A JOY SHOW

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 234, 28 June 1920, Page 6

A JOY SHOW

w CHILDREN AND THE ANNUAL PANTOMIME. ■V K '■''.;'"■' (By Sylvius.) •', Perhaps there is : no joy in city-bred ichildron's lives 60 ecstatic as that they idisplay at the annual pantomime. To euch enthusiastic patrons of tho theatre i—as a rule it is their "once a year"— there is a-t once glamour and realiiy in /the 6tory that cannot bo grasped by tho ;jnere;adUlt. To them the Sleeping Princess is. vested in all the purple and fine linen of royalty, all the beauty that ever iwas and ever will be in the world of j romance;, and the handsome "principal ''boy" is indeed tho gallant Sir Galahad, [ who is ever on the alert to rescue maidens in distress. To them, ■ also, tho "dame" is the embodiment of everything • funniest'on tho earth. With tingling ears they listen for "her" jokes, and if, ' perchance, they do not immediately .grasp tho humour of them, they laugh jjust as heartily, knowing they must ba outrageously funny. Dames and others ; ehould, therefore, be rather discreet in j what they attempt to "put over" at a 'matinee, for every eager-eyed, eager* ■ eared youngster in the crowded theatre 'is at Ithe inquiring age, and wants to ;tnow all about the cackle of tho comedy purveyors. As a matter of fact, "The • Sleeping Beauty" is a particularly clean ; and wholesome pantomime. There were '.only one or two broad allusions, disguised as,jokes, detectable on the opening ■ nighlt, and these were rightly cut out on Saturday afternoon.

But to revert to tho great illusion, how the kiddies love the beautiful golden- ■ haired, white-frocked fairies, and what a chorus of admiring "Ohs!" go up when the fairy godmothers enter with their gifts for tho dear littlo wax princess in ,the gilt cradle. 'With equal spirit 'the Juvenile patrons of the pantomime shiver 'find shako at tho pale green villainy of black-hearted Malevolence, who is over so much more malevolent than all the scowling demons of other pantomimes. As soon as this sombreclad, lightning-eyed, frowning creature Btalks upon the scone in an aura of green 'mist, each litlfclo gorge rises, and the youngsters swallow lumps at the thought of the mischief she openly plans to their" i beloved ones. Still, all thoughts of ; hatred disappear when ithe little dancers ,trip a blithsome measure, or the merry 'Bill (and Walter slide and slip about on a sea of paste. How they shrieked jand howled with dolight when Bill sat ,in a bucket of paste; how excruciating it .-was when Mrs. Spoopendyke received "hers 7 .' in the face, as she expressed the ■wish that they wouldn't make a mess. •How the fifteen hundred youngsters Jaughed until t they wept at this scene ,fras a fine tribute to tho magic of slapstiok. But, after all, what the little 'girls will cherish longest in their terijibly retentive memories will be the glory .'of the dresses, tho multi-coloured moving show of delightful girls in wonderful glad rags. '■ Shows may cdme and shows may go, but there is no box plans rushed like /those of this hardy old annual, which is Always so delightfully new in its oldJiess.