Drag queen Santa

[crimbobobs]

Is it just me or is a drag queen Santa inappropriate at a panto aimed at under 12s? When did drag queens become children's entertainment? Why make Santa a drag queen?

No idea. Especially for a kids panto. That just seems weird. Like Santa is a Dame?

Yes Santa was a dame. Completely bizarre. The whole show was self indulgent nonsense aimed at making adults laugh when it's a show specifically billed for under 12s. I took my 5yo this morning and wanted to walk out but didn't want to upset him.
At one point the reindeer was clutching jumping on a chair clutching her fanny saying "the baby's coming out". There was no baby in the story, and no need to be clutching her fanny in front of a load of children.

Nope. That never happened. You know it didn't because, because, because, because, because, bacaaaaaaaaaaaause ... 😏

Well, it just didn't. Cos that would be weird and inappropriate in front of kids and that never, ever happens.

Why was a reindeer clutching her fanny? What baby? Was the reindeer in drag too? What the hell did you buy tickets for?

So many questions.

https://www.tron.co.uk/shows/olive-the-other-reindeer/

It was this show. I definitely didn't think it was going to be inappropriate when I bought tickets!

The reindeer wasn't in drag. There was no baby at all which is why I was confused about the fanny clutching and shouting that the baby was coming

Crikey. It's like you went to something entirely different!

And I'm still left singing the Wonderful Wizard of Oz because it makes no sense.

Wonder if there are any reviews for it 😁

Some people on Facebook saying they really enjoyed it. I wonder if anyone complained.
I thought about it but I imagine they'd be sitting in their office calling me a Karen so there's no point. We just won't go back which is a shame as it was my go to theatre.

My 5yo whispered to me "mummy, that's not the real Santa", I agreed and said they were just being silly.

So is a drag Santa a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be Santa?

Or a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a drag Santa? 🤔

Either way 😡

A man pretending to be a female Santa.
I wonder if they realise that small children believe in Santa and that's very confusing for them. I wonder if they've ever met any children at all.

Having read some reviews they, journos and director who played Mrs Santa, are all quite happy with their clever selves.

Sad as the story itself is a good one. It doesn't need all the Wokery.

@crimbobobs

A man pretending to be a female Santa. I wonder if they realise that small children believe in Santa and that's very confusing for them. I wonder if they've ever met any children at all.

Ridiculous. Everyone knows Santa is a man.

I just went to a Christmas panto and DS 5 saw a poster for Rocky Horror and said that's my favourite song ( the time warp, thanks Apple Music for kids Halloween songs) So I wouldn't worry it goes over kids heads. Lots of shows have adult content and jokes.
Ps is it ok to take a 5 year old to Rocky horror ?

I'm not worried about it as such. I just don't understand why a show aimed at under 12s needs that stuff, why can't it just be a wholesome children's show. Why make Santa a drag queen in a children's show?

It sounds awful but surely it's just in the normal tradition of pantomime which has men dressing up as women, women dressing up as men, and lots of smutty jokes which one hopes will go over the heads of most of the audience.

It wasn't men dressing up as women though. They turned Santa into a woman but the actor was a drag queen. It was just really bizarre for it to be aimed at wee ones who still believe in Santa.

Reading some of the reviews the post modernism of Santa being Mrs Santa is increased many fold by then also being a drag queen.

You and I just aren't hip/woke/open minded enough, OP.

Somewhere along the line taking a kids Christmas film and presenting it in semi panto style, with more adult focus, has forgotten the kid based Christmas focus. The desire to be cutting edge wins out. S'alright to to that, but not whilst still selling it as family fun, panto stylee.

Then again I am becoming more and more anti drag these days. Quite a separate thing from panto dames and principal boy of the age old, traditional theatre cross dressing amusement.

Sometimes I think people are so open minded that their brains fell out.

Yes, I don't like drag anyway. It's just men making fun of women.

There's a drive to be innovative all the time in the arts, and at the moment it is in high form. So no one can just do a traditional version of whatever. And things being what they are, the innovation has to be built around identity elements.

So I have been seeing a lot of theater productions with cross-sex casting (they say sex-blind, but give me a break, they are doing it quite purposefully.) And drag queens are big too. So, Presto!, combine them and you have an exciting innovative panto!

I don’t like drag either but as I sat in my panto with the dame in drag, I thought ‘here is a place where this is ok’ - I think because it is such an age old tradition, and also because this dame was making jokes about not really being a woman and they were jokes for the adults. The whole thing would go over my young childrens heads, I think they’d have thought him a woman if I asked them.

Drag queens reading stories to kids and being called sexualised names, that’s different.

@crimbobobs

Sometimes I think people are so open minded that their brains fell out.

Yes, I don't like drag anyway. It's just men making fun of women.

Write and tell them! Tell them it wasn't suitable for the advertised audience. Tell them why you object to drag. Tell them how many times you've been there in the past and that you're not going again.

These people live in a bubble and need to hear other points of view. A theatre local to me has a drag show for kids and I wrote to them about it. Even one voice raised in concern might make a difference.

Sorry you had a bad experience - it sounds grim.

This is on the online programme OP

Let us know what you thought of Olive the Other Reindeer by emailing [email protected]

'Writer Johnny McKnight appears via Zoom screen as Lady Santa to lead the reindeers in their lessons and the cast interact well with the prerecorded footage.'

When did drag queens become children's entertainment?

Certainly when panto was first invented, if not before.

Panto dames aren't drag queens though.

Just as principal boys aren't drag kings.

They have a totally different theatre history.

It's disingenuous to suggest they are the same thing.