Jane McGowan finds comedian Tim Vine hiding his nasty streak for this year’s Fairfield Halls panto
Yes, it’s panto time again.
Even as I write, rehearsal rooms across the county are bursting with the finest in reality TV stars, singers, comedians, magicians, ventriloquists and acrobats, all getting to grips with copious thigh-slapping and classic, time-honoured lines. “Oh no, they aren’t!” Oh yes, they are...
Granted, it’s not exactly Shakespeare, but pantomime has a fine tradition in this country dating back centuries. It has starred some of our greatest thespians – Sir Ian McKellen among them – and its gruelling minimum-two-shows-a-day schedule has long served as a rigorous training ground for up-and-coming performers.
One man who certainly knows his way around panto land is comedian Tim Vine, who this year leads the cast – which also includes TV presenter and Strictly winner Ore Oduba – of the dazzling Fairfield Halls production of Cinderella. The show is the first Christmas production at the Croydon venue following its multimillion-pound refurbishment.
Tim, 52 – who was born in Cheam and now lives in Banstead – plays Buttons, a character he laughingly describes as an “affable idiot”.
“I really enjoy panto. It suits my style of comedy, as my act is made up of quick one-liners and is very family-friendly,” says the constantly wise-cracking comedian, twice honoured for the Edinburgh Fringe Joke of the Year.
“I may add a new joke or two along the way, but I don’t stray too far from the script. I am not really a fan of corpsing – I don’t like it when the people on stage seem to be having a better time than the audience.
“You can adlib a bit more when the children come on stage though, as you never know what you are going to get or what they are going to say – which is one of the beauties of panto.”
Cinderella – which also features CBeebies presenter Cat Sandion as the Fairy Godmother, with musical theatre performers Grace Chapman and James Bisp as Cinders and the Prince – is to be staged in the Fairfield’s superb Phoenix Concert Hall. Audiences can expect huge, high-tech sets, lavish costumes and plenty of singing and dancing.
In recent years panto has apparently received a new lease of life, with shows often featuring extras such as 3D segments, pyrotechnics and flying coaches – last year the New Victoria in Woking managed to cover the whole audience in snow.
“Every year it gets bigger and bigger. I think it’s because panto is one of the only things where you can take the whole family and they can get involved,” says Tim, actually becoming a little bit serious.
“The children are wonderful. It’s almost magical to watch all these faces focusing on your every word – they really believe. They think that if they shout loud enough, they can genuinely change the course of the story. That shows real commitment and engagement on their part, which is lovely.”
Tim, who hits the road with his new Plastic Elvis stand-up tour next year, is not fazed by the 43-performance panto run. Even so, he admits to great happiness that the venue is “just down the road”, enabling him to enjoy the festive period with the family.
“Sometimes there are hours between shows and it’s tempting to pop home. But there’s always the chance you might drop off in the armchair and not turn up for the second performance. Obviously, I wouldn’t do anything like that,” he jokes.
And while Tim is quite content for now to be by Cinderella’s side, he would love one day to play a villain.
“Not necessarily in panto, but maybe in a film,” he explains. “I’ve always sort of wanted to look at the camera and just say: ‘Kill him!’ You can’t really do that in pantomime, as villains are not really villainous. They just get to say sorry and act all contrite.
“I remember doing Sleeping Beauty with Anita Dobson, who is of course married to Queen’s Brian May. At the end of the show she had to say: ‘No one could ever love me.’ And I used to reply: ‘Brian may.’ That was my favourite line ever.”
Cinderella runs from Dec 10 – Jan 5; tickets from £15. For further info visit: fairfield.co.uk.
