BETWEEN FOUR JUNCTIONS

a. corrupting the nation’s children with pro cross-dressing messages b. taking up valuable time in theatres when more serious plays should be shown c. causing a blemish on the otherwise phenomenal culture of the United Kingdom.

11. The times and places of these demonstrations were clearly communicated, and this information was disseminated through the media.

12. The demonstration took place at the stated time and in the stated places. Consequently, audiences from two theatres across the UK were forced to evacuate the theatres.

13. Separate proceedings are being filed by claimants for emotional distress and frostbite, which are being brought forward by the complainers’ association. This case will be tried in six months’ time.

The case was deceptively complex for someone who had just graduated because it was asking whether the UK was in the right to allow the protest. Yet while this was the key point of the case, I had to spend a large chunk of my time defending panto as an art. This is because in order to prove that the protest was unlawful, I had to prove it was unfounded.

Firstly, I examined panto as an otherworldly experience. Surely the jury could see that in the wake of 2020, a year which will no doubt have been written about in your history books, escapism was important. Vital even. In a world where we were locked inside, the escapism that panto allowed was important. The otherworldly nature was important. It is also an inclusive art form, and not just for the people involved – audiences booing and yelling when characters enter the stage, and who may even be encouraged to sing at points. Diversity also matters. The key moments of gender role reversal are useful for young children as they begin to break down societal stereotypes. Additionally, it gives struggling actors jobs. I hate to be disparaging of my clients, but at the times they were in panto each of them was at a crossroads in their career and they needed to be seen not only by a new audience of children, but by an adult audience that may have forgotten about them. The dynamic of a play so clearly aimed at children but filled with innuendo is bound to appeal to adults. A night off with mild entertainment. What could be better?

Fundamentally, throughout this case, I realized that a world where you have to defend panto is a sad one, a black-and-white world lacking in imagination. And I hope that the magic of the good old fashioned “He’s behind you!” is kept alive for generations to come.