Christmas is nearly upon us and a long standing British tradition is being unleashed yet again. I am talking about pantomime!
This year (thank the Lord) I am performing in an adult panto at the Leicester Square Theatre called ‘Sleeping Booty!… all it takes is a prick!’ Little need of any explanation as to the majority of its content needed here. I will let the title speak for itself. This will be my third adult panto and I absolutely adore it. Not just the shows, but the whole process of putting a slick, fast, hilarious and filthy piece of theatre on to the stage. What looks like an hour and a half of mayhem and fun actually takes months of work by a highly trained group of pros, me not included of course. The team at the theatre pride themselves in making it look easy and, believe me, it is not!
When I first performed in their cabaret lounge, I had no idea of the amount of blood, sweat and tears it actually takes to put on a show like ours. I had been used to performing on stage in nightclubs where often all it would take to get a laugh was a swear word, a rant, a new hairstyle, or an unrehearsed and self-indulgent bit of mime. It was a shock to my system to be in rehearsal rooms at 9 in the morning until 6 at night for three weeks of solid line runs, song rehearsals and running the show over and over.
I was not used to taking “notes” (criticism) and being made to do things over and over until our director was happy with it. Nor was I used to a 77 show, six week run with two shows on Friday, three on Saturday and another two on Sunday. I was reassured that “Les Dawson used to do four a day” but somehow it did not sit well with my “princess” mentality. What I found, however, was that I actually grew to love it and everything that went with it.
When the show began and I saw the smiles and heard the laughter it all somehow became “worth it”. I would leave at night feeling like I had actually accomplished something productive and that had made me feel good about myself. I was proud of the show and my contribution to it. So was Martin Witts, the theatre owner, and Stuart Saint, the artistic director, who offered me a 5-year in-house contract as the theatre’s drag muse.
Since my initial show, I have appeared in over 200 more, in three productions and each time I feel I have improved and gained confidence and skills I never thought I had in me. I have always loved doing drag but panto and theatre generally has allowed me to step away from what, for me, is becoming an increasingly sanitized industry where it has become more important to have six shades of contouring on your nose and to know each contestant on the Ru Paul Drag Race’s inside leg measurement than to actually have any talent. Adult panto allows me to release my inner filth and create a character that has little resemblance to the “Dusty O” most people have come to expect. It is a yearly liberation.
It is also gloriously British. A tradition that has not become watered down by an ever increasing tide of American imports. Something we can claim as our own and need to hold on to in the same vein as the Carry On films or some of those glorious 70s sitcoms like ‘Are You Being Served’ and ‘On The Buses’. Riddled with lewd and non-PC innuendo and hilariously fun.
Getting to know a new cast each year and working intensely with them for three months on a daily basis has all the trials and tribulations of a family reunion but with new faces. There are dramas and arguments but in my experience the need to get the show up and running overrides the petty differences and pulls you together. You feel bonded and part of a family of performers whose only interest is to make the show good. It has been a massive learning curve for me.
If you want something filthy yet innocent, fast and slick with reworked songs and dance routines from a cast who know how to work an audience and serve up absolute talent by the sack load then I urge you to come and catch one of our shows. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
• ‘Sleeping Booty!… all it takes is a prick!’ is at the Leicester Square Theatre, (6 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX) to Saturday 17th January. Tickets £15-22.
• Box office: 08448 733433 or www.leicestersquaretheatre.com
