Americans in Pantoland!

It is often said that pantomimes are traditionally a very British thing. A time of the year when families can go to the theatre and see fun and laughter, mild innuendo and ridiculous slapstick. It is all very innocent, all very traditional and hardly mentioned on the lips of those outside the British Isles.

Americans have virtually no notion of the concept of the pantomime. Their stars do not act in a silly manner in front of children and their adult family members. However, I sense that the desire is in an American actor no less than in a British one. This year Henry Winkler is starring in Peter Pan at the Milton Keynes Theatre. He is Captain Hook. I bet he goes back to the US feeling that the occasion was one of the best of his acting career. Coming out on stage to children keen to boo and scream and giggle and laugh, sometimes in quick succession, is a magical thrill for any actor. Last year, Mickey Rooney was having a ball. Henry Winkler is a natural for pantomime. I guess there a few other American stars who would probably get just as much satisfaction out of such an adventure into this type of theatre.