Pithy Presentation Pertaining to Pantomimes

Alright, I’m an English Major so in all honesty this probably won’t be too pithy. Here is some information I got on Pantomimes from my friend: Pantomimes are a big tradition over here. They normally have a girl who plays a prince and a man who plays a mother. Audience participation is crucial! In the “chase scene” we get to say “He’s behind you! Look behind you!” We also get to boo every time the villain comes on. It’s actually intensely fun.

I unfortunately could not take pictures, because I was not allowed to. How sad is that? So, let me just tell you a bit about the show. There were around 50 boy scouts in the audience, which had seating in an area reminiscent of a junior high cafeteria. It was nice, though. The people sang popular songs by artists such as Abba. They also sang a High School Musical number. Interesting!

During the panto, there were two older women sitting behind us. One of them was obviously a veteran pantomime watcher. As soon as the characters went onstage for the chase scene she called out “He’s behind you!” and cackled. She also was often the first to boo the “baddie” and would laugh quite wickedly after saying something. I have a new hero!

So, on the cosmic 1-10 scale for good experiences to have while in England I’d rate this one pretty high. Perhaps an 8 or an 8.5. Colchester, by the way, has fallen to about a 5. There’s nothing really bad about it, but it’s not exceptionally exceptional. It’s just, you know, ordinarily exceptional.

By the way, want to see a picture of the lake on campus? Of course!
Doesn’t it look peaceful and bucolic? Well it should, since it is.