Chiddingstone Castle, a fascinating historic house set in 35 acres of informal gardens with breathtaking views of the North Downs, was the setting for the recent launch of Cinderella, this year’s pantomime at the beautifully refurbished Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells.
Dani Harmer is known to millions of children for her starring role in CBBC’s highly successful series The Story of Tracy Beaker and Tracy Beaker Returns, and more recently for reaching the final in BBC1 series Strictly Come Dancing takes the lead role, so I asked her:
What’s it like playing Cinderella?
Oh it’s just the best part ever! She’s always been my favourite of all the fairytale princesses, and the story is a great favourite with everyone too so I really enjoy it, it’s a lovely role because she goes on such an incredible journey to finally marry the man she loves.
Despite being so young, you already have a long career behind you.
Yes, I’m only 26 now and, believe it or not, I did my first panto 20 years ago, which is a great thing to be able to say, but also terrifying.
How was it growing up in showbusiness?
It’s different, definitely. I had a very strange childhood, but one that I wouldn’t swap for anyone elses. I didn’t get to do the “normal” things like school discos, and proms, and all that kind of stuff, but instead I got to meet the Queen and to go to awards ceremonies like the BAFTA’s so it was the most amazing trade off. Of course I would love to have done all the things that everyone else does, but the things that I got to do instead were so amazing. I’m so grateful.
Do you have any future plans?
Well, I’m an actress and I’m extremely greedy so I want to play every single part, I’m not fussy, I’d love to play all sorts of roles but my main goal is to play Johnny Depp’s wife in something. In ANYTHING!
To play her, or to be her?
To be her would be just fine by me, but to play her would do. I really like action movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, I’d love to do a few stunts in a movie like that and be a bit daring.
Joining Dani will be Louise Jameson, as Fairy Godmother. Best known for her role as Rosa di Marco in BBC 1’s top soap opera EastEnders, she also became known to millions of television viewers through her roles in such popular television series as BBC’s Doctor Who, Tenko and Bergerac. I asked her:
Have you played Fairy Godmother before?
Yes, but not for a long time, I think it was 12 years ago. I think in many ways this is the hardest job in panto, because you’re the one who can’t go “off script” because you have to hold everything together and you have to really make the children believe that magic is actually happening, particularly when you orchestrate that fantastic transformation scene at the end of the first half.
But of course, this is a far cry from your days as Leela in Doctor Who.
You know that was back in 1977, but it still takes me all over the world. I go to the many conventions that take place and I’ve been to Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and, of course, all over Great Britain. It’s just wonderful.
What else keeps you busy these days?
Well, I do a lot of acting, and I really love to support the fringe. I performed at the Brighton Fringe two years ago, in a show called My Gay Best Friend, which I helped to write. At the moment I am appearing in a play called Love, Loss and What I Wore but, after that, I’m taking October off to go to Europe and then I’m back to start rehearsals for Cinderella. I just can’t wait!
Next I asked Prince Charming, who is played by Owen Thompson:
Is this your first time or have you played the role before?
This is my fifth time as Charming now and I just love it. It’s my favourite pantomime out of all of them, it’s just so magical. That’s what keeps me coming back to it I think. It’s a great part and with my Dandini, Bobby Windebank, it’s a really good double act that we have going together.
To engage the children we don’t really play the roles in the staid traditional way but we like to make it a lot more up-to-date with modern references and popular culture. This is, for a lot of the children, the first time that they will be in a theatre environment and it’s important that they can connect with it, that way they come back again and again.
They need all the help they can get, because pantomime is really quite bizarre.
Oh yes, totally. You’re right. It’s so unique, there’s nothing else quite like it. Men playing women, women as the leading man, there’s a lot to confuse them but I think it’s the magic that holds them.
Do you ever get distracted by the audience?
Not really, but I do by the cast. In the “shoe scene” we are all on stage together and there’s lots going on, we all have lines to do and I really have to concentrate so much. Three years ago I jumped in a page early with “It Fits!”, but Cinderella hadn’t even tried the shoe on yet! The audience were in fits of laughter and the “Uglies” picked up on it and made things worse so now, when I am at that point, I always have to be so on the ball.
Cinderella’s best friend, Buttons is played by Jamie Rickers. Jamie is a familiar face on CiTV and Nickelodeon, with hosting Toonattik and Jamie and Anna’s U-Pick Summer. I asked him:
Are you the man who supplies most of the comedy?
Traditionally yes, but in this production the two ugly sisters are so good that we have a “triple pronged” attack with the comedy. You have two very experienced “Uglies” and this is my 12th panto, the sixth time as Buttons, so we all know the show really well and there are just some spectacularly funny scenes in it.
Is panto as manic as it looks?
What a lot of people don’t realise is that panto is, probably, one of the most technical pieces of theatre to stage. Maybe not as technical as some of the huge West End shows but far more complicated than your average play. In a play you may just have one or two sets but in panto you have several flats to create each scene, four of five backcloths to change the location, several hundred lighting cues, all the musical numbers and tons and tons of costume changes, especially for the Ugly Sisters. It has to be a very well oiled machine, perfectly choreographed and really well rehearsed.
We only get about 10 days to learn the script, learn the songs, learn the dance routines, get the timing right, practice the cues with the sound effects and with the music and work out where we are supposed to stand whereas, in the West End, they usually have months to rehearse. That’s how we know that we have the most dedicated cast and crew in panto.
David Ball and Byron Mondahl are Daisy and Lily,the formidable Ugly Sisters and, from a safe distance, I asked them:
Who is the prettier sister?
Well of course it’s me, Daisy. You see, Lily was dropped on her head when she was born which is why she’s always a couple of steps behind me and, unfortunately, it also knocked out one of her teeth that never grew back. So, combined with my extra height, it just has to be me but I’ll say this for Lily, what she’s got, she knows how to use well, that’s all I’m saying.
How serious do you take performing in pantomime?
Oh extremely, said David, you have to because you can’t kid the kids. Particularly if you’re a Dame or an Ugly Sister, when you’re in that role you can’t treat it as a joke because the children have to believe what they are seeing.
You know, added Byron, when you asked that question what jumped into my head was when we do the ticket tearing scene with Cinderella so she can’t go to the ball. If you don’t play that scene with the proper emotion you are fooling yourself. It’s dark, it’s ugly and you’ve got to play that – for that moment the kids have to really dislike us. If the kids don’t dislike us, and the kids are not screaming at Cinderella not to give us the ticket, we haven’t done our job properly.
Do you have a nice range of costumes?
David makes all our costumes. When we started together back in 2009 we would use the costumes that the company gave us but now David makes the most fantastic creations for us like this year, for the ball scene… no, we’re not telling you, you’ll have to wait and see.
Is there any limit to how outrageous they can be?
No, as long they are decent, you can do just about anything. You know it’s really liberating because there and no rules at all and the bigger and gaudier they can be, the better. I never forget the words of a truly brilliant pantomime Dame called Andrew Ryan who said to me “Always remember, you’re a man in a frock. Never forget that, because that’s what’s funny.”
Martin Dodd, Managing Director of UK Productions, returns as producer of the pantomime and he said, “Cinderella is, if not the most popular of all pantomimes, certainly up there in the top three because it’s everybody’s favourite fairytale. It’s the best known of the pantomime stories and it’s such a classic book, so what we are presenting is a very traditional version, but obviously we’ll add in a few surprises too so that the people who come back year after year will get a show that is new, topical and bang up-to-date.”
Cinderella will be live on stage at the, newly refurbished, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells from Friday 11th December 2015 to Sunday 3rd January 2016 and tickets are available from the Assembly Hall Theatre Box Office 01892 530613 or online at www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk.
