PANTOMIME PRESS STORIES - A CLARIFICATION
Mark Pemberton, Chief Executive

Many members will have read recent newspaper articles or heard NODA's Chief Executive on national and local radio, and may be confused as to what NODA's position is in relation to the world of amateur pantomimes. So I felt a clarification was in order.

Just before Christmas I was contacted by a journalist from the Press Association (PA) and asked for my views on pantomimes. Knowing that this is a thin time for news, and that it could be an excellent source of publicity for NODA and for amateur theatre in general, we concocted a mildly controversial story about the need for pantomime to adapt to ensure its survival in the 21st century. The resulting press release from the PA went further than I expected, so it came as a surprise to find us subject to quite so much attention and controversy.

To be clear, NODA does NOT believe that panto is boring and that groups should be doing Big Brother the Panto instead of traditional pantomimes. We are, as ever, the staunchest defenders of the traditional pantomime. However, comments made in jest were meant to draw attention to a genuine fear on my part that the number of panto titles that professional companies and amateur theatre groups are prepared to perform has declined. In recent years the number of core titles has shrunk to about 12, with only about 6 being done with any frequency. The evidence for this is clear. NODA's fixture list shows the following pantomimes receiving more than four productions by its members this season, in order of popularity:

• Jack and the Beanstalk (18)
• Aladdin (17)
• Cinderella (13)
• Dick Whittington (9)
• Sleeping Beauty (8)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (8)
• Robinson Crusoe (6)
  

Any other titles are being performed on an occasional basis, though it is heartening to see some titles outside the core repertoire of 19^th century fairy titles being offered by the amateur sector, such as Frankenstein by David Swan (published by NODA Pantomimes), King Arthur and Panto at the OK Corral.

The narrowing of titles is even clearer in the professional sector. QDOS and First Family Entertainment, the country’s leading producers of professional pantomimes, are offering nothing this season beyond Aladdin, Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Jack and the Beanstalk, Mother Goose, Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty. And our fear is that where the professionals lead, the amateurs may follow.

The inevitable consequence of this is that it imposes a straitjacket on writers and impedes originality. And one answer would be to apply the panto format to new stories. Or perhaps we should look at reviving some of the old titles (eg. Goody Two Shoes and Humpty Dumpty)? Otherwise panto could decline exponentially if it becomes set in aspic and people refuse to break out of the norm, leading to its disappearance altogether.

So we urge our members to make a New Year’s resolution, that they explore what is available beyond the core repertoire, to ensure this vital form of entertainment thrives and survives throughout the 21^st century.

NODA Pantomimes offers over 100 pantomime scripts by such popular authors as Leonard Caddy, Peter Denyer, Stephen Duckham, Ron Hall, Peter Long & Keith Rawnsley, Robert Marlowe, John Morley and David Swan. For further details contact Dale Freeman on 0870 770 2483 or email dale@noda.org.uk.