Guest Blog: Theatr Clwyd's Tamara Harvey Defends Panto

For some people, our panto Dick Whittington will be the only time they visit the theatre this year. They book in February, in June, in July, in September - if they've left it till now, there are very few tickets left.

They come with family, with friends, with colleagues. Grandparents bring grandchildren, parents who came when they were toddlers now bring their own children. They wear Christmas jumpers, they wear party frocks, they wear sparkly headdresses and glittery shoes.

They look forward to it for weeks, for months - all year - and so we do everything we can to make sure that they have a properly magical time in our theatre...

To be in any panto takes considerable talent and skill - to be in ours multiply that fourfold. Not only do our actors have to be quick-witted - able to improvise, riff, react in an instant - but they also have to be able to dance, sing and play several instruments to a seriously high standard.

Add to that the physical stamina needed to perform at ten in the morning or ten at night (sometimes both in the same day) 11 times a week, and the emotional strength to be away from home at Christmas, and you've narrowed the field considerably (oh and if you can speak Welsh, that would be great too).

Luckily, our director, Zoë Waterman, is not only brilliant at casting, she's also seriously skilled at comedy and musical theatre.

Plus, she understands the practicalities of needing to get someone off stage so they can reappear with a sax three seconds later, knows that it's vital to get the dame out of the scene in time for the costume change into the next frock, can tell a story in a way that captivates children and adults alike and manages - in the midst of our laughter - to pull at our heartstrings.

She's leading an equally talented team. Adrian Gee, our designer, is extraordinary (and an utter delight to have in the building). Much of the year you'll find him creating the worlds of Shakespeare, Chekhov, Wilde, but for us, at Christmas, he lets his imagination take flight, douse itself in glitter and soar beyond the boundaries of what's possible in a frock. Every single one of the dame's outfits this year gets its own round of applause.

Leading us musically, we have Tayo Akinbode, who was also responsible for the bold, boisterous sounds of the Junkyard band (our co-production with Headlong and Bristol Old Vic).

Part of his genius is that he not only understands every genre we can throw at him, but also knows how to make the sounds of rock 'n' roll with one fewer saxophone when Fairy Bowbells is singing that number rather than playing in it.

This year, with his customary and seemingly unshakeable good humour, he also reworked every number with less than a day's notice when we had to open first preview with our assistant director stepping in for our leading lady (and therefore unable to cover her instrumental track).

I could go on. I should go on. I couldn't believe our good fortune when the wonderful Will Tuckett said he'd come and choreograph for us this year. We were lucky - he loves working with Zoë and he understands the importance of panto.

Matthew Williams, our sound designer, can make you believe you're at a rock concert one minute and have your ribs aching the next with his carefully chosen sequence of fart sounds.

Mark Howland, our lighting designer, turns the world green in an instant, challenges evil with the perfect pink of Fairy Bowbells and then genuinely catches your breath with the beauty of his dream sequence as the bells chime and the snow falls at the end of Act I.

And none of the creative team would be anywhere without the incredible skills and dedication of our in-house teams at Clwyd, who have been stitching, hammering, painting and gluing for six months to make sure it all looks perfect for Christmas (indeed, for November).

I sound like I'm gushing. I'm not. I'm genuinely blown away by the talent and commitment of everyone involved. Which is why I get so frustrated by the snobbery with which panto is sometimes greeted by colleagues in our industry.

It's not that I don't understand; I didn't grow up with panto, and so I'm ashamed to say that I used to be the same. Quite happy - proud even - to say I didn't like panto. Or that I didn't get it. And of course people have different tastes - I'm not insisting that everyone in the world like panto.

But it does deserve your respect. When members of our panto company write to people in our industry inviting them to see the amazing work they're doing, they really shouldn't have to deal with a sneering response.

Our panto will be seen by over 31,000 people this year. At noon yesterday, I crept into the back of our theatre and more than 500 schoolchildren were on their feet, dancing and singing and yelling at the top of their voices. On opening night, we had an eight-week-old baby on her first outing to the theatre and a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Next time you're feeling snobby about panto, stop and think about the last show you worked on that brought that much joy to that many people, young and old. Have you ever made one? No, me neither.

Tamara Harvey is Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd

Dick Whittington plays until 19 January, 2019

Photo credit: Sam Taylor

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