Pantomime dame played as pantomime dames are often - though not exclusively - older, matronly women. Indeed, they may be the protagonist's mother, as in "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Robinson Crusoe", or a nursemaid to the protagonist, as in "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow White". Although often warm and sympathetic characters, dames may also be employed as comic antagonists, such as with the Ugly Sisters in "Cinderella". Some pantomimes traditionally do not contain standard dame roles, but certain productions may add a dame character, as in the case with many pantomime versions of "Peter Pan". Further examples of these characters include: Pantomime
Pantomime the Dancers", written probably around 361 AD. Roman pantomime was a production, usually based upon myth or legend, for a solo male dancer—clad in a long silk tunic and a short mantle ("pallium") that was often used as a "prop"—accompanied by a sung "libretto" (called the "fabula saltica" or "dance-story") rendered by a singer or chorus (though Lucian states that originally the pantomime himself was the singer). Music was supplied by flute and the pulse of an iron-shod shoe called a scabellum. Performances might be in a private household, with minimal personnel, or else lavish theatrical productions involving a large