She’s Behind You review – Christmas comes early to Edinburgh with panto songs, sweets and subversive spirit

Traverse theatre, EdinburghPanto dame Dorothy Blawna-Gale is sharp-tongued and lovable but the hilarity is underpinned by creator Johnny McKnight’s personal storyShe stands before us in a blue gingham frock, towering wig and a “hideous yet age-appropriate leisure shoe”. She is Dorothy Blawna-Gale and she is a pantomime dame. The creation of Johnny McKnight – Scotland’s finest proponent of the form – she is sharp-tongued, lascivious and bumptiously lovable.Unlike her usual festive appearances at the Tron in Glasgow and the Macrobert in Stirling, she is here, out of season, not just to entertain – which she does in abundance – but to educate. In a show that grew out of a lecture at the University of Glasgow in memory of the late academic Alasdair Cameron, a champion of popular theatre, McKnight and director John Tiffany throw in songs, sweets and copious audience interaction to celebrate panto’s radical potential.At the Traverse, Edinburgh, until 24 August.All our Edinburgh festival reviews. Continue reading...

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