With Most Pantomimes Canceled, Another Blow to U.K. Theaters Camp, kid-friendly and hugely popular, the peculiarly British performances usually sell enough tickets to support theaters’ programs throughout the rest of the year. Berwick Kaler, right, in “The Grand Old Dame of York” in 2018. Performing since 1977, he is Britain’s longest serving panto dame.Credit...Ant Robling By Alice Jones Dec. 15, 2020 LONDON — Every year, for the past 42 years, Berwick Kaler has spent all of December and half of January onstage, wearing an elaborately hideous, multicolored hooped dress, workman’s boots and a bright orange wig. He is Britain’s longest serving pantomime dame, which makes him, in a way, a Christmas institution. Pantomimes — the merry, family-friendly musical comedy shows which take top billing at theaters throughout December here — traditionally feature an actor in drag. For the people of York, in the north of England, where Kaler has played the dame in productions since 1977, he is as much a part of the holidays as turkey, gifts and family disputes.