I'm doing the musical direction for a new year pantomime in my village at the moment. It's set in Ancient Rome (Pompeii) and has rock'n roll music from the 1950s; the Principal Boy is played by a girl; the Dame character is played by a local builder (with very hairy arms); the Dame's stupid son is being played by a girl and one of the comedy Roman Guard pair is also a girl. There's a lion who dances with the Principal Girl. The audience boos and hisses the villain at every opportunity; the cast do the conga, grabbing members of the audience as they dance past. All the potions - love potion - poison - forgetting potion - get mixed up - and chaos reigns.

How's that for a traditional English seasonal celebration? Weird or what?