It’s no mystery that the pantomime has been around for a long time with the likes of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Twelfth Night’ taking key elements from the classic pantomime, but just how did it originate and evolve to what we know today as the ‘Christmas Panto.’ But how did it become so popular and why is it still a staple tradition today?

According to research from the Victoria and Albert museum the classic ‘Pantomime’ has its roots in 16th-century Italian entertainment which used dance, music, tumbling, acrobatics and featured a cast of mischievous stock characters. 

Evolving over the decade, eventually reaching the north of England, the art of the pantomime found one of its many homes at the Darlington Hippodrome with ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ which was first performed there in 1908 and has been an audience favourite over the last 100 years having been staged 18 times at the Hippodrome. 

This popularity however has not come without its challenges with the rising competition of streaming television and films most would consider the panto a dying art however the Hippodrome has since embraced the age of new technology and it has not disappointed its audiences both new and old with many audiences such as once member of the public who continues to show affection for the art:

“Going to the pantomime each year with my family has become an enjoyable tradition, when done right, I believe it can be enjoyed by everyone!”

While there is no doubt that we acknowledge the plundering popularity of the pantomime in recent years, with the recent pandemic bringing the art to a halt. It seems that the tradition has planted itself as a national treasure for families across the UK showing hope for the future.