PANTO SEASON: BEHIND THE SCENES - THE PANTO SEASON: Casting

It has been a momentous week in Cubbington, without doubt the most important one of the whole production. This is the week that the pantomime was cast.

Casting a production like this is slightly different from the casting of a major, professional production. In the latter, you have a pretty fair idea which actors will work well in all but the most minor roles; in the former, giving someone a minor role might lead to them leaving the group altogether. For Cubbington Players and their ilk, casting is about far more than putting on a great show, it is about ensuring that there is still a drama group left at the end of it.

At Cubbington, pantomimes always have an added twist to those performed elsewhere. Although the group are by no means unique in writing their own production, they depart from the traditional format more than most. For example, it is many years since the show had a principal boy - where the role of the hero was played by a woman, leading to much embarrassment when the hero and heroine kissed at the end. Whilst Robin Hood might be wearing tights this year, the person inside them will be resolutely male.

There's also the problem that the basic format of pantomime never changes. The hero saves the heroine from some evil fate concocted by the bad guy (or gal). Along the way there will be singing, dancing, audience participation, a fool, a fairy and a man in a dress.

Cubbington Players have always sought to freshen up this formula by introducing new, offbeat, characters of their own. Sometimes, this has been a very simple tweak of the usual cast - on one occasion, the fairy was a trainee who only had one wing (when asked how she got from A to B, she replied "Oh, I get around. And around. And around"). Sometimes, though, the new parts are truly unique - a production of Sleeping Beauty featured both a time-travelling robot and a gas inspector.

All of which makes it rather difficult to report on the actual casting, because in doing so there's a risk of spoiling the surprise. However, you can fairly safely assume that there will be a Robin Hood, there will be a Maid Marion and there will be a Good Fairy.

In an inspired piece of casting, the role of Hood went to the company's gentle giant, James Suther, who admitted to being "chuffed and amazed" at being offered the part and to looking forward to having a lot of fun with it. (even if there did seem to be a certain amount of trepidation in his follow up comment of "Wonder what the costume will be like?")

Playing opposite James will be newcomer Cathy McKenzie, who admitted to being both excited but rather daunted at playing Maid Marion. Not only a first time performer with Cubbington Players, but in pantomime, she is relishing the challenge of the role - and the opportunity to prance around the stage in a pretty dress.

Another Cubbington Players debutante is Janice Wingrove. A refugee from a sadly-disbanded group, she takes the role of the good fairy, Witch Hazel. Not only is she looking forward to playing the part - "a good fairy but with the chance for a little ironic comedy therein" - she's also hopeful that the part won't be quite as taxing as her last one: "One of the last parts I had with my old group was Madame Arcati - 395 lines, so hopefully this part will be a doddle to learn!"

Aside from the newcomers, there are those who can rightly be described as stalwarts of Cubbington Players. Barry West has spent more time at Cubbington Village Hall than some of us have spent in our own homes. In pantomime, he's been villain, dame, a dwarf and, this year, a fool. Even though he confesses that at his age, he's grateful for any part at all, he - along with longtime friend and collaborator John Staton - appear ideally cast as Sir Lunchalot and Sir Cumference, henchmen to the Sheriff of Nottingham:

"John and I have quite a bit of experience at playing twits, and I reckon this part will give us plenty of scope for both a bit of slapstick and the odd adlib. As for the character, I am meant to be a stupid but pompous know-it-all, proud of his command of technology, which is in fact totally spurious. This should not be too difficult!" (At least these are his words and not anyone else's!)

The cast now have until the 19th October to read their way into their parts, before rehearsals start again. For the producers, the hard work of blocking scenes begins (as well as casting the parts for children). It may still be three months from opening night, but the hard work starts here.

 

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