Pantomime dame

Characters who are played as pantomime dames are often, though not exclusively, older, matronly women. They may be the protagonist's mother, as in Jack and the Beanstalk and Robinson Crusoe, or a nursemaid to the protagonist, as in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Although often warm and sympathetic characters, dames may also be employed as comic antagonists, such as with the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella.^[1] Although some pantomimes traditionally do not contain standard dame roles, certain productions of those stories add a dame character, for example, in many versions of Peter Pan.^[2] Pantomime dames often have numerous costume changes in a performance, each costume change being more extravagant than the last. Other examples of dame characters include:

Widow Twankey, Aladdin's mother in the pantomime versions of the story
Mother Goose
The nanny or nurse in Babes in the Woods
The cook in Dick Whittington
The queen in Puss in Boots
Goldilocks' mother in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, who runs a circus in many versions of the pantomime.^[3]

Peter Alexander – (born 1952), notable dame in pantomimes in Yorkshire
Trevor Bannister – (1934–2011), British actor
Stanley Baxter – (born 1926), award winning Scottish actor and impressionist, famous for his lavish productions, notably at The King's Theatre, Glasgow
Christopher Biggins – (born 1948), TV personality, actor
Steven Blakeley – (born 1982), has appeared in numerous pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
Douglas Byng – (1893–1987), a legendary dame who appeared in over 50 pantomimes, Byng was also a noted cabaret and revue artiste. He was the first glamorous dame and designed all his own costumes
Herbert Campbell (1844–1904), a highly popular pantomime dame alongside Dan Leno at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Les Dawson – (1931–1993), English comedian, remembered for his deadpan style and curmudgeonly persona
Norman Evans – (1901–1962), "Evans' distinctive dame evolved out of nosy neighbour Fanny Fairbottom, a character he played on the sketch show Mr Tower of London. Fanny was hugely popular, and allegedly inspired Les Dawson to create the character of Ada"^[4]
Rikki Fulton – (1924–2004), award winning Scottish actor and comedian who also made numerous appearances in Scottish pantomimes, notably at The King's Theatre, Glasgow
Patrick Fyffe – (1942–2002), creator of Dame Hilda Bracket, one half of Hinge and Bracket
Shaun Glenville – (1884–1968), had a 50 year career in pantomime, often opposite his wife Dorothy Ward
Peter PG Gordon - resident dame at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford in consecutive pantomimes since 2006
Chris Harris – (1942–2014), dame at Theatre Royal, Bath for many years, and writer and director of many pantomimes
Melvyn Hayes – (born 1935), TV personality, actor well known for playing Gunner/Bombardier 'Gloria' Beaumont in BBC TV's It Ain't Half Hot Mum
John Inman – (1935–2007), comedy actor well known for playing Mr Humphries in BBC TV's Are You Being Served?^[5]
Berwick Kaler – (born 1947), currently Britain's longest serving dame; has played his extremely non–camp dame at York Theatre Royal since 1977
George Lacy – (1904–1989), widely regarded as the finest dame of his generation, and the originator of the dame's multiple costume changes^[6]
Danny La Rue – (1927–2009), Irish–born British entertainer known for his singing and female–impersonation
Dave Lee – (1948–2012), British comedian known for his work in pantomimes around Kent
Dan Leno – (1860–1904), a legendary pantomime dame, whose ghost is said to haunt the Theatre Royal Drury Lane^[7]
John Linehan (born 1952), Northern Irish actor and pantomime dame better known as the character May McFettridge. Resident Dame at the Grand Opera House, Belfast
Sir Ian McKellen – (born 1939), English actor and British cultural icon
G. S. Melvin – (1886–1946), Scottish pantomime dame famous for his song "I'm Happy When I'm Hiking"
Horace Mills – (1864–1941), British pantomime dame of the early 20th–century, particularly at the Prince's Theatre, Bristol
Jimmy O'Dea – (1899–1965), Irish actor and portrayer of Biddy Mulligan the Pride of the Coombe in Dublin pantomimes
Paul O'Grady – (1955-2023), British comedian and actor best known for presenting the daytime chat television series The Paul O'Grady Show, and his drag queen comedic alter ego Lily Savage
Shaun Prendergast (born 1958), resident dame at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith since 2010. Has been described in the Daily Telegraph as being 'finest, funniest pantomime Dame in London'
Harry "Little Tich" Relph – (1867–1928), noted for his various characters, including The Spanish Señora, The Gendarme, and The Tax Collector. His most popular routine was his Big-Boot Dance, which involved a pair of 28-inch boots
Ben Roddy - (born 1974), English actor, resident dame at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury since 2012^[8]
Clive Rowe – (born 1964), regularly plays the dame at the Hackney Empire and was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2008 for his performance in 'Mother Goose' at that venue
Allan Stewart - (born 1950), Scottish entertainer best known for playing the dame at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh. He played Buttons, Wishee Washee and other comic parts for many years but transitioned to playing the dame after playing the character of Aunty May on TV.
Kenneth Alan Taylor – (born 1937), has played the pantomime dame for many years in his own productions at Nottingham Playhouse
Tommy Trafford – (1927–1993), Lancashire comedian and noted pantomime dame
Jack Tripp – (1922–2005), English comic actor, singer and dancer who appeared in seaside variety shows and revues
Nick Wilton – (born 1957), English actor and scriptwriter, has been a professional dame every Christmas since 2000

Dame characters

Notable pantomime dames

See also

References

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