PANTO comes into its own around Christmas as parents plan trips to at least one traditional festive show.

Pantomime is derived from the Mummers Plays of the Middle Ages and is part of English folklore. and eccentricity. We all love Cinderella, Aladdin, Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty – it’s an important part of seasonal events. The format and performers are also traditional, including having men dressed as women – usually in comic roles like dames or ugly sisters. So, actress Caroline Quentin’s remarks in Prima magazine querying why in 2016 we still like to see men dressed in drag and that the roles should be played by women seems rather foolish. The juxtaposition of usually big, older blokes made up and dressed in a highly exaggerated way is usually funny in the context of these fairytales.

They invariably get the liveliest slapstick scenes and funniest lines and that’s usually accepted by all ages. They certainly don’t do any harm.