I played Santa for a Christmas feature when I worked at the Bury Times. Spent a full day doing it at the Co-op — and what a day! Never again.
Aah, sorry! Yes, you mean on the stage? Again, another Christmas feature. It’s okay doing these things but without having had the experience they’re mundane. Do the job, and you’ve a better idea of what it entails. Took me a month to learn the lines. Then I had to attend rehearsals etc. Result, good feature.
It’s incidental, but when I became an editor I decided to send a couple of youngsters, one boy and one girl, to review a few local pantos. The producers objected but I managed to persuade them that only children could really appreciate a Pantomime, and the results were great. A reporter interview the kids the next day, and for example, despite really good make-up they’d realised that at least three of the cast had appeared on stage in other Panto roles after doing a quick change!
