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15.05.2020 15:39 •  Английский язык

Текст: Most cities and towns in the UK put on a pantomime at Christmas time. The
most popular pantomimes are comedy versions of traditional children's
stories, such as Cinderella, Aladdin, Snow White and Jack and the Beanstalk. It's
the classic family entertainment at this time of year and it's often a child's first
experience of theatre. The pantomime season is short. It runs from the middle
of December until after New Year.
Pantomimes have a strong story line in which good fights against bad. But
good always wins in the end. Typical characters include:
the pantomime Dame an older woman) a 'bad' character
the Principal Boy
a pantomime horse or cow.
a 'good' character
A man plays the part of the Dame. A girl plays the Principal Boy. Two
actors play the pantomime horse or cow - one plays the front half and
the other plays the back half. (Yes, it's completely crazy!)
There is always audience participation. The children especially love to
join in, and they boo and hiss when a bad character comes on stage. They
warn the good characters when the villain is near (they shout, 'He's behind
you!). And they argue with the Dame or with other comic characters.
Let's take the example of Cinderella. The Dame - played by a man,
remember - is Cinderella's stepmother. She makes Cinderella do all the
housework while her own daughters, the Ugly Sisters, do nothing. The
Principal Bay - played by a woman, remember - is Prince Charming,
who falls in love with Cinderella. Men always play the part of the Ugly
Sisters. They are the main comic characters, and the audience loves to
argue with them. One of the Ugly Sisters says something like: 'I'm much
more beautiful than Cinderella.' The audience shouts: 'Oh no you're
not!' The Ugly Sister shouts back 'Oh yes I am!' The audience shouts
back: 'Oh no you're nott' And so it goes on.
There are always songs and jokes in pantomimes. While the stories are
traditional, the songs can be pop songs with new words, and the jokes
are topical and often better understood by the adults in the audience.
Slapstick humour (comic acting where the actors hit each other, fall over,
etc.) is an important part of pantomime. For example, the Ugly Sisters
push each other to get to the Prince: pantomime horses and cows push
and kick people to make them fall over.
Television personalities, comedians, actors and pop stars often appear
in pantomimes, as this brings in big audiences and makes everything
funnier. Everyone enjoys seeing a celebrity do something silly!
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