Pantomime Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. A rehearsal schedule includes a “transformation scene.” What is the production team most likely preparing?
A spectacular scenic change that reveals a magical new setting
A realistic costume fitting conducted in front of the audience
A silent interval between the comic and serious acts
A speech explaining every character’s earlier life
2. A poster for Aladdin promises appearances by Widow Twankey and a scheming magician. What is that magician commonly called in British pantomime?
Abanazar
Baron Hardup
Captain Hook
King Rat
3. A pantomime villain has a hook in place of one hand and commands a pirate crew. Which production is most likely being staged?
Mother Goose
Sleeping Beauty
Peter Pan
Cinderella
4. Harlequin, Columbine, and other figures that influenced early English pantomime are most closely associated with which theatrical tradition?
Japanese Noh theatre
Ancient Greek tragedy
Italian commedia dell’arte
French naturalist theatre
5. During which period are professional pantomimes in Britain most traditionally staged?
The weeks surrounding Easter
The weeks immediately before Lent
The middle of the summer festival season
The Christmas and New Year season
6. Which companion is central to the traditional pantomime story of Dick Whittington?
His cat
A talking wooden puppet
A white rabbit
A golden goose
7. Why might the same pantomime include different jokes when performed in two different towns?
Every pantomime must use a completely improvised script
The central fairy-tale plot is changed at random each night
Performers are traditionally forbidden from repeating a joke
Productions often add topical humour and local references
8. A pantomime features a mistreated heroine, a magical helper, a lost slipper, and a royal ball. Which story is being performed?
Dick Whittington
Aladdin
Jack and the Beanstalk
Cinderella
9. A director wants to follow the traditional casting convention for the principal boy. Which choice best fits that convention?
Cast a child as the oldest character in the story
Cast a woman as the heroic young male lead
Cast the villain as both hero and narrator
Use a silent performer for the romantic lead
10. An actor turns from the other characters and asks the audience directly whether a plan will work. Which theatrical boundary has been broken?
The interval between the two halves
The fourth wall between performers and audience
The boundary between tragedy and history
The orchestra’s separation from the stage
11. In a traditional pantomime plot, what role does the good fairy usually play?
A neutral historian who never affects the action
A rival who tries to replace the principal boy
A comic servant secretly working for the villain
A benevolent helper who supports the hero and counters evil
12. A villain enters unnoticed while the hero asks the audience where the danger is. Which response best matches a classic pantomime convention?
The audience remains silent to preserve suspense
The audience applauds only after the villain leaves
The audience calls out something such as “He’s behind you!”
The audience waits for an interval announcement
13. A programme lists a well-known male comic performer as Widow Twankey. Which pantomime convention does this illustrate?
The principal boy
The good fairy
The pantomime dame
The animal sidekick
14. A designer preparing Jack and the Beanstalk needs an object linked to the threat at the top of the beanstalk. Which choice fits the story?
A giant’s castle in the clouds
A lamp containing a genie
A glass slipper belonging to a princess
A pirate ship called the Jolly Roger
15. Two performers repeatedly trip, chase each other, and mishandle props in an exaggerated comic routine. What type of humour is this?
Satirical monologue
Slapstick comedy
Romantic parody
Dramatic irony
16. How is a pantomime audience traditionally encouraged to react when the main villain appears?
By standing in complete silence
By booing and hissing
By leaving the auditorium briefly
By singing the hero’s romantic song