The day of the pantomime.
Boxing Day can only mean one thing. Oh yes, it does! Oh no, it doesn't! Behind you! Yes, I know it's that day again. The pantomime season is here to stay for the rest of 2017 and probably well into the beginning of the New Year when the children have had enough of silly costumes and people behaving in the most foolhardy fashion. We've all done it, haven't we? You're more or less exhausted by all that food, drink and revelry and all you want to do is to nip into your local theatre and just chuckle shamelessly at slapstick fun, old fashioned music hall jokes and then pretend that it wasn't you who was laughing but the kids. It's their fault that you decided to come so let's keep this civil and polite.
But of course it isn't and in our heart of hearts we all know that pantomimes were exclusively designed for the kids and not for the adults. Still it's time to make concessions for those of us for whom pantomimes are no longer the box office thrill they used to be. Our children are now longer kids although I have to admit that our son, his girlfriend, my wife and I will be cackling our heads off at a local pantomime in a couple of days time.
There is something appealingly good and wholesome about the yearly pantomime that can never be truly matched by any other experience. There is the wit and humour, naughtiness and nudge nudge innuendo, the mischievous tomfoolery and the childish stupidity which may be forgivable at this time of the year. We all love a laugh don't we? And let's face it most of us are in dire need of some light relief after some of the heartrendingly harrowing events that have come to define 2017. To put it mildly this has not been a year Britain will have any cause to remember with affection at all.
There were suicide terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, the terrible Grenfell tower fire which claimed the lives of so many, a General Election nobody really wanted to be a part of, a considerably weakened Theresa May as Prime Minister and a political hot potato called Brexit that remains in the inbox and may never be decided one way or the other.
And of course we should never forget one Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States for whom any kind of rational description may have to be reserved for another time. To say it's been an eventful first few months for Mr Trump may be the biggest understatement of all time. Still it could have been a whole lot worse. America may be extremely grateful that a certain Clint Eastwood or Arnold Schwarzenegger, those political heavyweights, decided not to throw their hat into the ring. Cowboys or Hollywood muscle men never really seemed the ideal fit for Presidency of the United States.
The fact is that most of Britain's families and their children must have been longing for Boxing Day. The kids may well be fed up with their latest Christmas Day presents, boredom has set in with a vengeance, the dogs need to be taken on another brisk walk around the park, Uncle Nigel is still snoring peacefully in his comfortable armchair and a general air of battle fatigue has rendered most of us unwilling to do anything.
Until that is somebody mentions the Boxing Day pantomime which is guaranteed to galvanise us into action. Come on kids it's time for Widow Twankey, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin, Dick Whittington, Cinderella, even Hans Christian Andersen or maybe you're not into fairy tales in which case you could always finish off a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle or play Pass the Parcel simply because there's nothing else to do.
When our kids were much smaller my wife and I loved going to Hackney Empire because the Hackney Empire was a lovely old traditional theatre with an old fashioned grandeur and charm about it that was completely enchanting. Every plush red seat, column, fixture and fitting oozed class and gentility. The ceiling and walls are sumptuously beautiful, the curtains a velvety Victorian wonder and that stage that must have witnessed music hall at its triumphant peak.
All in all though it's the pantomime we used to look forward to. Somehow the English pantomime had it all: slap my thigh humour, comedy by the minute, jokes in abundance, an almost constant air of fun and frivolity, corny one liners and a nice line in topical references. There was that classic demonstration of harmless rudeness, characters wearing outrageous clothes that wouldn't have been out of place at the conventional fancy dress party and Boxing Day silliness.
There are people running onto the stage in varying guises and disguises, actors and actresses who look as though they're having the time of their lives but are quite clearly struggling to keep a straight face. This is the one time of the year when a plethora of TV celebrities do their utmost to dent otherwise unblemished reputations. This could be the time though for embarrassment and notoriety so it's time to hold your breath, suspend your imagination and watch through closed eyes.
By the end of the pantomime there is a genuine air of relief as Jack finally makes it to the top of that Beanstalk and Cinderella gets to the ball in a glass carriage. You see it does finish happily ever after all and we are all united in our collective joy at the sheer absurdity of it all. Boxing Day will be painless and quite definitely amusing if indeed family pantomimes are your kind of thing.
I have to make a rather sad admission at this point. Yesterday I sat down on Christmas Day with my family to watch Toy Story 3. There, I've said it and I don't mind admitting to it. Of course I should have known better and must have a moment of self questioning. What on earth possessed a 55 year old bloke to sit down and watch what is essentially a film designed for six year olds? Was it too much brandy, whiskey or maybe I should, quite literally, get out more?
On reflection though I see no reason to apologise for this rather childish moment of regression. Toy Story 3 had me in belly laughing hysterics. It was just glorious, simple and innocent, a throwback to our youth, your youth and my youth. Besides what other kids film can so easily make that natural transition to an equally as appreciative adult audience? Or at least I'd like to think it does.
With the brilliant and enormously versatile Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story 3 was just the most immensely enjoyable film to grace any Christmas Day on the TV. Tom Hanks has just broken into the world of publishing his first book of short stories and here he was once again as a lovable cowboy complete with stetson hat, guiding his chums through one adventure after another.
There was Mr and Mrs Potato Head, Slinky the Dog, Sergeant, the Aliens and Rex The Dinosaur. Now here were established veterans of the Hollywood film industry, titans of the silver screen, icons of the movies and professionals to the core. What other Christmas film would show a group of impeccably drawn animation characters, investing them with human emotions and telling them to goof around like kids at a birthday party? Those six eyed Aliens as well as Mr and Mrs Potato Head were just the funniest of all creations and who cares if I'm 55 and should quite rightly behave in a manner more befitting of a consenting adult. Toy Story 3, I have to tell you, was by far and away the best piece of TV on this Christmas Day. Boxing Day has much to commend it though. Oh yes it does.
No comments:
Post a Comment