What Makes A Good Pantomime?

An annual tradition or perhaps the fi rst visit to the theatre, going to a christmas show should be a truly memorable experience. Susan Elkin has some pointers.

No. It isn’t behind you. It’s all before you. As Ink Pellet goes to press the Christmas Show season is about to get underway. Teachers, teaching assistants, parents, grandparents et all are all gearing up to take parties, large or small, to theatres all over the country to see a pantomime, an adaptation of a children’s book or an original piece of theatre for young audiences.

Last year I saw more Christmas shows than ever – about 25 – and they ranged from dramatisations of stories to classical music and ballet, lots of work for very young children and, of course, pantomimes. This season promises to be just as busy from Mother Goose at Marlowe Theatre Canterbury to Snow White at Chickenshed in North London, The Wizard of Oz at Chichester Festival Theatre, Sleeping Beauty at Nottingham Playhouse, Once Upon a Snowfl ake at Tower Theatre Folkestone and a whole lot more.

I wonder how many pantos I’ve seen in the twenty years or so that I’ve been reviewing? Three hundred perhaps – maybe more. I’ve certainly enjoyed/sat through (delete as applicable) enough to have learned a great deal about the form and to have come to some critical conclusions.