This felt, personally, like it fell more on the thriller side than horror, in contrast to previous books. It always felt like it was a human behind it, with a very human motivation (covering up/uncovering a murder and/or secrets) rather than supernatural, which is one of the ways I differentiate between the two. Distinctive masks enabled audiences to recognise characters immediately; they also allowed actors to make topical and risqué jokes without fear of being recognised.

I was as impressed by Bob's attitude about programming and stories of the earlier game industry as I was surprised by more gritty details about the skeletons in the closets of the big publishers. I don't know whether I want to Tweet Bob congrats on a career loaded with impressive feats or make a donation in his honor and encourage therapy. But in the end, I think maybe that's our line of work in a nutshell. The centre of comic gravity is certainly shifting: away from the Clown and toward an unexpected star: a careworn mother, haggard and a bit of a gossip, struggling to cope in this unfriendly world. Pantomime crystallises around the story of a dysfunctional family and that strange, eccentric figure of the Dame. Dan Leno was the celebrated music-hall performer who created this garrulous, working-class woman. A solid and fast-paced thriller. It's Behind You reminded me of the Scream tv show, where the stakes are high and the killer is the last person you'd expect, but it's too entertaining and over the top to actually be scared. Pantomime's ability to adapt and move with the times has helped it survive for hundreds of years. By successfully weaving modern trends and topicality into its established format, panto continues to be one of Britain's most popular and endearing forms of entertainment. While the Commedia dell'arte it derived from has almost disappeared, panto, as we know it today, is a living, growing art form that's always ready to evolve, taking on new ideas from each age. We hope this wonderfully eccentric institution continues to entertain and dazzle audiences for generations. The vecchi are doctors, scholars, military men and in commedia they are usually portrayed as cowardly, disreputable characters. Dottore sells fake medicines; Pantalone is an old man who vainly pursues younger women; and Capitano is a pompous coward with a spurious war record.The cover! I didn’t even realise it until I got home again and put the book next to its friend, but it matches with the book It’s Behind You! The blood drip! That is such a cool little thing and I hope it continues in her next books. I loved that, while not being a fan of the characters that much, we get to learn more about them and see more about their past and get to know them. That is not always something that happens. Sometimes you get a whole cast of characters only to get to know one or two of them, but in this one we learn more of everyone. Love love. Can’t decide between 2 or 2.5 stars. It wasn’t that bad but I’ve definitely read better books and I definitely don’t think it deserves higher than 3 or 4 stars. Beneath the manic, shameless energy of this Clown lay sadness, and a life etched by tragedy. Born into an immigrant family, Grimaldi was on stage before he was three, and the family breadwinner seven years later. He was a melancholy man who suffered paralysing periods of hereditary madness. A rough, uneducated man called John Rich played a key role in the emergence of pantomime. Rich was a dancer, acrobat and mime artist and during the 1720s he was managing a theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields. What he created was a new kind of entertainment. It combined a storyline from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and a harlequinade. This took the form of an energetic chase, featuring the adventures of Harlequin and Columbine, the commedia servants.

If there is one major weakness in the book it is probably that the characterisation of the leading lady is so impressive it tends to overshadow most of the others and, at times, what start off looking like potentially intriguing sub-plots simply peter out – or even jarringly spring up from almost nowhere. I was a little surprised as Lex wasn't hiding something, and wasn't involved in the big conspiracy that drew everyone together. She is an unsuspecting person to make up numbers and ends up along for the ride. It was quite nice though, not to have a "twist, it was the main character all along" or "twist, the main character is the focus of the act." With this movie, we’re getting nowhere for the longest time. Then, when you think the movie is over because it feels like it has already been more than long enough, it continues. However, not in any good way. And yes, an additional 10-15 minutes of intelligent plot twists could make a movie much better.What British pantomime will learn from commedia is the fun of witnessing the triumph of the underdog. From the streets of Italy to the theatres of 18 th century Britain

Of all of them, I think I disliked Marla the most. I still think Marla was so one-dimensional - just a stubborn self-absorbed actor, and I don't think any real redeeming qualities of hers were even shown. Was I supposed to actually feel bad when she died? Grimaldi became one of the great satirists of his age, a Clown who offered ludicrous commentaries on fashion, technology, new forms of transport, and political authority as well. Behind the clown - the real Joseph GrimaldiOur delight in this form comes from a complex mixture of emotions and relationships. Pantomime offers us the anarchic excitements of a topsy-turvy world only to give us the assurance of harmony restored. The Dame’s absurdly captivating character is the great legacy to modern pantomime left by a remarkable artist of the Victorian music hall. It was Leno who introduced into the traditional quest narratives of Humpty Dumpty and Aladdin a deeply human figure who has since become one of the most eccentric character in British culture.