Originally posted by Gangster Octopus
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Christmas Pantomimes
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It was Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury. They missed a trick not having them as the Severn Dwarfs.
Anyway, it was alright. There were a lot of very dated jokes e.g. about Boy George. There were also a couple of gags that Mrs Thistle thought were homophobic. The chorus line choreography was very basic and the songs were more miss than hit.
The funniest bit was when the audience didn't warn Snow White that she was about to get done in, prompting ad libs like mad from the dame and multiple corpsing from the other players. I find it impossible not to laugh when that happens.
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Snow White was the panto in Cardiff too. Comparing notes yesterday with a work colleague we agreed that it's a dated format.
However she told me something that made her feel uncomfortable and I was equally surprised at. Gareth Alfie Thomas is in the Cardiff panto and at one point the wicked Queen puts a spell on him. Cue a special effect bang and smoke, at which point the Queen says "What a big puff!"
Now this is a reference to the smoke but also a derogatory pun about Alfie's sexuality. Presumably Alfie knows it's in the script and is OK with it. But my colleague said she felt it wasn't acceptable and she was "surprised they were allowed to say that".
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Dick Whittington was brilliant last night, very very funny and absolutely amazing as a spectacle. Julian Clary's costumes alone were worth the price of admission (although my tickets were free). Really good special effects and dancing from Diversity.
The plot was utterly bonkers, and the jokes were a bit rude but not offensive (as Julian was the main one making gay jokes, and Elaine Paige and Nigel Havers both sent themselves up for being old divas). The only time I bristled in my PC chair was at the end when they brought on four chlldren aged 6-7 and divided them into "boys on this side, girls on the other", despite Julian having made reference to "binary" genders earlier on, and then teased one of the boys in a slightly old-fashioned way (assuming his future sexual orientation), but hey. A thousand years away from the light entertainment of old.
Gary Wilmot is also, it transpires, very talented and I even enjoyed the ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, who is wittier than most (although he was the binary divider of children, so loses a point there for me).
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I loved ‘Dick Whittington’ too, up there with the previous year’s Clary-led smutfest ‘Cinderella’.
Diversity were the only real mis-step for me (apart from noting the slightly throwback tendency of the child participation that MsD mentions), I found my eyes glazing over when they were on and wondering when the panto would start again.
I also managed to get invites to the aftershow (I went on the press night) but my mum was a bit tired so we didn’t get a chance to hang with Julian.
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We should be going to see my brother-in-law in The Wind In The Willows in Tunbridge Wells. He's playing Badger. I saw him last night, and he's got a seriously impressive beard ready for the part.
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I went to two pantos as a youngster. One with Harry Worth and the other with Des O'Connor both at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. I seem to remember enjoying them immensely.
A few years ago I was in the VIP lounge at at Atlanta airport (I wasn't paying) and found myself talking with Jesse L. Martin of "Law and Order" fame. A genuinely nice bloke. He told me that one time in London he had been to a panto and loved it and ever since had wanted to do one but somehow the opportunity had never arisen. I think he would have been great. The late Jerry Orbach and him as the Ugly Sisters would have been priceless.
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Did they manage to work the shop window business into HW's panto appearances?
We used to go every year as a family and the standout performers from memory were Les Dawson and John Nettles, who we saw a few times. They were good friends and would sign up to appear together as they knew that they would enjoy it and that in turn carried over to the audience. I can also remember finding Freddie Garrity very annoying one year, when I must have been 8 or so.
Apologies if I've already mentioned this on the thread; it's always a risk when an old one reappears.
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Michael Starke. Who was also Jerry Morton in Coronation Street. (Which I now haven't watched in over six months.)
Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View PostI saw Russ Abbott in panto when I was a kid and back when he had a telly show. he did a lot of the characters off his TV show. I don't remember anything about it except the Basildon Bond spoof bit.
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Dick Whittington at the Lyric yesterday was great. They've spent the money on the show rather than appearance fees and it looks great, with lots of bright, strong colours. The book was very post-Paddington, emphasising a London is open and inclusive message. There were some very strong musical set pieces and songs chosen from the '80s to now (I'm taking the latter on trust). The cast all performed with skill and gusto. Reviews had said that this year was smuttier than previous Hammersmith pantos but it wasn't overwhelming and the double entendres weren't delivered leeringly. Nieces, aged 8, 11 and 13, all thought it was brilliant.
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Adding to the list of "now forgotten stars seen in panto", I saw Bernie Winters and Schnorbitz in Newcastle circa 1982. Unfortunately he didn't have his brother on with him* denying the local hecklers an opportunity to reprise the "fucking hell, there's two of them" gag.
*his brother may well have died before then.
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Originally posted by Gangster Octopus View PostWe should be going to see my brother-in-law in The Wind In The Willows in Tunbridge Wells. He's playing Badger. I saw him last night, and he's got a seriously impressive beard ready for the part.
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