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
Abanazar (pantomime) Wonderful Scamp" in 1861 that the modern pantomime took form and the character was essentially established. Byron added burlesque (as can be seen by the name parodying the earlier opera) so the character is evil but played for laughs. Abanazar (pantomime) Abanazar is a magician and the primary antagonist in the Aladdin pantomime. He was also the basis for Jafar in the Disney version of Aladdin. The character first appeared in the harlequinade "Aladin" in 1788 as 'The African Magician', but was given the name Abanazer in 1813 in "Aladdin or The Wonderful Lamp" at Covent Garden Opera House in