And don't forget the candy. Health and safety rules may not allow the cast to throw sweeties at ... er ... to their audience anymore, but they still manage to find creative ways to share the treats. It's tradition, after all.

This link will take you to Wikipedia's explanation of panto.


 


Ponies near Woburn Sands, Buckinghamshire

Ponies in a water-logged field near Woburn Sands, Buckinghamshire.      Photo by Lynette Hill

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

A Cock and Bull Story



Road into Stony Stratford
Once upon a time, in 18th and 19th century England, weary travellers would gather in the inns of Stony Stratford for a pint and to share the news of the day. At the time, Stony Stratford was an important stopover point for coaches travelling the Roman-built Watling Road between London and northern Britain. Coach travellers were the main source of news from remote parts of the country.
Bridge across the River Ouse



You know how it goes. A few pints in and tongues loosen, tall tales get taller. Storytellers compete to come up with the oddest, the strangest, the most outlandish stories. As the town’s web site tells it, the town’s two main coaching inns developed a rivalry as well, vying to be known as the best place to hear a good story. As it happened, these inns were named The Cock and The Bull. 
Bull Hotel, Stony Stratford


And this, the Stony Stratford Cock and Bull Society insists, is how the phrase ‘Cock and Bull story’ originated.

There are other stories claiming a different origin for the phrase 'Cock and Bull story' but this is Stony's story and they're sticking to it.


In honour of this proud story telling heritage, Stony Stratford holds an annual literary festival every January. The festival includes bardic trials that end with the selection of the town’s poet for the year. This year’s bard is Phil Chippendale.

But the story-telling and the drinking go on. This Friday and Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. both days, Stony Stratford is hosting the 11th Cock and Bull Real Beer Festival. You’ll find it at York House Centre on London Road (MK11 1JQ for your sat nav). Entry is free and the music is live, if you are interested in attending. 


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