September heralds 'Back to School' for students up and down the country and, along with a new term and new month, it's time for a new panto blog.
August is traditionally a quiet month for pantomime announcements. By now, most theatres have released news of their top stars and autumn and winter season brochures have been sent out to patrons set to land upon their doormats adorned with panto imagery. This month's blog features a number of pantomime launch photographs with many more to come over the next two months.
A number of new productions were announced during August, including the Royal Vauxhall Tavern's 2015 adult panto Charming Dick! and the Lighthouse Kettering's Jack and the Beanstalk, which this year will be produced by Jordan Productions and star Carley Stenson, Steven Pinder and Rob Forknall. Disney also announced a Jack and the Beanstalk inspired film set for release in 2018, but only time will tell whether Gigantic, with songs by the team behind Frozen, will influence the Pantosphere.
Other casting released this month includes CBeebies favourites Steven Kynman as Will Scarlet at the Kings Lynn Corn Exchange and Ben Faulks as Prince Charming in Sleeping Beauty at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking.
In Windsor, Steven Blakeley, Kevin Cruise and Basil Brush reunite for another year in Cinderella, whilst Anita Harris gets set to summon boos in Southsea as the Wicked Stepmother at the Kings Theatre. Clwyd Theatr Cymru also announced that they too will produce Cinderella as this season's pantomime continuing their tradition of actor-musician rock 'n' roll pantomimes courtesy of Peter Rowe.
In Sutton, the Secombe Theatre will produce its first in-house pantomime Pinocchio starring Melissa Suffield whilst over in Johannesburg, the Joburg Theatre Complex welcomes Sleeping Beauty with Michelle Botha as Wicked Fairy Kakkamella Khakibos, Tobie Cronjé as Dame Nora Nursey, Timothy Moloi as Sir Poensface Ponce-a-Lot and Christopher Jaftha as Prince Harry Hunkador the Handsome.
Pasedena Playhouse's ever-growing American Panto tradition sees Lythgoe Family Productions produce Peter Pan and Tinkerbell: A Pirate's Christmas whilst American superstar Priscilla Presley returns to the UK for her third pantomime, this time playing the Slave of the Ring in Milton Keynes alongside Gary Wilmot, Wayne Sleep, Kev Orkian and Ben Adams.
Pantomimes aren't, however, just for Christmas. This summer has seen a wide range of pantomimes pop up at venues around the country. Panto Science: The Periodic Fable at the Edinburgh Fringe merged much-loved pantomime conventions with scientific exploration and reminded its young audience that brains, not beards make good scientists, whilst Òran Mór brought its Pie-Eyed Piper of Hamilton to Assembly Venues, George Square Studio to delight adult audiences with parodies of the Hamelin tale as well as Boris Johnson, cultural stereotypes and the north-south divide.
Summer is also holiday season and as well as Jack and the Beanstalk aboard the MV Bretagne and Aladdin Rocks! rocking audiences at Butlins, Looking for Oz toured Haven Holiday parks. Pantomimes come in many shapes and forms and it is fascinating to see how it is constantly evolving, be it via a rock-inspired version, aboard a ferry for a multi-lingual audience or touring where doubling the roles of Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Fairy makes for a welcome twist to the usual Wizard of Oz tale.
As the ever-increasing number of productions suggests, pantomime is one of the UK's most beloved artforms. A staple of Christmas tradition, the majority of UK audiences and performers recall early pantomime attendances with great fondness and key performers who champion the genre and celebrate its cultural heritage.
One of these performers was Cilla Black, who passed away aged 72 on 1 August. Having made her pantomime debut at the Wimbledon Theatre as Red Riding Hood in 1965, she went on to appear in numerous pantomimes and is credited as re-establishing the tradition of the female Principal Boy when she appeared as Aladdin at the London Palladium in 1970.
I was lucky enough to see her reprise her role as Fairy Godmother in 2010 at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury. An extremely warm and witty Fairy Godmother, she exuded star-quality and will forever be remembered as one of the true greats of Pantoland.