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Who is the pantomime dame in Aladdin?
Widow Twankey
Widow Twankey (originally Twankay, sometimes Twanky) is a female character in the pantomime Aladdin which takes place in either China, Arabia or Persia. The character is a pantomime dame, portrayed by a man.
Why are pantomime dames played by men?
At the time traditional folk stories were replacing classical sketches as the basis of panto, and the cross-dressing of the commedia evolved into a key part of the fun. Thus it was that the tradition emerged of a principal boy played by a young woman, and a co-starring dame played by an old man.
What characters will you find in pantomime?
The main traditional elements of a pantomime are:
- Principal Boy.
- Principal Girl.
- The Villain.
- Good/Bad Fairy.
- Comedy characters.
- Panto animal.
- Slapstick scene.
- Singalong (involving audience)
What is the famous pantomime called?
Some of the most popular pantomime stories include Cinderella, Aladdin, Dick Whittington and His Cat and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as Jack and the Beanstalk, Peter Pan, Puss in Boots and Sleeping Beauty.
When did pantomime dames start?
1806
The first pantomime dame appeared in 1806 The first pantomime dame, as we would recognise it in the UK, goes all the way back to the succinctly named Harlequin, and the Mother Goose; or, The Golden Egg performed at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden on December 29th 1806.
Is panto a drag?
A pantomime dame is a traditional role in British pantomime. It is part of the theatrical tradition of travesti portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. Dame characters are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting butch in women’s clothing.
What is panto in the UK?
A panto is a traditional fairy tale complete with songs, dances, jokes, exaggerated characters and lots of audience participation. The British love a good panto. The centerpiece of any panto is The Dame, a comic, larger than life character, played by a man.
What is British pantomime?
A panto is a traditional fairy tale complete with songs, dances, jokes, exaggerated characters and lots of audience participation. The British love a good panto. In fact the nation has been mad on it ever since the actor manager John Rich introduced it in 1717.
Who is the Dame in the pantomime tradition?
Pantomime is surpassed only by Shakespeare in terms of the gender bending casting in it’s long history. Most famously the panto dame (traditionally played by a bloke in a frock, but more recently with elements of the performance art of drag).
Who is the longest running pantomime dame in the UK?
Not only does this actor play the pantomime dame every single year in the annual show at York Theatre Royal, but he also writes and directs the show. Berwick Kaler is Britain’s longest-running consecutive pantomime dame and a traditionalist too.
Who was the Dame in the pantomime at Drury Lane?
Dan Leno – (1860–1904) a legendary pantomime dame, whose ghost is said to haunt the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. John Linehan (born 1952) – Northern Irish actor and pantomime dame better known as the character May McFettridge. Resident Dame at Grand Opera House, Belfast.
What are the variations on the theme of pantomime?
There are lots of variations on the basic principal, and these phrases can be used in a variety of formats depending on the plot point (that’s right, pantomime does have plot points occasionally). Variations can include: Another phrase, chanted most enthusiastically by younger audience members, is the old chestnut “it’s behind you”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7vEKw_O6mY