Village Life and Community Theater.

Last night I went to the Little Theater of Pyreford Village to see Cinderella. It was a pantomime, which is a traditional form of theater in England. Take a traditional fairy tale or legend, rewrite it a bit, add men in drag for the Ugly Stepsisters and make a woman be Prince Charming, toss in some jokes and some songs and you have Pantomime.

The above link will explain it a million times better than I can, so check it out. All I can say is that I felt as if I’d walked into the middle of a comedy set in a British Village. I expected the out of work steel workers to come out and strip at the end of it. It also reminded me of the follies at Snowdown–the jokes, the men in drag, the one too serious actress with the almost great voice. According to an older gentleman I spoke with, Cinderella had a grating voice and was in need of some training. It felt like a test, “Will the american agree with me? Will she support my community by saying she has a good voice?” Cinderella was 13 years old! She had a very good voice… I was in shock that this man was so rude about her. Wow.

Anyway, it was a ton of fun to join the rest of Pyreford for opening night of Cinderella. If you have the chance, catch a British Pantomime. You’ll be glad you did.