I tried to see 3 Pantomimes in 1 Day... | my 2023 panto-thon vlog!

[@jeniboyns]

Watching this and hearing you talk about the community of the Marlowe panto is the first time I’ve felt homesick since moving to Ireland six months ago. So sad I’m not going to get to see it this year, but I’m also so pleased that you absolutely loved it again.

[@korzyca]

Yes! I've heard Antihero at Snow White at the Greenwich theatre. It was my first ever panto and I took my US family to enjoy it with :) definitely a new theatre tradition has been born for me!

[@fraseult]

"Mother Geese" cracked me right up.

[@christopherbutler1980]

I hope you and Aeron had a lovely Christmas!

[@TheDavidConstable]

2.02 "I'm not sure what this is?" I believe that the neon artwork outside the Lyric Hammersmith is based on the design of decorative plasterwork found in the auditorium. I always enjoy the reaction of people entering the venue for the first time, who having climbed up the stairs a couple of floors above a 1970s concrete shopping centre, suddenly find themselves in a Victorian Frank Matcham theatre!

[@chloeb4786]

The I Am Changing joke made me laugh way more than it probably should have 😂😂

[@theshadowdirector]

I'm actually thinking Barbie will end up with its own a stage musical adoption at some point in the future.

[@ChristopherJOatway]

I'd like to see Spirited as a stage show asap (not just scrooge) as I love the music. Same for Wish

[@izzy-bx5qz]

i saw jack and the beanstalk last year in middlesbrough and jack sang step one from kinky boots! I WAS GAGGED. love that pantos are using kinky boots!

[@inshort6831]

I went to Crawley to see Carrie Hope Fletcher in Sleeping beauty. I'm from the Netherlands and it was my first panto. I had so much fun, kind of sad we don't get them here. Guess I just have to go back next year haha

[@44nobody]

Charming video. The candy cane glasses were fun. And thank you for the panto lessons. 🎄 🙂

[@Nikki-tx6kh]

I swear to you I saw the Cinderella poster in the tube and my immediate thought was- Good Lord, Mickey can't get away from it.

[@Nikki-tx6kh]

And you and I are definitely crossing paths one day, counting how much you are around the Liz line.

[@klr9289]

1) the white hot chocolate from costa is amazing 2) we went to see the panto in bolton albert halls this year and watched cinderella and there was a barbie song for the wedding party, a justin bieber number. we had janice battersby out of corrie as the fairy superior and a great buttons with Rollo and the ugly sisters were hilarious Garnon Davies and Gareth Mitchell. I think I loved it more than the kids 😂

[@louyou5667]

I laughed so loud about the dreamgirls reference 😅

[@jadelane5481]

Ah I love Canterbury and the Marlowe panto! It’s fairly close to me so I go every year. It’s became a bit of a tradition and now couldn’t imagine not going! Ben really is the best panto dame going

[@ForensicBec]

I have the great privalige to work stage door in a theatre so get to experience a panto for the whole month It's my favourite time of year to be working

[@michaelhill-ck6ue]

So far have seen Cinderella at Bradford Alhambra and Hull New Theatre, Jack and the Beanstalk at Manchester Opera House and Snow White at the Carriageworks Leeds. And in the next few day hope to see Beauty and the Beast at Bridlington Spa and Sheffield Lyceum, Robinson Crusoe at YorK Grand Opera House and another Jack and the Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal York.

[@yankee04]

Thank you. Appreciate you walking non-UK people through what a panto is. Questions: Are pantos performed all through December or a shorter time period? Are they in mostly smaller theaters? Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year!

[@DavidB-uz2ux]

Usual December and the first few weeks of January.

[@CoachJenW]

For many theatres it’s the panto that is the big show of the year and financially keeps them afloat. Which means they’ll run it for as long as they think it can sell. I’ve seen some start end of November going through to end of Jan and even into Feb. However as already mentioned the average is Dev into first couple weeks of Jan. Unless it’s a theatre that has either a long running show already at the theatre many will have a panto or at the very least a family themed Christmas show scheduled regardless of the venues size. For example, a city near me one bigger theatre has a big comercial panto, whilst the smaller venue usually does their version of a classic kids book covering many typical panto tropes in their own style. Both different enough so that they seem to do very well sales wise. Whilst the profesional pantos will have a longer run, you’ll find amateur ones also happening around the country as well. Schedules for panto performers are often crazy - 3 show days are not unheard off. Sometimes there may be a two show day catering to school groups - morning and afternoon with evening free, so a performance schedule you may be used to is totally turned on its head.

[@Charlotte92xx]

I went to see snow white at my local king theatre and it was amazing and very funny and hope you have a great new year

[@awaskycromslack3533]

As an American who has watched British TV/movies since childhood, I didn't find out about the existence of panto until I was almost forty. It was like the great missing key to understand a huge number of references and influence in British media. But it's so ubiquitous no one even talks about it. For example, in the show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, they had a habit of doing episodes where the main actors played various doppelgangers. Michael Hurst, a New Zealand actor, appeared in several episodes as the Widow Twanky. It was twenty years later when I realized that was not just a drag character he had created. Or--The Play That Goes Wrong and its various iterations. It's obvious to me now that some of the jokes are riffing off of standard panto audience call outs--but it's not like those are a thing here. At the production I saw, they must have had an audience plant to make the joke work. Even now, I have a hard time understanding what panto is--very little of it is recorded (for obvious reasons). The only panto I've ever seen is the Dick Whittington done by the National Theatre during COVID, which they put up on NT at Home. And the reviews of that called it pretty poor, including that social distancing meant there wasn't much of an audience and very little audience interaction. I think the only way I could actually understand panto is to be in the UK around Christmas time. There just isn't anything remotely equivalent over here.

[@IloveHeartlandX]

I sometimes work in Stratford, so the whole time you were walking around, I was like "I know that, that's on my walk into work". I have passed the theatre you went to many times on my way to work!

[@cameronclarkhull]

Been to 3 pantos on my own this year. Nottingham, Hull and Sheffield 😊 love everything about them

[@timtalkstheatre]

Great video Mickey! Hope you and Aeron had a great Chirstmas. Canterbury is lovely, i work there sometimes!

[@theshadowdirector]

It's been a long time since the last professional panto I ever saw. Are you remember seeing Peter Pan, more than once as a child and distinctly remember one of them having Richard Whitely Asda headline star. That's how long ago it was!

[@ChristopherJOatway]

I set this challenge to myself too but the most I've done is 2. Cinderella at Contact Theatre Manchester did Dance the night away too Another trope fir Bingo is 'it's behind you' bit you did mention the 'sing it again part', dame, local references, sometimes a hi-vis scene, gender swap character (other than dame).

[@callalily3994]

There are a few theatres in the US that do UK-style pantos. I keep wanting to go to The Panto Project in NYC, but it always closes about a week before Christmas, and I never get my schedule to work. That one looks like it's really disability-inclusive, and it also uses a lot of local references -- it's held at the Henry Street Settlement, which is a community center founded in the early twentieth century, in a neighborhood that's traditionally been one of the first places for new immigrants to live. (There was also a whole thing last year when a school in the US took the kids to see a local panto, which they'd always done in the past with no issues. But that year, one of the kids came home and (not knowing another word for it) told their mother that there was a drag queen in the play. And the mother, rather than doing the sensible thing and calling the teacher to ask what that was about, contacted a bunch of conservative media instead, and it became a whole ridiculous media thing.)

[@carlito876]

One of the high points of my London trip….the duck sandwich at pret…not available in the states

[@susanpolastaples9688]

Hope you and Aeron had a Merry Christmas. Aladdin looked like a blast. Have you seen Rob Madge as Tinkerbell in Peter Pan panto?

[@IshScout]

Firstly as a lover of all things white chocolate this is the content I'm here for. Even this not being a "challenge video" I do love we had a bit of travel chaos thrown in for good measure. Overall looks like a very fun day indeed & something I'd do myself if I were over there.

[@Ryandunbar1996]

I was at the Glasgow pavilion pantomime treasure island. Our musical theatre moment was poor pirates from SpongeBob musical... niche but I liked it

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Oh LOVE that!

[@Ryandunbar1996]

@@MickeyJoTheatre I so wanted a pirate themed musical theatre song....didn't expect that so pleasantly surprised

[@isobelrobertson9225]

My son was surprised to hear the Spongebob song, we saw Spongebob the musical last year and he loves the cast at the pavilion panto

[@Ryandunbar1996]

@@isobelrobertson9225 yeah was totally off guard lol

[@ryanschultz1548]

im going to london on the first! im so excited! We're going to see mousetrap and peter pan goes wrong!

[@chloethorn7137]

Why didn’t you go to Wimbledon or somewhere easier to get to for panto 3 ahaha? This looks so fun and I might do it next year!

[@Nikkidee86]

You’ve got to come to Aylesbury. The panto is insane… mass auditorium waterfight every year. It’s just fantastic.

[@rachi5212]

You are a fair braver person than me! I am not a fan of panto, but did have a lovely two show day at The Lowry on Friday seeing Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World and Life Of Pi! 😀

[@carlito876]

How does mickey joe stay so thin eating cookies cake and bacon?

[@mcourtney2414]

I love pantos I generally try and see 3 one where I live in Malvern annually on my last day of term as an end of term treat! Then I’ve seen Jack & the Beanstalk in Manchester and Beauty & the Beast in Mansfield 🤣 also I do love going on the last day to the last show, as I feel the actors just have so much fun ☹️🎭🥳

[@joeevans5770]

Will you be doing a video on curves Evita (loved the school children stealing the show in the opening)

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Yep, planning to!

[@Erni3K]

I assume Seattle's local panto will have at least a billion Barbie references (seeing it last weekend Jan 7). What is panto if not topical?

[@Thahid]

You should go see the Snow White panto at Greenwich Theatre. It’s brilliant!

[@Jason-Clark235]

I haven’t had a chance to see that one yet, how is it? I have also put my name down to be an actor for the Dick Whittington panto next year there. So fingers crossed I can get in.

[@Thahid]

@@Jason-Clark235 It’s amazing! I’m an usher there so I’ve seen the show a bunch of times yet it’s a great ride every single time. Anthony Spargo’s Queen Naccisus has so much sass and the rest of the cast fit their roles nicely. Snow White herself is played by Katie Tonkinson who’s heading away soon as Bonnie in the Bonnie & Clyde UK tour soon. So much talent! As for the writing, there’s never really a dull moment I find and there’s always something fun to look forward to in each scene. Proper british panto with everything you’d except and more.

[@Philipsgonetoofar]

Go to the Belgrade theater Coventry pantomime u won’t be disappointed

[@aschmarkl]

As an American who doesn’t get Panto. My question is. WHY

[@inshort6831]

As a Dutch person who just went to her first panto, you just have to experience it and you'll get it! It's so much fun😊

[@1966midge]

It’s the silly, fun,interactive, spectacle for the whole family that is pretty much every British child’s introduction to theatre. We’re taken as children, then continue to go as adults as a comfort blanket of memories of Christmas’s past and then we take our children, nieces, nephews and so it continues. Pantos have familiar stories and elements ( some of which Mickey explained) but they slowly evolve with very passing generation to keep it fresh.

[@Shag471]

And Englishmen may question why we Americans do other things. It’s just tradition.

[@netherfield2000]

So Pantomime is like musical children’s theater with some interactive elements?

[@CoachJenW]

Sort off, but I suspect that some of the jokes for the adults in a panto which sail straight over kids head wouldn’t be included in musical children’s theatre.

[@andrewvlogssco]

I have seen 5 Pantomimes this year lol

[@LiamCoxSuperstar]

Go to see Alison Hammond to at the Birmingham Hippodrome

[@chuckoneill2023]

My question about pantomime is pretty basic: Can you tell us, relatively briefly, what defines a performance as "pantomime"? In the US, I think most of us hear "pantomime" and associate it with Mime performers such as Marcel Marceau; obviously nothing like these shows.

[@chuckoneill2023]

A statue of Chaucer with a QR scan code. Ancient vs Modern, very odd.

[@tommytheclownlife7311]

Peter Pan Jacob Elliott technical manager

[@MathewBoyes]

Hi how are you doing

[@Missmoo1994]

I am first. So good

[@____toomuch____]

pantomime's dame trope is transmisogynistic and outdated. it doesn't matter if its played in the more 'drag' way which has its own problems or the more masculine way. It doesn't matter if audiences read into it or not, its still literally overt transmisogyny. But wouldn't expect anything different from terf island

[@EmoBearRights]

Idk it normalises drag which is a good thing - I look at the outrage against drag queen story time in the US and think have you guys heard of panto.

[@____toomuch____]

@@EmoBearRights drag is nothing to celebrate in it of itself. It only exists bc of the historical social relation of transmisogyny, it was the only available outlet fr transfeminine people to express their gender identity. However, this came at the cost of having it become a gross performance fr exploitative consumption by cis ppl. It still carries the same negative baggage and harmful associations it did then. That's why drag scenes are so awfully transphobic. It's also why the drag uproar in the US is happening. It was a purposeful target to reinforce the harmful association that drag is equivalent w transness, and both the detractors and defenders on the issue are guilty of this reinforcement. If transfemininity wasnt repressed by the church since the 1300s, drag wd nvr have come into existence in any of its iterations

[@Shag471]

@@EmoBearRightsFlorida resident here and our Governor tried to shut down venues that held drag performances. The Florida Supreme Court overruled it though so we are back to normal at the moment. But I had friends that were performing in Kinky Boots that were shut down before the ruling came out. I don’t know why some people are hung up on stuff like that.

[@theshadowdirector]

It's been a long time since the last professional panto I ever saw. Are you remember seeing Peter Pan, more than once as a child and distinctly remember one of them having Richard Whitely Asda headline star. That's how long ago it was!