The art of pantomime has developed over centuries to arrive at the tradition we now continue at BMSI. Originally pantomimes were mime, but our shows now incorporate acting, inging, dancing games and audience participation. Aimed primarily at children, pantomime can also include jokes and innuendos that are above the children and aimed at adults.

There are several essential parts of pantomime which are always followed.

• The story is based (sometimes very loosely) on a fairy tale or a nursery rhyme
• The "leading man" or Principal Boy is a woman pretending to be a man. This character is the hero of the story and wins out in the end.
• The "leading lady" or Dame is a man dressed as a woman. The character is over the top and the costumes are bright and can be outrageous. The character is usually "a goodie" although some pantomimes do have a dame as the baddie. The audience is in no doubt that this character is a man dressed as a woman. And some jokes can play on this.
• There is always a "baddie" and one of the essentials of pantomime is audience participation. The audience are positively encouraged to cheer the heroes and boo the baddies.
• There is usually a princess or someone similar (Principal Girl) who the principal boy saves and marries.
• There is usually a scene where someone is hiding behind someone else, causing plenty of audience shouts of "it's behind you"
• There is usually at least one scene where two of the characters argue with each other (a goodie and a baddie) and the audience take the side of the goodie, the usual shout is "Oh no he isn't" and "Oh yes he is".
• Part of the popularity has to be the fact that actors can deviate from the script and tend to enjoy the production as much as the audience. Speaking from experience, it is liberating to know that if you make a mistake you can adlib your way out of it.