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 Philip Symonds, Dame and Dog-Catcher
Behind the new doors of the Artworks Theatre, a fresh project is under way.
Following the success of last year's Jack and the Genetically Modified Beanstalk, a new pantomime is taking shape.
Writer and director Alan Knight is deep in rehearsals and admits the last panto was a steep learning curve.
"We started by throwing in absolutely everything we could think of," says Alan. "The result, of course, was a truly enormous script that went over 100 pages."
“But it did give us the advantage of finding which bits really worked for the audience, so we've concentrated on those for the new script."
The question of tradition has been interesting too. "We've found that everyone has their own idea of what a traditional panto is," says Alan. "There are a lot of script ideas in books that are just horrible -- lots of Benny Hill-type sniggering and low grade smut that we would never want to do.
“Also, if you go back further in time, it’s all weird music hall stuff that would bore a modern audience to tears."
Some modern influences really bring the story to life. "The Simpsons is a big influence, as well as Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels,' says Alan.
"There is a fascination for us in drawing characters who are aware that they are stuck in a story and have to behave in certain ways for the story to work.
“Though that doesn't stop them always trying to break out from their set roles. Once you establish that, then the stories can go anywhere you want."
So the big question is: which fairy story are they adapting this year? "It's a secret - it's a Grimm story, but that's all we are saying right now. This year has seen a lot of animal control issues and we've found a story that reflects that.
“And we get to base several of the characters on our pets."
The panto opens on November 26 and runs for three weeks. |
