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Tuesday 27 October 2015

P stands for Pantomime.

When I was in my teens I  auditioned for a

 


role in Pantomime at our local community centre. This was the beginning of many years of 'treading the boards'. The first Pantomime I was in was Robinson Crusoe, where I was in the chorus line, playing the part of a villager then a 'hula girl' on a  tropical island.

 The following year A Star was born...... I was taken from the chorus line and given the leading role of Jack, in Jack and the Beanstalk.

 


It is customary in British Pantomime to have role reversal, of leading roles: Therefore, the Pantomime dame traditionally would be played by a man and the leading male part would be played by a female....Don't ask..... It's just an old British tradition!

 Also it is customary to have a Pantomime cow or horse.

 In Jack and the Beanstalk we had a cow called Daisy, not a real cow mind but one made of fabric with two men operating it. One would operate the back end legs (Dave) and the other. the front legs and head etc.(Tom).

 Now then, Dave was rather fond of a drink or two and on the last night of the Pantomime, he called in to the village Pub for a drink"To steady my nerves", he would say! When he eventually arrived on stage as the rear end of Daisy the cow, it was apparent he had more than one drink and he weaved all over the stage in a state of inebriation. To say he was legless was an understatement.

 Eventually he found his feet and managed to dance in time, until the end of  the routine, then he stepped backwards over the footlights and ended up dangling over the drummer, who was seated directly below the stage.

The audience went wild with applause and gales of laughter, thinking it was part of the act. Tom at the front end of Daisy, unceremoniously hauled him back on stage, he was absolutely furious with him. Dave, now encouraged by the rapturous applause attempted to repeat the performance, only to be thwarted by Tom who gave him a sharp kick in the shins, sending him howling to the floor, ending up in a heap of cow on the hapless drummer below.

 Fortunately nobody was seriously injured and the show carried on. I've heard of the cow jumping over the moon but not over a set of drums.



My thanks to Denise a Paragon of Perfection and to the perpetually patient Roger for his hard work in the administration of ABCW.

Also not forgetting the team of helpers for their participation each week by visiting other sites and commenting too !   

23 comments:

  1. Very entertaining; well done.

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  2. Oh Di...you've given me a great laugh today! Wish I could have seen that! Do they still do pantos these days?

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  3. This was a hilarious read. :)
    Happy ABCW!

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  4. pantomine s a cool p word.

    so does password ,agree?

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  5. Thank you Di, for this funny story! It' always wonderful to play a role in a play..
    Great week for you a nd your family.
    Wil

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  6. Thank you for your kind comment. This year was a time of remembrance with 70 years ago the end of WWII. Everything is commemorated and shown by means of movies and interviews. We saw a lot of the concentrationcamps , but also the horrors of the battlefields. Wars are so useless and cause so much sadness . Fortunately my mum was comforted by her faith.
    Let's pray that we will never ever have to experience such an ordeal.
    Have a great week.
    Wil, ABCW Team

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  7. On a bad and sad day... reading this post gives me a smile and new courage to go on
    thank you for that!

    Have a nice abc-day / -week
    ♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)

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  8. Oh that's funny. I would love to have witnessed that drama from the cow.

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  9. LOL! I do like the phrase you used for our dear hosts, paragon of perfection.

    My ABC WEDNESDAY

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  10. HA! i'm sure you were great.
    ROG, ABCW

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  11. A great fun story. The audience must have found it hilarious but I can understand Tom's chagrin...

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  12. Funny!
    Thanks for the laugh!

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  13. brave to be on stage I use to be so afraid :)

    fun times

    Bikram's

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  14. Marvellous stuff, Trubes!

    If you ever get the chance, read Michael Green's 'Art of Coarse Acting'.

    One funny line is about inappropriate sets, and he describes Queen Elizabeth 1st, grandly entering the set at the top of some stairs, and descends slowly, only to put her foot slap-bang into a brazier ...

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  15. I loved going the panto when a kid,still remember Charlie Drake on the Empire back in the late 60's.

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  16. Hello Diane . Well done to you for taking part in the pantomimes , little star :-)
    Not a fan of pantomimes though. I might of been when a child but don't think I could sit through one now. My sense of humour has flown out of the window. Take care Anne xox

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  17. hahaha. I can imagine the cows very well, thank you. I think it's splendid that you were in a pantomine (I've often wondered why they're called that, but not so much that I've looked it up yet.) We saw a high school play last week and they were so into it that I felt like auditioning for a play.
    The View from the Top of the Ladder

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  18. That must have been a pretty good experience I bet....Late visit from ABC wednesday

    PhenoMenon, ABC Wednesday
    http://throodalookingglass.com/pillars-of-suchindram/

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  19. Thank you all for taking the time to pop over and read my scribes...I seem to live perpetually in the past, must be a sign of age and being almost housebound,

    Best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team.

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  20. love your option.

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  21. Hello Diane ,, Another brilliant post , you write so well . I do remember going to a pantomime but not really liking them. But there are lots that do. I am surprised they still do them with all the PC attached to them. Hope that you are well, Take care Anne xo

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    că orice afacere pe care o introduceți este legitim. Asigurați-vă că pentru a menține mintea deschisă și va fi de a face bani online.

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I usually like to reply to your comments but for some reason when i do post a reply it just diappears, any advice would be most welcome,Thanks Di x

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