On Tuesday, Year 4 made their merry way to the New Wimbledon Theatre to watch ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ As part of their Drama curriculum, the boys have been studying panto and focusing on costume design. Many of them had never seen a panto before and we explored the different characters and elements of this style performance in our lessons. Pantomime is very particular to Britain and it includes influences from many styles and eras of theatre from Commedia dell’Arte to Music Hall.
Our key focus in designing costumes was exploring how you could show the job a character does through their costumes. We studied the laundry themed ‘Widow Twanky,’ cleaning themed ‘Mrs Mollymop’ and worked on our own cook themed ‘Sue Flay.’ The boys then chose one dame to design for by themselves.
The list of options included both villains (such as Queen Narcissa or Queen Cephola) and goodies (such as Mother Dyma Locks or Sue Flay). The final designs demonstrated a really good understanding of the flamboyance needed for the pantomime dame.
At the theatre, the boys demonstrated the SHS Way impeccably. They thoroughly enjoyed the true spectacle that is panto. They whooped and cheered for the hero, booed at the baddie and shouted ‘BOGEYS’ very loudly at Dick and Dom. Highlights for them included:
“I liked it when they sang the twelve days of Christmas and kept getting it wrong!”
“I liked the funny jokes.”
“My favourite part was the ice cream in the interval!”
“I liked all the songs and the water pistol.”
“We got to shout and go ‘Booo!'”
Many thanks to the Year 4 tutors and teachers who accompanied the trip. It was a brilliant start to everyone’s holiday festivities.
