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The traditional pantomime that we know today, had it's origins in 16th Century Italy as an art form known as Commedia Dell'arte. Over time the style developed and it was during the Victorian era that the familiar pantomime of today first appeared. In the beginning the travelling troupes would usually have been families and had a selection of stories that they would have performed in fairgrounds and in market places. Eventually these old stories began to disappear and they were replaced with the more traditional stories like Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella.
H.J. Byron and J.R. Planché took the traditional fairy tales and developed them into the pantomimes we see at christmas as they had a particular interest in puns and play on words. During the 19th Century, when Pantomimes were at their most popular, they could have lasted up to five hours.
This year I went to see Peter Pan at my local theatre in Melton Mowbray. I found that the whole show could be enjoyed by all ages because the word play added several different meanings to the speech that different ages would pick up on.
The costumes that are worn in pantomimes are often stereotypical of their characters so they can be easily identified by the younger audience members.
Source: http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/p/pantomime/
