"I want it to be magical for the children" - Rustie Lee sparkles as Portsmouth’s Genie of the Lamp
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Rustie Lee sparkles as Genie of the Lamp as she makes her Portsmouth panto debut, taking to the stage in Aladdin at the Kings Theatre from December 5-31.
“Jack (Edwards, Portsmouth long-serving pantomime dame) and I worked together many years ago,” she explained.
“We did The Hot Mikado together. He was a little young man then and now he's all grown up! But I've done a lot of TV work so I haven't had the opportunity to be involved here but it's really lovely to be here now and everyone here is fabulous.
“I've never been to this venue before but it's such a beautiful theatre with all the layers. It is like a gateau with cream in the middle!
“My first panto was in Birmingham. I played the old lady who lived in a shoe and at that time my son was about three years old and was in the audience. There was a quiet moment when I said ‘Now, children, sit down and I will read you a story’, and there was this little voice shouting out ‘That's my mummy, that is!’ It was so funny!
“But what I love about pantomime is that it is the first time that children are being introduced to the theatre and you want to make it magical. That's how I got into the theatre, and it was magical for me. And I want it to be magical for the children now as well.”
This is Rustie’s first pantomime since 2017: “I have been doing the cruises. I do ships like Sky Princess and the Saga ships. I have a music director and I have great fun. I also do cookery demonstrations like you've never seen before. It's more of an entertainment. It's really beautiful. Usually with my other half I do a month from Southampton to the Caribbean and back and it's just fantastic because you meet so many lovely people.
“But I missed doing pantomime to be honest. And it means that I am home for a change. Usually I am on the cruises but it is lovely to be doing this and it's lovely to be giving yourself to the community.
“And I'm the genie. I love the genie role. I've played genie before. I played genie twice before and I've also played spirit of the ring as well. And in this pantomime we’ve got a genie and a spirit of the ring!
“I'm looking forward to having a Portsmouth Christmas. We're staying in Portsmouth this Christmas. We did the Christmas light switch-on, and I was very happy. I'm looking forward to a great pantomime.”