I experienced my first pantomime yesterday, courtesy of my friend Karen's friend, Alison. Alison lives in north London and was gracious enough to invite a stranger to come watch her panto (look at me with the lingo --- I'm so hip).
What is a pantomime, you ask? Don't get scared. It has nothing to do with mimes. It's actually like a musical comedy with audience participation. They are a big British tradition, particularly during the Christmas holidays. A woman usually plays the lead and there is inevitably some man dressed up like a harsh looking woman who steals the show. This particular pantomime was about Jack and the Beanstalk. I wasn't actually sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun.
It started off with me taking the tube north about 20 minutes. Alison must have known about my tendency to get lost in London because she gave me very specific directions on how to get from the tube station to the school where the panto was being shown. She left a ticket at the door for me.
How do you not like a girl that leaves something like this for someone she doesn't know? So sweet. (OK, I just now noticed that she put the female symbol on the envelope next to my name. Ha! I guess that is what I get for having a boy's name.)
Anyway, I sat next to Alison's in-laws, daughter, daughter's boyfriend, husband and son. I had to ask her father-in-law which one was Alison. Thankfully, he pointed out the right person to me (although he admitted later that he was very tempted to point out some random stranger to see what would happen. Nice.).
The show itself was funny. A bit different. The characters actually talk to the audience and try to engage them throughout the show. There was a mix of children's music, modern music (sadly, that stupid Psy song made an appearance - including the dance) as well as British political references (a guy was dressed up as Boris Johnson, the mayor of London). On the whole, it was very different, but fun.
After the show, we went back to Alison's house. She lives in a very cute row-like type house (although she called it something else). In addition to all of those at the show, her daughter was home with chicken pox and Alison's mom, who was in from Baltimore. Needless to say, it was a full house. It was extraordinarily generous of Alison to invite me back to her house with her full house and another show on the docket.
All in all, it was an experience. I don't know if I feel the need to see another pantomime soon, but it was definitely a new experience. Fun and cheeky, as they say. Check another item off the British to-do list!
What is a pantomime, you ask? Don't get scared. It has nothing to do with mimes. It's actually like a musical comedy with audience participation. They are a big British tradition, particularly during the Christmas holidays. A woman usually plays the lead and there is inevitably some man dressed up like a harsh looking woman who steals the show. This particular pantomime was about Jack and the Beanstalk. I wasn't actually sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun.
It started off with me taking the tube north about 20 minutes. Alison must have known about my tendency to get lost in London because she gave me very specific directions on how to get from the tube station to the school where the panto was being shown. She left a ticket at the door for me.
How do you not like a girl that leaves something like this for someone she doesn't know? So sweet. (OK, I just now noticed that she put the female symbol on the envelope next to my name. Ha! I guess that is what I get for having a boy's name.)
Anyway, I sat next to Alison's in-laws, daughter, daughter's boyfriend, husband and son. I had to ask her father-in-law which one was Alison. Thankfully, he pointed out the right person to me (although he admitted later that he was very tempted to point out some random stranger to see what would happen. Nice.).
The show itself was funny. A bit different. The characters actually talk to the audience and try to engage them throughout the show. There was a mix of children's music, modern music (sadly, that stupid Psy song made an appearance - including the dance) as well as British political references (a guy was dressed up as Boris Johnson, the mayor of London). On the whole, it was very different, but fun.
After the show, we went back to Alison's house. She lives in a very cute row-like type house (although she called it something else). In addition to all of those at the show, her daughter was home with chicken pox and Alison's mom, who was in from Baltimore. Needless to say, it was a full house. It was extraordinarily generous of Alison to invite me back to her house with her full house and another show on the docket.
All in all, it was an experience. I don't know if I feel the need to see another pantomime soon, but it was definitely a new experience. Fun and cheeky, as they say. Check another item off the British to-do list!
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