Difference between revisions of "Pantomime in South Africa"

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#REDIRECT[[Pantomime]]
 
 
= Pantomime as concept =
 
 
 
 
 
The term has a range of meanings, including:
 
 
 
1 The art or technique of communicating emotions, actions, feelings, and so without words, using only gestures, movements and facial expressions - i.e. as the equivalent of the word "[[Mime]]" - which its the more commonly used term today.
 
 
 
2 As a play or entertainment in which the performers express themselves mutely by gestures, often to the accompaniment of music.
 
 
 
3 Most often defined as an exotic form of entertainment for the entire family which is remotely based on a fairy tale or familiar story, but padded with popular songs, topical comedy and peopled with cross-dressed men and women.
 
 
 
'''For a comprehensive popular overview, see for example the entry on "Pantomime" in [[Wikipedia]][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime].'''
 
 
 
= Pantomime in South Africa =
 
 
 
Because of socio-political ties with Britain, pantomime became part of the South African theatre tradition in the 19th century.
 
 
 
==Beginnings in the 19th Century ==
 
 
 
 
 
The first locally written pantomime in South Africa was performed in 1813, entitled [[''The Siege of Troy'']] and written by Boniface.  [[Sefton Parry]] introduced the tradition of a seasonal pantomime with his production of [[Beauty and the Beast]] in 1857. In the 1870s and 1880s it was mainly the United Service Dramatic Company of Captain [[Disney Roebuck]] that gave annual pantomimes.
 
 
 
 
 
== Early 20th century ==
 
 
 
 
 
During the First World War the seasonal pantomimes were mainly produced by the [[J.C. Williamson]] organisation and the local impresario Leonard Rayne. They initiated  the tradition of mounting a pantomime to tour the main centres. This tradition continued by African Theatres, was brought to an end by the depression of the 1930s.
 
 
 
Amateur dramatic societies started to produce pantomimes I 1935, a practice which gained momentum in the late 1950s. After 1955 when [[African Consolidated Theatres]] did their last pantomime, amateur dramatic companies became mainly responsible for staging pantomimes. 
 
 
 
 
 
== Pantomimes on ice ==
 
 
These were introduced in 1953 by [[African Consolidated Theatres]].
 
 
 
[[From 1960 till 1993]]
 
 
 
 
 
In Durban, during the 1960s [[Marjorie Chase]] developed this entertainment further. * This trend was only changes in 1980 when [[NAPAC]] staged [[Cinderella]] by [[John Moss]], the leading local panto scriptwright. During the 1990s [[PACT]] produced pantomimes in English and Afrikaans with [[Janice Honeyman]] as scriptwright and [[Nerina Fereira]] as translator.
 
 
 
(MK)
 
 
 
== From 1994 onwards ==
 
 
 
 
 
=Sources=
 
 
 
 
[[F.C.L. Bosman]]. 1928. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika'', Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: [[J.H. de Bussy]]. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/bosm012dram01_01/]
 
 
 
[[F.C.L. Bosman]]. 1980. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916''. Pretoria: [[J.L. van Schaik]]
 
 
 
[[P.J. du Toit]]. 1988. ''Amateurtoneel in Suid-Afrika''. Pretoria: Academica
 
 
 
[[Marie Kruger|M.S. Kruger]]. 1997. ''Tradisionele elemente en kontemporêre tendense in die pantomime: 'n teater-historiese ondersoek''. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: [[University of Stellenbosch]].
 
 
 
[[Marie Kruger|M.S. Kruger]].  2000. English pantomime: reflections on a dynamic tradition. ''[[South African Theatre Journal]]'', 14:146-173.
 
 
 
[[Marie Kruger|M.S. Kruger]].  2003. Pantomime in South Africa: the British tradition and the local flavour. ''[[South African Theatre Journal]]'', 17:129-152.
 
 
 
 
 
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
 
 
 
== Return to ==
 
 
 
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Themes|South African Theatre Terminology and Thematic Entries]]
 
 
 
Return to [[PLAYS I: Original SA plays]]
 
 
 
Return to [[PLAYS II: Foreign plays]]
 
 
 
Return to [[PLAYS III: Collections]]
 
 
 
Return to [[PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances]]
 
 
 
Return to [[South_African_Festivals|South African Festivals and Competitions]]
 
 
 
Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
 
 
 
Return to [[Main Page]]
 

Latest revision as of 06:14, 16 August 2017

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