British Culture - Tumblr Posts
why are british people always so mad when people make jokes about their accents. sorry you say yewchube. it’s funny though innit
Don't forget also the role of Principal Boy, the young male protagonist of the pantomime traditionally played by an actress in boys clothes. There's a good overview of this on the website of the Victoria and Albert museum, but in short, this was absolutely considered risqué around the time it began to be commonplace (mid-1800s), and many of the actors performing these roles came from music hall backgrounds (often considered a more 'lower class' or vulgar sort of entertainment) where they were male impersonators (what we might consider drag kings today).
It's more outside of my area of experience, but opera has also traditionally had such 'breeches roles', at least in part to utilise different vocal ranges.
Why is pantomime so gay?
Let me tell you something: I became curious and watched some televised ones on Youtube, and why is this British Christmas entertainment so gay?
I'm not complaining, just very surprised.
The great pantomime dame is a drag queen in everything but name. And I thought they would be only villains, but even more heroic characters like Jack's mother from Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin's mother can be played like that.
Widow Twankey, Aladdin's mother in the panto, even uses humor that is not very far off from a real drag queen.