British Pantomime Performance

Millie Taylor

Description

This original analysis of contemporary British pantomime addresses the question of how pantomime creates a unique interactive relationship with, and potentially transformative experience for, its audiences.British This is an accessible and valuable text that encourages readers to review their assumptions about pantomime and reconsider its importance as a popular theatre form. Pantomime draws audiences into the story, an engagement with the hero, and an empathetic attachment to the success of the quest. Attention is held by the familiarity of the event, and the comedians draw the audience into a relationship of complicity as they unite to create the unique experience of the live interactive performance. At other times the audience is diverted by the artifice of dance, the illusion of transformation and the surreal playfulness of physical and verbal comedy. The trick of pantomime is to maintain an effective balance between the intellectual appreciation of artifice, the chaotic complicity of interactivity, and the emotional engagement of story-telling.

Sujets

• Musique
• Musique
• Literary Criticism
• Performing Arts
• MUSIC
• Multiple signal classification
• Mime artist
• Performance art
• General officer
• General
• Drama
• Mime

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781841509877
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

British Pantomime Performance
Millie Taylor
British Pantomime Performance
Millie Taylor
First Published in the UK in 2007 by Intellect Books, PO Box 862, Bristol BS99 1DE, UK
First published in the USA in 2007 by Intellect Books, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright 2007 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover Design: Gabriel Solomons Copy Editor: Holly Spradling Typesetting: Mac Style, Nafferton, E. Yorkshire
ISBN 978-1-84150-174-1/EISBN 978-1-84150-987-7
Printed and bound by Gutenberg Press, Malta
C ONTENTS
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
The Prologue: What s Behind Them?
1. Money Matters
2. Chaos and Disruption in Slapstick and Slosh Scenes
3. Fantasy and Illusion in Design
4. Familiarity and Nostalgia in an Oral Tradition
5. Quests and Transformations in Pantomime Stories
6. Playing with Distance in Pantoland
7. Is She or Isn t He? Gender and Identity
8. Audience Participation, Community and Ritual
9. Topical Reference and the Unique Event
10. Artifice and Excess in Pantomime Comedy
11. Mixing Genres in Pantomime Music
12. A Utopian Community of Dancers
The Epilogue: What s Entertainment?
Bibliography
Index
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
The starting point for this book was a comment from Christopher McCullough, who advised me to write from my experience about what I know. I followed his advice in the awareness of the absence of critical or analytical texts about pantomime, and the idea for this book was born.
An enormous debt of gratitude is owed to the many participants who contributed to the development of this book through conversations and the contribution of materials. I conducted interviews with the following people who gave their time, their ideas, and shared their experiences:
Dave Benson Phillips
Comedian
Gordon Dougall
Director
Peter Duncan
Comedian
Kate Edgar
Musical Director, Composer, Writer and Director
David Edwards
Production Manager
Paul Elliott
Writer, Director and Producer
Ian Good
Dame
Chris Harris
Dame and Writer
Gary Hind
Musical Supervisor and Musical Director
Chris Jordan
Writer, Director and Producer
Chris Lillicrap
Dame, Writer, Director and Producer
Ian Liston
Producer
Lorelei Lynn
Choreographer
Forbes Masson
Writer
Joanna Reid
Writer, Director and Repertory Theatre Artistic Director
Maria Taylor
Company and Deputy Stage Manager
Gerry Tebbutt
Director and Choreographer
Martin Waddington
Musical Director and Composer
These interviews were a significant contribution to the development of my ideas, even if not all the interviewees are directly quoted in the text.
Roy Hudd, Christopher Lillicrap, Paul Elliott, Ian Liston, Chris Jordan, Joanna Reid and Kate Edgar gave me access to scripts to supplement those that I already possessed (by Jack Chissick, Mark Rayment, Tudor Davies and others by Roy Hudd) and those in the public domain. Arthur Millie, archivist at Salisbury Playhouse, was an encouraging and informative host for an afternoon and contributed some photographs from his own collection as well as giving me a photograph from my own first pantomime (Salisbury Playhouse 1987). Eric Thompson, who photographed all the productions at Plymouth Theatre Royal for a number of years, helped me find my way around his collection. The wonderful results of his work can be seen in many of the illustrations attached to this book. Robert Workman, a freelance photographer, photographed many pantomimes, including the last few years at Winchester Theatre Royal and Salisbury Playhouse. These complemented the texts I had available and provide the contrast to Thompson s work. The marketing department at Theatr Clywd sent me their photographs of the actor-musicians in Aladdin but have not credited the photographer, so I would like to acknowledge the work of the anonymous photographer. Thanks are also due to the marketing departments of Winchester Theatre Royal, Salisbury Playhouse, Theatr Clywd and Plymouth Theatre Royal for allowing me to use photographs taken in their theatres.
The ideas in the book developed gradually and have been tested at conferences and in research seminars. In particular I would like to thank Peter Thomson for publishing my first article on pantomime music and the editors of New Theatre Quarterly, who published a version of chapter 6 , as well as all the delegates who asked questions or offered suggestions at conferences in Vienna, Portsmouth and Hawaii. I also recall with appreciation the advice of an anonymous reader of an early book proposal that gave me encouragement to continue. Colleagues and friends who have offered helpful comments include Marianne Sharp, Dominic Symonds, Marie Kruger and Richard Cuming. My thanks also go to May Yao, Sam King and all at Intellect who have been instrumental in the editing and publication of this text.
Most of all, of course, thanks to my friends and family who have given me constant support.
Finally, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the British Academy who funded this research and the Society for Theatre Research who awarded a grant towards publication costs. Without their support and that of the University of Winchester, who gave me time to write the book, this would not have been possible.
L IST OF I LLUSTRATIONS
1. Jack Tripp and Roy Hudd in Babes in the Wood (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1991) Photographer Eric Thompson .
2. 365 days in a year routine in Dick Whittington (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1992) Photographer Eric Thompson .
3. Milking Scene in Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse, 2004) Photographer Robert Workman .
4. Ugly Sisters in the Hairdressing Scene Cinderella (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1990) Photographer Eric Thompson .
5. Laundry Scene in Aladdin (Salisbury Playhouse, 2003) Photographer Robert Workman .
6. Slosh Scene in Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse, 2004) Photographer Robert Workman .
7. The School Room Bench in Sleeping Beauty (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1989) Photographer Eric Thompson .
8. Physical comedy in Babes in the Wood (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1991) Photographer Eric Thompson .
9. Bonnie Langford as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1993) Photographer Eric Thompson .
10. Playing to the audience in Sleeping Beauty (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1989) Photographer Eric Thompson .
11. Frontcloth for Aladdin (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1994) Photographer Eric Thompson .
12. Inside the Cave in Aladdin (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1994) Photographer Eric Thompson .
13. Opening Set for Babes in the Wood (Salisbury Playhouse, 2000) Photographer Arthur Millie .
14. Opening Set for Aladdin (Salisbury Playhouse, 2003) Photographer Arthur Millie .
15. Looking into the Mirror in Sleeping Beauty (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1989) Photographer Eric Thompson .
16. At the top of the Beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1993) Photographer Eric Thompson .
17. Illusion in Dick Whittington (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1992) Photographer Eric Thompson .
18. Daisy the Cow in Jack and the Beanstalk (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1993) Photographer Eric Thompson .
19. Fairy Bow Belles in Dick Whittington (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1992) Photographer Eric Thompson .
20. Villain addressing the audience in Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse, 2004) Photographer Robert Workman .
21. The Giveaways, Les Dawson in Dick Whittington (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1992) Photographer Eric Thompson .
22. Des O Connor and a child in Cinderella (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1990) Photographer Eric Thompson .
23. Widow Twankey in Aladdin (Salisbury Playhouse, 2003) Photographer Robert Workman .
24. Les Dawson as Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1992) Photographer Eric Thompson .
25. George Logan as Dr Evadne Hinge playing the Evil Queen in Sleeping Beauty (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1989) Photographer Eric Thompson .
26. Bonnie Langford as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1993) Photographer Eric Thompson .
27. Widow Twankey, Aladdin and Wishee Washee in Aladdin (Salisbury Playhouse, 2003) Photographer Robert Workman .
28. Topical reference in Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse, 2004) Photographer Robert Workman .
29. Dancers at the County Fayre in Jack and the Beanstalk (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1993) Photographer Eric Thompson .
30. Dancers in Dick Whittington (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1992) Photographer Eric Thompson .
31. The Company in Aladdin (Salisbury Playhouse, 2003) Photographer Robert Workman .
32. Jack Tripp and the Babes in Babes in the Wood (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1991) Photographer Eric Thompson .
33. Ballet in Robinson Crusoe (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1988) Photographer Eric Thompson .
34. King Rat and dancers in Dick Whittington (Plymouth: E B Productions, 1992) Photographer Eric Thompson .
35. Actor-musicians in Sleeping Beauty (Winchester Theatre Royal: Hiss and Boo Productions, 2003) Photographer Robert Workman .
36. Aladdin and company in Aladdin (Theatr Clywd, 2003) Photograph courtesy of Theatr Clywd .
T HE P ROLOGUE : W HAT S B EHIND T HEM ?
Once upon a time a young musical director was employed to work on a Christmas pantomime for the repertory company at Salisbury Playhouse. It s Jack and the Beanstalk this year she was told. She arranged popular songs and music for dance routines, discovered that percussion bangs and crashes make hitting somebody funny, and that performing twice a day is exhausting. She learnt that the fairy enters from Stage Right and the Villain from Stage Left; that