February 2007
2007 Panto Scripts Feature
Thursday, February 01, 2007 by Mark Thorburn

IT’S BEFORE YOU! IT’S TIME TO CHOOSE YOUR 2007 PANTOMIME!!

by Mark Thorburn

I didn’t do a pantomime this Christmas. Aahh! I didn’t even get to see as many pantomimes as I usually do this Christmas. AAaahhhh!! But I do still get to bring you this Pantomime and Christmas Productions feature in the Amateur Stage magazine! Hooray!! And I get to talk to the creators and to steep myself in all that they have written, at least for a few copy-mad days! Hooray!

I make no apology in re-iterating my thoughts on Panto, especially in view of Norman Robbins thoughts on the ‘pretenders within the genre’ in our December issue

To me, Pantomime should be a magical first theatre-going experience for the younger members of the family, accompanied by each of the older generations – their older siblings, their parents and their grand parents - who can all share the wonder on the smiling faces of their youngsters, as they re-capture the magic and enjoyment of their own first panto.

The performance should have fun for all age groups. It should be a family experience with knockabout and participation for the youngsters, with humour to tickle the funny-bones of the adults, as opposed to adult humour, really not necessary on this particular night out. This is situation comedy in the most outrageous of situations! What a gift! There should be a captivating story –that is told in full from beginning to end, which does not disappear somewhere between the opening number and the songsheet. Whatever the story, it must have those traditional elements, otherwise it will not be a true pantomime. It should have music chosen to add to the plot, not countless, pointless dances to pop songs or too many long sloppy songs for the ‘lovers’, guaranteed to lose the lads!

All this, and more, simply because Pantomime should have everything! Throw it together, ‘because it’s only a panto’ and you have virtually nothing. You need a good story in a tight script, tuneful but not overloud music, uproarious comedy (including lots of local references and names), some sad bits, some exciting bits, special effects, colourful costumes, modern bright sets, whacky props, sincere and truthful performances from all the cast and everyone on their happy way home in under two and a half hours! Don’t indulge yourselves – indulge your audiences with a panto feast! Yes, the days of full singing chorus and a corps de ballet, flying ballets, dancing waters, trap-door demons (health and safety!) are long gone, but there is loads more left to enjoy in the 21st Century.

Well – I feel better for that!

And so to the topic of today…today, Matthew, we are going to select a Pantomime Script! Well, we are going to read about many of the options available, having chosen which panto title to produce this year. We have brought the script feature forward this year, in order to give you more time to make your selection. We shall come back to the Panto Production Suppliers in a later issue, with more coverage than previously. But for now, which style of writing are you looking for? Do you prefer traditional panto or are you going to look for something out of the ordinary? Do you want a modern script of a traditional title or are you looking for a quirky title with the traditional panto elements in the script? Some groups have bridged that gap between the traditional and the unusual by alternating types each year. Whatever you fancy, our contributors and advertisers offer a very wide range of options for you to choose from. Dan Leno’s script from Drury Lane in 1903 might read well as a historical document, but you have 21st Century audiences to consider, shorter concentration spans to allow for and somewhat limited facilities to stage your choice in. But good panto doesn’t have to be all of one thing. Good panto is a mixture of the new and the traditional – it requires all the elements of good theatre and variety entertainment – it needs the best of everything and none of the ‘that will do’ elements. Stage One, choose your title. Stage Two, select a script that suits your needs. You may begin………now!

The King of Pantomime remains John Morley.  His scripts are classics of their kind, based on his London Palladium or the Guinness Book of Records entry Babes In The Wood at Nottingham Theatre Royal, which ran until June! If old fashioned tradition is what you look for in a panto, John is perfect for your group. His treatments of nearly every usual subject are still the first choice for societies worldwide with his scripts are available through Samuel
French Limited or NODA.

John Crocker’s pantomimes have been performed all over the world and most recently at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter, where John’s son, Ben, is Artistic Director and father and son worked together on each Christmas production. Recently, his smaller cast scripts of Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Dick Whittington and Mother Goose have become extremely popular. His canon of scripts include Sinbad the Sailor, Babes in the Wood, Red Riding Hood, the zany Potty Pantomime and The Frankenstein Monster Show.  All are available through Samuel French Limited.

Also published by Samuel French are the pantos of Norman Robbins. Panto
is very much an indigenous art form.  Of course, it is regularly done in
Australia and Canada but, it takes a lot to make Americans understand
and appreciate panto and Norman Robbins has done this – even in the middle of Iowa!  In addition to the traditional titles, he has written Puss in Boots, The Grand Old Duke of York, Hickory Dickory Dock, Rumplestilzkin, Sing a Song of Sixpence, Tom the Piper’s Son, The White Cat and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.  For those groups who want to get back to pantomime in its purest form, these are for you. 

Also, for those of you who want to do your pantomime research in preparation for your big production, Norman Robbins has written Slapstick and Sausages, detailing the evolution of British Pantomime. Published by Trapdoor Publications (ISBN: 095429870-5), further details on Norman Robbins’ advert.

"David Wood - the National Children's Dramatist” (The Times) - well-known for his original works and dramatizations of Roald Dahl stories, has also adapted fairy tales into musical plays, as alternative seasonal entertainment. Supreme importance is given to the story and while there are plenty of comedy scenes these are firmly integrated into the action.  Comedy, adventure and lively, original songs combine to make these unusual plays sure-fire hits with family audiences.  The scripts break with traditional pantomime stories in that, although there are Dames, there are no broker's men and boys are boys and girls are girls!  But the shows are still full of "suddenlies", an element that David feels essential for a good family script when a twist or turn is unexpected and makes an audience gasp. Published by Samuel French Ltd (and available on their Perusal Service) there are eight titles including Aladdin, Babes in the Magic Wood, Cinderella, Jack and the Giant and Old Mother Hubbard. In Mother Goose's Golden Christmas the five Little nursery rhyme characters live with Mother Goose in her Book House. They are tired of always being called little and doing the same things (losing sheep, putting the kettle on, etc.) so Mother Goose incorporates them all into a new story, in which each little character has his or her big moment.  In Old Father Time our hero lives at the top of Big Ben. His almanac is stolen by a flying sauceress, who wants to control Time. The plot features a quest through Time past and present to retrieve the almanac, and includes cavemen and a dinosaur, the Gunpowder Plot and an exciting chase through space. In Dick Whittington and Wondercat David Wood returns to the early stories of Dick Whittington, wherein Dick is portrayed as a young boy, winning the friendship of young Alice and the love and sympathy of the audience in his battles with life.

Some of Wood's children's plays, such as The Owl And The Pussycat Went To See...., The Gingerbread Man and The Plotters Of Cabbage Patch Corner are successfully played at Christmas as panto substitutes, as are his Dahl adaptations such as James And The Giant Peach, The BFG and The Witches.  

Samuel French Ltd. can be contacted on 020 7387 9373 or emailed on theatre@samuelfrench-london.co.uk

Josef Weinberger has added several new titles to its ever-growing catalogue. These broaden further the range of pantomimes offered – from the traditional favourites, to others that offer a rather more contemporary interpretation of the much-loved classics.

Colin Wakefield and Kate Edgar have established a strong reputation over the last fifteen years as writers of traditional pantomimes. All their titles have been premièred either at Salisbury Playhouse or at Winchester Theatre Royal, with nine of their scripts published by Josef Weinberger Plays. Kate Edgar’s original songs and music have proved an enormously popular feature, and Colin Wakefield’s books are strong on character, humour, audience participation and plot. They are medium in scale, with between eight and ten principals, and a flexible chorus. Their pantomimes have been performed and enjoyed by societies as far afield as Hong Kong. Most recently Kate and Colin adapted their two earlier scripts of The Sleeping Beauty into a tailor-made version for the Merlin Theatre, Frome.

Also published by Josef Weinberger are the pantomimes of Chris Denys and Chris Harris. For many years their pantos were tradition at the Bristol Old Vic and, the following year, at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham and are written with smaller casts in mind.  Subjects include Aladdin, Babes in the Wood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Mother Goose, Cinderella and Dick Whittington.

During his time as an active member of his local dramatic society (actor, set builder, director, curtain puller, etc., etc.) Peter Webster wrote seven successful pantomimes for the society. Like many authors he started writing when they had difficulty in finding suitable scripts for their limited facilities. He has been fortunate in that his scripts have been taken up and performed by societies as far away as New Zealand.

All of his scripts (with imaginative, offbeat titles including Dick Turpin, The Pied Piper and Peter Panto with scripts available from Josef Weinberger) have been written with the aim of providing a show which is enjoyable for both audience and cast and which is simple and affordable to stage. However, there is plenty of scope for spectacular scenery and effects according to budgets and imagination. Each script contains all the traditional elements of pantomime, following storylines true to the original but with an added twist. Suggestions are made for music, but the final choice is down to the director. While there is plenty of scope for traditional ‘business’, the scripts do not rely on this as clear plot lines run through each pantomime. For further details, including a synopsis of each pantomime, see the website www.petepanto.co.uk or www.josef-weinberger.co.uk.