"Times change and we have to adapt to that" - First time as Dame after award-winning stint as an ugly sister
Harry Howle has done two pantomimes at The Kings Theatre in Portsmouth. This Christmas he levels it up with his second panto at Portsmouth’s Theatre Royal.
He's excited that it will also be his first time as Dame after a long and award-winning stint as an ugly sister.
As he says, The Kings and The Theatre Royal are very different theatres but at the same time they are not – following their merger under the Portsmouth Theatres umbrella,
At The Kings, Harry was delighted to work with his good friend Jack Edwards, the venue's regular dame and also its artistic director.
“And I'm so pleased that Jack is now on board at the Theatre Royal. Going back it was each theatre in competition but now the two theatres are working together and they are so vital. It is so important to keep them both. Jack has done wonders for The Kings Theatre.
“He's a very dear friend of mine and I really respect and admire everything that he's done to bring the community back to The Kings. But when I heard that they were now partnering with the Theatre Royal I was so excited. It is a real step forward to come together and to collaborate together.
“They are so close together. From one theatre to the next it's only about a mile and a half, and each theatre is competing to get ticket sales but the good thing is that they are now working together.
“They have got a very strong workforce at The Kings Theatre which has been very successful and they have done some amazing things at the venue, but there is also an amazing team at the Theatre Royal. With both of them together it means that there will be a real boost for entertainment in the city.”
As for Harry’s switch to the dame role this year, Harry admits to an extent it's force of circumstances: “There has been such a lot of change now with being politically correct. Times change and we have to adapt to that. Ugly sisters are probably now being played more by women which I think is wonderful.
“I think that's so important but it means that there is just not so much work out there for a guy playing an ugly sister these days. And this opportunity came up, and I was just so excited to do it here in Portsmouth and to be working with Jack again.
“Being an ugly sister is very different to being a dame. Being an ugly sister you are the dame but you also have to be the villain. You have to be endearing but you also have to get the boos. You have to get the audience to like you but you also have to be wicked. But being dame is very different. You are the mumsy character.
“It is similar to ugly sister in a way but it's lighter and it's a lot more fluffy and it is a lot more camp. And I'm very excited to embrace that and maybe buy myself a husband!”
Snow White is at Portsmouth’s Theatre Royal from Friday, December 12 to Sunday January 4.
For tickets and more details visit the venue’s website at www.newtheatreroyal.com