What are the elements of the best pantomimes?

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Tom Murray is loving the thought of a Crawley return for panto this Christmas.

Last year he was at The Hawth with Sleeping Beauty. This year it is Jack and the Beanstalk from December 13-January 5 starring EastEnder Steve McFadden – known to millions as Phil Mitchell – as the villainous Fleshcreep, plus Hawth legend Michael J Batchelor making it 11 years on the trot in panto in Crawley.

“I have worked for (panto producers) Evolution for close on ten years now. I started as production assistant and a couple of years assisting directing on shows and now this is my fourth directing. The first was Dick Whittington jointly directing and then I did Dick Whittington solely in Yeovil. That was Dick Whittington twice in a row and then my first Hawth was last year.

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“I love it there. It is such a close-knit team and it really helps to know the space, just knowing the team and knowing what you can achieve with them. And it's not just the people on the stage. It's the backstage people as well. It is just great. And The Hawth is a fantastic venue. You really feel that everyone is working together towards the common goal of putting on the most spectacular pantomime they possibly can.

“I'm really interested in audience function and how they sit but the fact is that the heart really needs to be there. Sometimes pantos can be this big corporate churning-out but what I think you need is the warmth in the show. And I think as a director you can only achieve that when you're working with your cast. Actors love to play and they need to be able to find that space to play in the room. It is not a dictatorship! I'm a firm believer that there is never only one right way to do things. Michael J Batchelor is a genius and he knows what's going to work and it's great to have Steve McFadden because we know that he does evil so well. He will come with ideas and that's so important. You want the company to feel ownership and that makes them more confident in what they're doing if they really feel that they've been part of it. I think you have to be collaborative especially in pantomime even though it is a tight schedule. I think if you don't work in that way, then it could become flat.

“And the great thing in Crawley is the audience. I've never felt an audience like that. I remember the opening night and the atmosphere was electric. The audience gave so much back. We produce in ten venues around the country and all the audiences are different but at The Hawth they're really, really up for a good time.”

As for the choice of panto, as Tom says, he suspects there won’t be people who will say ‘I must go and see Jack and the Beanstalk or ‘I don't want to see this because it is Jack and the Beanstalk.’ What really counts is the reputation of the venue for putting on the best possible panto – and that's definitely what The Hawth has got.

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“I wrote my thesis on audience. I did an masters in creative producing and I think it's important to realise that the audience is actually a role in panto. The audience is actually a character in the show. They are in the script!”

And important too to realise that pantomime keeps on evolving. Tom points to the name of the company – Evolution: “You need to remember where panto is coming from and to keep those traditions alive but you also want to make sure that the show is representative of the times that we are in. Panto has always been at the forefront of theatre. It needs to be. You think of all the technological advances and you've got to use those. If it doesn't, it becomes old hat and it falls behind. You've got to embrace those technologies as well to keep it moving forward.”

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