"The joy is that panto is so much fun" - Why pantomime is a great way to learn your craft
Christian James loved being at Portsmouth Theatre Royal last year in pantomime. He's back again for panto at the venue this year.
But in different circumstances.
Last year the Theatre Royal pantomime was produced by the same company which provides panto in Eastbourne. Since then the Theatre Royal and Portsmouth’s Kings Theatre have merged, and this year's panto comes under the Portsmouth Theatres umbrella
“It's a great venue,” Christian says. “It's not a small theatre but it's a smaller theatre and I prefer this it, when you're doing panto, to be in a more intimate theatre like this one.”
Snow White is at Portsmouth’s Theatre Royal from Friday, December 12 to Sunday, January 4.
Christian will be Muddles, the court jester, and is looking forward to plenty of hilarity with Nurse Nellie: “Panto is just such a joy. It is a slog for the performers. You end up really putting the graft in, but you get all the schools in and for so many children it is their first experience of theatre. And that's the thing. It's the first experience for so many of them of seeing someone perform, that first taste of drama and it's so important to get it right.
“And I think performers just learn so much through doing pantomime. You learn so much about asides and interaction with the audience. And I think you're also learning about your body and about your stamina, what your body can do and what it can't do. You learn how much sleep you need and you learn how to look after yourself especially at a time of year when so many people have got the lurgy. It really is such a great way of learning your craft but also a great way of learning to look after your health.”
Inevitably there are days when you're not quite in the mood: “But you learn that Doctor Theatre takes over and as soon as you get on the stage you will get that rush of adrenaline.
“The joy is that panto is so much fun. It is meeting new people every year and new cast every year and the atmosphere is always fantastic.”
This will be Christian’s seventh panto. He's done the prince three times and now this is his fourth as the comic: “And I definitely prefer that comic role. You are in on the joke and you get the interaction with the audience. Sometimes princes can be a little bit wet though that's never the way that I have played them. But really as a comic you have such great fun. It's also about the story and driving that forward.
“The stories are usually crazy but the point is that if you tell them truthfully then you really will get the kids on board.”