Love them or hate them, at this time year all the theatres are dominated by them! The Pantomime, a peculiarly British institution, is a romantic comedy play which has strong elements of farce. You have to suspend belief as the plot always revolves around a format in which the Principal Boy is a girl dressed up as a boy, a Dame who is a man dressed up as woman (central comic role), a Goodie (usually with magic powers, such as a Fairy Queen) and at least one Baddie, the most famous perhaps being the ugly sisters in Cinderalla who are also usually men dressed as women. The Principal Boy always gets his girl (who really is a girl) and the Baddies are foiled.
Although principally aimed at children, these days the dialogue can be quite satirical and contain (heavily disguised) adult humour.
