It’s panto time again

Sarah Key – 14 December 2010

Yip, you know the festive season is upon us when the pantomime at the Mandela Theatre at the Jo’burg Theatre swings into action. For many families, attending the yearly fun-filled frolic is a holiday tradition. It is for us.

Last year the antics of the wooden puppet turned into a real boy, Pinnochio, saw Janice Honeyman – the incorrigible doyenne of theatre and the personification of the panto brand – draw in audiences more than 80 000 strong. This year the cast of Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates will, no doubt, explode on stage in their overly-energetic, hilarious, swashbuckling and outrageous glory as they dance, sing, pun and swing their way through the Christmas performance season.

Marc Lottering plays Crusoe's mother, Panto Dame Lolly Lottalove. Oh yes, there is always a man in a dress! It is this and other familiar parts of the formula like the “Sing along with actions” section that we have come to love and expect from the extravaganza. Tanya van Graan assumes the role of the beauty, Primrose Petal, while Carlo McFarlane takes the lead of Robin Lottalove. His sister, Bobin Lottalove, and the Mayoress and villain, Beelzebub, as well as Flora the Fairy will certainly be romping up a storm as the plot develops amid fabulous sets and pyrotechnics. At the panto we also eagerly await the on-stage arrival of an over-the-top mode of transport like the stretch limo in Snow White. What will the shipwrecked islanders be using this year?

Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates runs until the 2 January 2011. You have left it rather late to book but might be able to pick up tickets at Computicket on 083 915 8000 or www.computicket.com. Whether a seasoned panto-watcher or an initiate into this genre of fun and frivolity you are sure to laugh a lot and be back for more next year. Oh, and the kids love it!