Q19Dec10

Q2A

Got a quick question ......

From a young actor who likes playing the female roles and wonders if this is ok or not?

This is our reply.......

There's no need to worry about enjoying playing the part of a girl because lots of males enjoy
playing girl or female parts. In Shakespeare's time there were only male actors, no
actresses, so all the female parts were played by males. There is also a long tradition of
male actors playing a female part in pantomime: the pantomime dame. Examples are the
part of Widow Twankey in Aladdin, or Cinderella's Ugly Sisters. There is also a tradition of
women playing male parts in pantomime: the principal boy. An example is the part of
Dick Whittington in Dick Whittington and His Cat.

Men also play female roles in films and on TV:

# the actor Robin Williams dressed as a woman to play Mrs Doubtfire in the film of the
same name
# the comedian and talk show host Paul O'Grady had a televison series where he played a
part called Lily Savage.

So there are lots of examples of males who enjoy playing the female roles.

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