The words ‘Easter’ and ‘pantomime’ don’t often go together. Some might wonder, can you even have an Easter panto?
But the Whitehall Theatre is proving that oh yes you can, with Charming Entertainment’s family-friendly production of Beauty and the Beast coming to Dundee on Thursday April 6.
“We’ve always produced Easter, summer, October and Christmas pantos,” says creative director Troy Harris, 26.
“And everyone’s gone ‘you’re mad for doing that’. But now, you see a lot more companies doing Easter panto – it’s becoming a lot more normal.
“I think because parents have their kids out of school and it’s like ‘what do we do?’ This is the perfect thing just to get away, we transport you into a theatrical world far away.”
The high-energy show, filled with slapstick comedy for the kids, TikTok tunes for too-cool teens and clever quips for grown-ups, will have two performances on the first Thursday of the Easter break – one matinee and one evening show.
“Whether you’re two or 200, you’re going to enjoy the show, there’s definitely something for everyone in there,” Troy adds ahead of the show.
And although the tale of Beauty and the Beast is as old as time, he insists that the Bolton-based production company’s take brings the panto right up to date, with quirky twists for modern audiences.
‘Lots of larger-than-life characters’
“There’s still the elements of the story of Beauty and the Beast,” he explains. “The prince still gets turned into a beast because he’s not very nice, there’s still the enchanted rose, Belle’s still Belle.
“But you then have the dame and the comic, who are basically Mrs Potts and Chip, but they’re not teapots or cutlery. They’re called Louie de la Potte and Delilah de la Potte, and they work for the prince.
“You still have Gaston, and some of the traditional characters from the film and the book, but it’s very much got a panto twist – there’s lots of larger-than-life characters.
“We’ve buried pop songs in there, some songs from TikTok that have been very popular, some musical theatre songs – so it’s like a jukebox musical pantomime.”
For Troy, who has worked his way up from performer and choreographer to creative director of Charming Entertainment over the last four years, panto is less of a seasonal thing and more about spending quality time with loved ones.
“Obviously the world’s been a bit scary at the moment, especially for kids,” he observes.
“They probably hear adults talking about what’s going on. So this is just a nice escape for everyone to get away, have two hours of laughing, having fun and bringing the family together.
“I think that’s what’s really good about panto,” he goes on. “It’s rare you can find something that everybody can watch and enjoy, and I think we’ve really hit the nail on the head with this show.
“It’s a feelgood show, you come out feeling happy and like all your worries have gone away for those two hours.”
Beauty and the Beast Easter panto is showing at Whitehall Theatre, Dundee, on Thursday April 6 at 2pm and 6pm. Standard tickets are £14, concessions £12. Tickets are available from the Whitehall Theatre website.
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