Imogen is loving her Portsmouth panto return this Christmas

The Pompey Panto in 2020 had to be pulled as lockdowns tightened well before Christmas Eve, leaving Imogen high and dry as Alice Fitzwarren along with the rest of the cast.

But it's a role she returns to now as Dick Whittington returns to the Kings, running from November 29-December 31.

“This will be my third time in the Pompey Panto. I did it once in 2019 in Aladdin and I was in the 2020 version of Dick Whittington. I think we managed ten or 12 performances before we went into tier four. We had to shut down before Christmas Eve. It seems such a long time ago now in some ways. It almost feels like a different world, but it is lovely to get back to the same role now. It's a revival of my Alice Fitzwarren! And I would like to think that I will get the full run this time!

“I just love pantomime so much. I've been wanting to come back for a while. It's just so much more fun than other shows. The roles are great and the songs are great fun and you get to sing songs that you would never get the chance to sing otherwise. I'm a big Christmas fan, and it's going to be lovely to be near home this Christmas. I'm from Hayling island. I've been in London but I'm living back on Hayling island now.”

A big part of the attraction is that the role of Alex Fitzwarren is such fun: “It's a great role. Some princesses come on and sing then that's it, but Alice is a great character. She's got depth to her. She gets some of her own jokes and she gets to sing. Storyline-wise she has Dame Dolly as her mum and Silly Billy as her brother and she falls in love with Dick. And at the end it is Alice that proposes to Dick and not the other way round. She knows what she wants. There is no umming and ahhing with Alice, and I think that's what keeps her interesting. It means I get to do the ghost gag that the princesses would never get to do usually, and I also get to be in the big ensemble numbers.”

Another big part of the attraction is quite simply that the show is at the Kings: “It is absolutely beautiful and I've got so many memories of the theatre. My first performance there was when I was eight years old with English Youth Ballet. It was brilliant. I loved it so much that when they came back I always auditioned and came back with them.”

Imogen’s first professional show at the Kings was Aladdin in 2019: “It is my local theatre and even when I'm not in panto here I still try to come along and see it. Last Christmas I was in Blackpool. I was doing the Shrek UK tour but to be at the Kings this Christmas means that all my family and friends can come and watch me. Actually I try to ignore them if I know they are there, but it's really lovely to have the feedback. We have quite a theatrical family and we chat about it but they're always very kind. They always love it and maybe they are biased but it's just lovely to have that.”

And the icing on the cake is that the company get not just Christmas Day off, but also Boxing Day this year: “You usually do two shows on Boxing Day but this year we've actually got two days off. My family always do big a Boxing Day and I'm not usually able to be part of it but I will be able to this year!”