For the first time ever, London Zoo is doing pantomime. But what do pantomime and the zoo have in common? In this programme, Yvonne Archer discovers that they both have the power to delight and amaze people of all ages - but can a visit to the zoo really be thought of as a theatrical experience?

As you listen, try to answer this question:

And are attitudes towards one of Britain's best-loved traditions - the pantomime - now changing?

Listen to London Life
	Panto at London Zoo

Words and expressions from the programme

pantomime
a traditional British type of interactive play which is popular around Christmas and the New Year

Dick Whittington
a poor boy whose story is often told in pantomimes; he walked to London to find work and eventually became the Lord Mayor of London

hyena
a wild, dog-like animal from Africa and South Asia which scavenges - eating food that it finds

a panto trail
a track or path along which interesting pantomime characters can be found

snobbery
behaviour which shows that someone thinks they are better than other people, or know much more than everyone else

trend
a noticeable change or development in a situation or opinion

Vaudeville
a show, named after a French village, that was orginally made up of songs but became popular in North America from the late 1880s and included many different types of performances

Variety
a show that contains many different types of performances and is mainly seen on television

to dismiss people
to end people's employment, but in this case, to consider certain people as unimportant

legitimate actors
people who are professionally trained and earn their money by acting


Try our quiz below to practise some of the language used in the programme.

Programme script (pdf - 44k)