Театрлық ат образы

Theatrical representation of a horse

A pantomime horse is a theatrical representation of a horse or other quadruped by two actors in a single costume who cooperate and synchronize their movements. One actor plays the front end, including the horse's head and its front legs, in a more or less upright posture and with a reasonable field of view afforded by eye holes in the horse's head. However, the two person comic variant of the horse or donkey costume was introduced in the late 19th century. It remained popular throughout the mid 20th century, becoming an "icon of comedy" that entered into the British imagination and the English language.

Panto horse costumes range from low cost, "ready to wear" fabric versions to more complex puppet suits that have moving features operated with special wires from within.

Pantomime horses and pantomime cows feature in Christmas pantomimes, mainly in the United Kingdom. A skilled pair of performers can dance as a pantomime horse. Pantomime horses feature prominently in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus titled "Blood, Devastation, Death, War and Horror". In the "Merchant Banker" sketch, two pantomime horses are forced to fight to the death for their job. Another sketch features a pantomime horse as a James Bond esque secret agent, chasing its enemy around the world in cars, rickshaws, and even riding actual horses. The episode also features a pantomime goose and a pantomime dame Princess Margaret, which later appeared in the video for the George Harrison song "Crackerbox Palace". A song on British pop group Suede's eponymous debut album is called "Pantomime Horse". The American late night talk show host Craig Ferguson has a recurring sketch with a pantomime horse named after Secretariat that originally appeared every time a doorbell rang, accompanied by a frenzied dance performed by onlookers who rapidly and repeatedly extend their arms. The horse first appeared on October 11, 2010. When the program moved to a new studio, an on set stable was built for Secretariat. This pantomime Secretariat has begun to appear on other CBS programs.