1956-12-15 — Page 12

THE

CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1956.

ACTUAL TESTS PROVE

bur mil ameo

dubbelife

WEARS TWICE AS LONG

AS ORDINARY NYLONS

Wear tests prove that in the oven!

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due to a pulled thread (the largest

single cause of most nylon failuros).

In some cases, women are sill!

wearing their original Dubbalife stockings after 3 pairs of

ordinary nylons have run! Thanks to Dubbelife's twin-thread construction, if one thread breaks the other still holds!

Dubbelife is beautifully sheer... fits every part of your log perfectly!

See how flattering Dubbelila

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66 A

"A

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CROWD of The pantomime author takes Ever seen a charming Chinese people, a popular fairy story or legend fairy, in ballet skirts, gauze and

----even

nursery rhyme spangles, standing in a call- mostly girls drama:ises it, rewrites it, add box and shouting over the dressed as boys, ing in

leat process an telephone? Or a flying fairy number of Dutch Imaginative

extra who gets airsick? streaming into garden singing "There'll characters. If he doesn't find the

plot suitable, he atters it, always be an England"..

"This form of entertain- ment is unsuitable for children, boring for adults, und an excellent argument for the anti-traditiona- list"....

"They in their drama find nu

joys.

But dote on inimlery and

toys.

Then he mixes in a selection of popular sougs with wording changed 10 sult in purpose, soma topical jokes and more old jokus, at least one funny anni (or, if it's big style, manature circus),

magical transformation scene with trai coloured Emoke, Breworks, thunder, lightning and other such spectacular elementa---and leaves the producer and slage

a

manager to solve the knotty

problem of HOW?

Thus when a dance is in my YET,

ball,

Nobility my boxe AN:

Or send three days before the

Time.

To crowd LL new-made

pantomime."

THUS

a tomous comedian, an American author and actor

David Garrick tried to explain away British pantomime, But they had an impossible task.

a

despite Ita apparent formlessness, it is most um- portant

play this guano according to ite centuries-old rules. If one of these rules is

10

broken, Whe show becomes simply just another fairy tale, revue or musical comedy.

Scnie of these rules are: The male nero of the plot MUST be played by a girl, but the Principal Girl" MUST also be played by a girl. Thus, passion- ate love ducts pre Fung in sopra voices, The "Dame" For pantomime la

MUST be played by a man-- hotel-patch mixture promising a broad comedy part which fantasy, melody. ritual, often performed by a leading conviviality. splendour and middic-aged comedian. And slapstick.

Is a gioritied there MUST be a runny man, fairy-play with music, singing the personal link between the dancing, brilliant colour, heaps stage and the audience. of magic. Its story may be as old as the Devil himself, but the jokes are as new as today's paper. It is the epitome of the Briton's paradoxical

Jerse ol humour,

POUR

There MUST be a personifica- Mon of Evil, a Wicked Baron, an Ogre or more usually Demon.

Though at first the Demon (a bass-baritone) has it all has

Walk inla

any "panto" theatre in rehearsal season.

look round the enormous

While you are there, have a op- Di this purMions

fairy-tale world. The countless spotlights, battens, floats and ares,

Pantomime is the "last word" in mechanical stage machinery. Mountains; forests of machinery stage, In profusion about the complete castles, borne on hydraulic lifts, rising in a giant puff of smoke out of the singe Door; beanstalks towering pre- cariously in the air..

Evil demons and good fairies sway majestically over this sceno at the end of stool cables; "on the night") (invisible Blends and magicians disappear and appear again just as magle- contrivances. olly до any at Merlin's

Transformation follows trans-

formation,

Whore did the pantomime begin? In the medieval "miracle" plays and impromptu dramos of the 18th century Italian players. But tho "modern" pantomime was first produced in England 239 years ago.

INVENTOR of this new form

was a man called Rich (bom) 1692). As a result he was-- very.

The success of this entertain- ment, regarded then as it now as an expression of Engilsh their most inexplicable, was in- humour and temperament at

own way, showing his glee by crowded out.

stant. Even Shakespeare demonaical laughter, the Good Fairy (a soprano) MUST always ✡ win in the last ach

plot is folled and the lovers are same. A British Christmas. Just united to live in bliss ever after.

OUR into this jumble the

hilarity and glamour of revue, circus nets, the latest song hits, a big orchestra and flying

ballerings.

Pantomime's "Principal Boy is a girl, the "Dame" is always

a man....

Try to classify pantomime and your results will be confusing as ils make-up.

33

evil The

Full of fury, the Demon des-

cends again the depths, usually amoke. in an explosion of Are and red

BEAFOO

Garrick himself changed his beginne IRITAIN has just begun, an-

mind after writing the verse above, and complaining bitterly about the public deserting him for "such frivolity," and later took several parts on its fantas- tic stage.

What is the plot of pantomime? The answer is inxture of nursery Zales plus

11

:

Today the attitude is the

wouldn't be a British Christmas

Large

without pantomime. And don't get the idea that just children and family parties go. blocks of seats are reserved for factory, workshop, department store and office staffs; even the sophisticated desert their night clubs to watch the adventures of Cinderella, Aladdin and Snow White.

A now and popular form is the pantomime on ice. The spectacle, multiplies. Pantomime Fairies are trying on their devotees crowd the balls and wings, demons Bre

practising arencs of Britain to watch their horrible laughter, fairy King Pantomime and his Court castles ("Jack the Giant Killer) slither round on skates. Theme are springing up or being rer song of this Freezing

Youth novated

gilded you'll look weet upon the coaches (") are being

any incidental characters from Gusted and polished, theairs seat of an icicie built for two other stories and legends. In managers are busy sprinkling An evening at the pantomime "Aladdin” it would not ba un fertiliser on their. 50-loot blade is an evening of colour, exclte- usual to see The magic lamp ruka ("Jack and the Boun meat and laughter. It brings conjure up someone like A stalk").

hot and

acrobats back those wonderful, days Baba or Robin Hood or the complain that there are when Cinderella and Aladdin Sleeping Beauty

a mothy in their catskin costumes and Snow While bevy of chorus girls.

"Dick Whittington").

really people.

even

JOHNNY HAZARD

NOW WHAT'S SNAP DOING. STANDING IN FRONT OF MY DUNG JET ? DARNED, POOLÍ,

HEY, SNAPI GET.

7: AWAY FROM THAT LET

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