Portobello Panto produces punk rock and roll pantomimes, adapting traditional fairytales and staging them in a contemporary urban setting. The adaptations draw on the dark side of the tales, highlighting their continued relevance to todays society. With surreal interludes they have been described as the “montypython” of the panto world. It’s panto; but not as you know it. Pantomime means ‘all forms of mimicary’, which is what we take from the formula. The productions retain the bright sets, the flamboyant costumes and the musical numbers, however it is a far cry from the cliche productions that people have come to expect.While Panto has come to be associated with Chrsitmas, this is a totally artificial connection, and with pantos being one of the few theatrical genres that pack out theatres, this seems like a daft limitation. We intend to show that a Panto is for life and not just for Christmas.This summer, by popular demand the huge sell out hit “Somewhere Over the Westway” will be returning to the stage at the world famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the wine bar gilded balloon at 16.15 

The Beginings

Frustrated by the restraints of the traditional pantomime formula, founders Kevin Allen and Anna Chancellor set up a their own show in a friend’s sitting room. Their unique, irreverent sense of humour inspired a cult-like following and found its spiritual home at The Tabernacle.Over the years the “Monty Python of the panto world” entertained its faithful fans with a hysterical and subversive take on classic tales. Drawing on a diverse wealth of local talent, productions such asDrinkerella lovingly mocked the very art form that they supported. Being happy to take the piss out of themselves meant that everything was fair game. The panto gave two big fingers up to the conventional correctness taking over the dwindling Christmas spirit and maintained a level of anarchic comedy that never patronised its audience no matter how young.As the mouthy Lily Allen states “We all know Panto is generally crap, for kids only, but this is my kind of humour. A truly brilliant institution“