The Saturday Carry On

Winter seems to come round quicker every year and with it the peculiarly British tradition of pantomime, where men dress as women, women dress as men, animals can speak and good always triumphs over evil. Pantomime has been around for a long time, the first advertisement for this type of entertainment appeared in a newspaper called The Daily Courant, in 1717, although this referred to a piece called ‘The Loves of Mars and Venus’ and was presented in March, not December as most pantomimes are.

Pantomimes were popular for many years from the mid-eighteenth century but really came into their own when Augustus Harris, who managed the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, first mixed music hall artistes with the actors, singers and dancers, usually engaged for his productions, in order to encourage music hall audiences into his theatre for the Christmas show.

Martin Ivef as Calamity Joan

This mix proved the magic ingredient and pantomime became one of the most popular entertainments ever seen in Britain.

Pantomime trains

At the beginning of the twentieth century they ran for up to four months and the railways even provided special ‘pantomime trains’ to transport people all over the country to see their favourite stars in the annual festive production. These days they only run for three or four weeks but it is still the saviour for many theatres. Money taken during the season subsidises the theatre for part of the following year and without it many theatres wouldn’t be able to afford to stay open.

My first appearance in a professional production was at the Palace Theatre, Plymouth, in Sinbad The Sailor. Since then I have appeared in over forty pantos as well as writing, directing and producing them. I’ve even written a book, containing all the popular gags and sketches used in pantomime over the past 200 years, which is still selling in its hundreds 10 years after it was first published.

I have played Canon & Ball’s cook, in Manchester, David Jason’s sister in Newcastle and even Dad’s Army Clive Dunn’s mum in Norwich, despite his being 30 years older than me. I have appeared with a whole host of soap stars and television presenters and of course appeared in several productions with my old mate and co-presenter of The Saturday Carry On, Paul James. One season I even managed to get him into frocks to play my sister, which, as you may imagine, was hilarious.

Paul James in costume

PJ on stage

This year PJ is playing King Crackers (Snow White's father) in Snow White in the Woodville Halls, Gravesend. Opening night is Friday 19th December and the curtains come down for the final time on Saturday 4th January.

"The part of King Crackers suits me perfectly because I am round the bend! The character is great because children can warm to him and it's really nice to be working in my home town again", said PJ.

Staying in Kent

Although it’s always good fun, pantomime is very hard work, you try changing all your clothes 12 times during the show and doing three shows per day, but it’s wonderful to hear the laughter and applause from the children in the audience. However, I sometimes think that bringing the children to see the show is merely the excuse the adults use so that they can pretend they are children again and join in all the shouting.

Although we have great fun and often depart from the script now and then, it is very important for us to remember that there are children in the audience who really believe in the characters up there on the stage, just as they believe in Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy, and we mustn’t dispel that belief. If they want to leave the theatre still believing that I am really Widow Twankey, Mother Goose or the Wicked Queen, that’s fine by me.

We mustn’t forget either that today’s children are tomorrow’s audience and as pantomime is usually a child’s first experience of theatre we must do everything we can to make sure they have a wonderful time and want to come back again and again throughout their lives. So why not start by taking the children and grandchildren to a panto where you can be assured of a great time this Christmas. Now where did I put that wig……….