[Dixielandjazz] Re: Happy Every Day -- and the Holy-daze, too

[Bill Gunter]

Listmates,

Jazz Jerry in Norwich gets into the act . . .

I wrote:

>You can go to any tourist gathering place such as
>Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco or Times Square in New York and see
>budding pantomimers in their white faced get-ups doing their favorite
>pantomime schtick which is always being trapped in an invisible box which 
>is
>relentlessly shrinking.

And Jerry replies:

>Sorry Bill,
>
>To the Brits that is not pantomime. To put it briefly 'Pantomime' is a
>seasonal musical stage show based on one of six traditional stories 
>including
>Cinderella, Alladin, Jack and The Bean Stalk, and 'Puss In Boots' in which
>the main characters include a beautiful girl, a handsome hero (played by a
>girl who must have gorgeous legs which go all the way up!), a old harridan
>(two in the case of Cinderella) (played by a man), a penniless aristocrat, 
>a
>male servant (the main comedy role) a vile Baddie (male) who is hissed and
>booed by the audience wvery time he comes on stage, a good fairy who save 
>the
>day with her magic plus various villagers of both sexes and usually a 
>troupe
>of children who make up the chorus. Much of the comedy is based on either
>slapstick or topical gags and the love interest is sloppy and the music is
>certainly not original and can come from any source. It is really very
>difficult to explain fully and is a very British institution. Most of this
>country's regional theatres feature such a show at Christmas plus hundreds 
>of
>small town and village amateur dramatic groups and for many it is the only
>time they ever visit a live theatre. The big theatres often rely on the
>profits from the pantomime to see them through the more serious theatre 
>they
>present at other times.

Of course you all realize that Brits and Yanks speak different forms of 
English. Especially in the vocabulary department. Here are some examples:

BRACES
(Brit) something to hold your pants up
(Yank) wire stuff on kids teeth

BOOT
(Brit) trunk of a car
(Yank) what is done to a football

FOOTBALL
(Brit) a game with a round ball played in your knickers
(Yank) a game with an oblong ball played with heavy padding and helmets

KNICKERS
(Brit) underwear
(Yank) trousers which buckle at the knee often worn by golfers

KNOCK UP
(Brit) call someone on the telephone
(Yank) Impregnate a close friend (at least at the time)

SORRY
(Brit) a word to use when you accidentally bump into someone
(Yank) a feeling of regret when you find you've actually hurt someone

PANTOMIME
(Brit) a traditional music hall production following established rules
(Yank) a performance where the actor doesn't actually talk

Is this a fun topic or what!!!


Respectfully submitted,

Bill "I say eether and you say eyether" Gunter
jazzboard@hotmail.com

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