DEGENERATE PANTOMIMES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 746, 19 February 1910, Page 13

DEGENERATE PANTOMIMES.

In a recent English paper Lady Juliette Turner asks-,,the • quesno;i: Are : pantomimes fit tur chilaxen? .and proceeds, to show that .they are-not. ;• ■ .years," she. says, pantomimes,, as staged: in . London, have undergone .a : remarkable change, and a change, I fear, for tho worse. , They, aro still called by the. old .names—"Aladdin," ."Cinderella,/ -"Puss- inVßoots," and. so on-r-but little or' no- attempt is made to follow out' the ■fairytales on-whioh they'are.based; No matter.-.which', .of ■ • them■ .tho . manager chooses, ;.it: appears to- be. simply .made an; excuse, for,-a, series; of Gorgeous and gaudy scenes.in,which a number of; musichall performers make jokes and sing songs that are very r- often quite; ■ unfit for; children's ears.,

.The- fairy tale . that children know and -love is ..lost in -a bewildering jumble of: .allusions toi political' ..affairs,.; joke's .'ill! questionable'taste,: and songs that all' too frequently- are excessively .' vulgar.' Indeed, .parts ■: of ■' some : modorn pantomimes :are l go. -very objectionable that one ..cannot. help wondering doubtfully, whether tho performances; come ; : within .the'.sphere. ..of >. the Censor: Children; : as a general: rule, cannot understand them—and mercifully ! so! '. : ■ 7.~ , : But. .there,arei.: exceptions to 'this rule, and ,the more precocious, children are not content'.to. .'let/.these things. pass in a' ■bewilderedsilence,• They:v-will .• criticise and ask questions about: what • they cannot understand,''and: in 6ome cases I fear* it would take a very clover parent to come scathless out .of: , cross-examina-tion on', the '.manners' and.;. morals of a modern .Christmas : pantpmime. , ... .rI "suppose.'the ( truth is ..that: ..panto-, mimes . are-. no " written for children, nor do tho performers mako any effort,, to .appeal .to .children. . The costumes of-,.the. ladies...ore obviously . not designed to give pleasure , to . the' child; the comedians, 'jokes,.; oven, when"; really, amusing,. ; are',certainly not on. the level of a child's" understanding;., and it is.-to be. hoped that the , :with. its frequentrslanginess. and vulgarity, is equally .unintelligible, . A glance at the auditorium of a theatre during! the performance of :.a-pantomime convinces ono that the v pantomime is staged, not only for the "grown-up," but more • especially for, the clubman. Dresses, jokes, songs,. / . dances-r^veiything. .is planned with a regard for his . tastes, and the manager takes care that tho poor -little fairy, tale—which would, only tore this, :his .most profitable patron—is hithlessly pushed. out of sight for . whole scenes, and is . only allowed to reappear, it would seem, in order to give the comedians a rest. •" ,-: '

It is typical of the pantomime.' manager's policy that the harlequinade—tho one thing 'that has- always, appealed to. the children—is pushed to the very end of an already , over-long', programme, and sometimes .abolished altogether. , The policeman and the clown with the red-hot poker and the inevitable .sausages , aro ' all things of hilarious delight to. the children;" But 'long before tho bewildering.'mixture of ballet and music-hall has beon brought to, an : qnd, the poor children' are^.'tired : arid, sleepy,'- and aro quite ready to bo taken homo. Within the last year or two, .there have been, I am glad to see, certain plays produced afc Christmastido that appear . to be written with the single idea of pleasing the ohildron. V I mean,-: of course, such delightful plays as 'Teter Pan".arid "Pinlcio and .the Fairies" And: if further proof bo. needed that pantomimes and children's plays are no longer synonymous, I shall ask the question, 1 who dream' of referring to .either of these as,a pantomime?.