Panto!

So this blog is all about panto - OH YES IT IS 😂

I got to go to Vietnam to be in the first EVER panto there which was amazing to think we started something so special.

I was playing Gaston in Beauty & The Beast which is a role I’ve never played before. We did 1 week rehearsal in London and then 3 weeks in Vietnam, arriving home in time for Christmas (which is quite uncommon) so that was a huge bonus.

I actually made a vlog of the whole trip on YouTube which you can view here:

I can honestly say, since my first panto in 2017, I never thought I’d be performing panto internationally so this was such an opportunity and I’m so grateful to Paul Holman Associates for making it happen.

My Patreons wanted to share some of their thoughts on panto and also ask me some questions too so let’s take a look.

Gail is from America and says there really isn’t much panto there that she knows of. She asked whether I prefer Vietnam or the U.K. for panto and that is such a tough question because they are completely different. Panto is definitely more known in the U.K. and I love the banter you can have with the U.K. audiences which you can’t really have in Vietnam because of the language barrier!

Gill wants to know if I still keep in touch with the rest of my cast now the show has finished. The answer is yes! We have a WhatsApp group and we were actually all sending our Christmas roast dinner pictures and wishing eachother a merry Christmas!!

Jackie asks what it was like to play a baddie as I was Gaston and normally I play the Prince. It was really fun during rehearsals as you get to mess around a bit more with the roles and really lean into the character HOWEVER in Vietnam, the audience didn’t like that I was a bad guy and getting booed was something I’d never experienced before 😂

Elizabeth has been to Vietnam and really enjoyed the vlog but says there seem to be more cars now - there used to only be bikes apparently. Honestly, the traffic was quite intense. We literally had to re-learn how to cross the road!!!!

Mary asks how did the kids respond to the show compared to a U.K. audience and noticed that some of the Vietnamese children built up a fandom towards our cast which was correct. The kids reacted in a very similar way which was so nice to see as all kids universally seem to love to boo the witch and shout out when they see a ghost!! After the show children would queue for photos with us which was so amazing!

Susan asks how did I get organised for 3 weeks in Vietnam. It was actually VERY difficult as knowing what to pack was not easy. We were told Ho Chi Minh City would be very hot and humid and Hanoi would be cool which was completely true. So we needed shorts and loose tops in Ho Chi Minh and then jumpers and trousers in Hanoi! Our cases were all very much overweight on the flights. I like to be prepared but because this had never been done before, it was a real learning curve at all points in general but one I will never forget!

I’ve done many different roles in panto but I’ve never been Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk so that’s definitely on my bucket list - who knows, maybe for 2025….

Thanks for reading! See you next month 😁