Story of Pantomime

This book is the reprint of 1974 with an introduction by Roy Hudd the comedian and Music Hall historian. It is a summary of pantomime as we know it now and the main changes which have made it thus since its introduction into this country.I started reading this book to answer two questions. I wanted to know the origins of pantomime and I wanted to find out why the principal boy is always a girl and the dame, or ugly sister, is always a man. The meaning of the word pantomime is ‘imitator of things’which, to a theatre person is a ‘dumb show with music’. Well, the dumb show with music can be traced back to ancient times. It disappeared in Christian Rome to reappear in 15th century Italy together with its relative Punch and Judy. The form spread to England in Restoration times and quickly became popular.It changed over the years. Up to about 1880 it would usually be the second half of a theatre bill and have a short opening, a transformation scene and a longer Harlequinade. The Harlequinade was a slapstick routine performed by the clown, a stooge called panteloon and a police constable. I get the feeling that it would be familiar to anyone who has watched the Keystone Cops. As time moved on, the opening was gradually extended and professional music hall comedians were introduced. The Harlequinade slowly became just one short scene and finally disappeared.There is a good study of pantomime subjects. The story of Puss in Boots appears in many cultures, as does Cinderella. Red Riding Hood can be traced back to Roman times. Grimm got hold of the story and re-wrote it as his own. The pantomime is not therefore based on Grimm’s fairy story but runs parallel to it.It has to be said that the book looks only at the main London Pantomime Theatres and that it looks mostly at Drury Lane. The author admits that a more thorough study would have to look at many of the provincial theatres.And my second question? The very first female principal boy was Miss Ellington in ‘The Good Woman in the Woods’ in 1852 but neither Roy Hudd nor the author explains why. Women were often found in the role of Principal Boy during the First World War probably because male actors were in short supply. Apart from these two comments the book is silent about my query.