One of the best things about Christmas is that the whole family can enjoy a trip to the theatre to watch a good Panto!

Pantomimes are usually based on popular fairy tales or folk legends and we all have a favourite. But whether it’s Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Aladdin or Dick Whittington, you’re guaranteed loads of laughs and stacks of songs. Traditionally, Pantomimes started on Boxing Day, but now they usually start before Christmas - so you can enjoy them for longer!

But do you know how Pantomime began?

Well, in the 16th and 17th century, there was a type of theatre in Italy called Commedia dell’Arte. This was a funny play that was improvised, which means that bits of it were made up by the actors.

In 1697 a French writer called Charles Perrault wrote his own version of some old folk tales and these were put into a book called Mother Goose Fairy Tales. The stories included Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Puss in Boots. You‘ve probably heard of these before because they are all very popular Pantomimes.

So you see, these stories have been performed for hundreds of years, yet the audience never get tired of them.

The Pantomime Dame is played by a man and the Principal Boy is played by a girl. This might have come from a winter Roman feast called Saturnalia. At the feast, the men and women dressed in each other’s clothes!

There are good guys … and there are bad guys. Always!

There will be at least one funny scene where the good guys chase the bad guys.

There might be magic tricks.

Although the stories are basically the same, they are often adapted to include stuff that’s in the news. This makes the pantomime ‘topical’ and means the audience can see the story performed many times without getting bored.

There will be lots of singing and dancing.

Often, famous pop stars or actors will appear in Pantomime. They will be the stars of the show and lots of people will buy tickets especially to see them on the stage.

There’s always a Finale at the end where all the actors come onto the stage and take a bow. Then they all sing a song, usually with the audience joining in.

And in every Pantomime, there is a happy ending where everyone (except the bad guys - unless they become good guys, of course) lives happily ever after!

There are lots of superstitions in the world of Pantomime. This means that the actors avoid doing things that are thought to be bad luck. Here are some popular Panto rules …

The fairy must always enter from the right.

The bad guy must always enter from the left - and he has to come onto the stage before the fairy.

During rehearsals, the actors miss out the last lines of the Pantomime because they think it could bring bad luck. The first time they are allowed to say the last words is on the opening night in front of the audience. Hopefully, they won‘t forget!

Never wish an actor good luck. You’re supposed to tell them to ‘break a leg’ instead!

Don’t whistle in the dressing room or you’ll get thrown out!

If you go to see a Pantomime, you’ll be given important jobs to do. This is called Audience Participation. It means the audience get to actually do something rather than just watch the actors. So there’s no chance of Grandad having a sneaky snooze!

Most importantly, the audience will be required to boo the villain as soon as he enters the stage.

They also have to warn the good guys when the villain is creeping around by shouting ‘He’s Behind You!’ as loudly as possible.

If a character tells a fib or gets something wrong, the audience has to correct him by shouting ‘Oh No He Isn’t!’ or ‘Oh Yes He Is!’

And they usually have to sing funny songs from a big song sheet on the stage - so make sure you tell everyone to wear their glasses for the show or they won’t be able to join in!