'Tis The Season for Pantomime
By Rachel Doyle
Panto time is here again! Don't you just love it? All that thigh slapping, women dressing as men, men dressing as dames! And of course the greatest opportunity to see your favourite soap stars, past and present live on stage.
And there's plenty of ex-EastEnders around this time of year! (see below)
Remember Walford's original bad guy "Dirty Den"? Well you can catch actor Leslie Grantham in Peter Pan playing.... yep, you got it, bad guy Captain Hook, in Wycombe this year. A role he's enjoyed for the past seven years.
So where's Angie, Den's long suffering wife? Well, Anita Dobson is getting her chance to be nasty as the Wicked Witch in Snow White in Northampton. Den and Angie's once on-screen daughter, Letitia Dean ("Sharon Watts") is also appearing in a production of Snow White in Dartford, Kent.
The great thing about panto is it's fun, an enjoyable evening out for young and old alike. And getting to see the TV stars you love is definitely a bonus.
I go to a pantomime or two every year without fail. A couple of years ago I saw John Altman ("Nick Cotton") in Aladdin. Was he a baddie you ask? Of course, he was. Could you see him as anything else?
Ross Davidson ("Andy O'Brien") was in Jack and the Beanstalk in Scotland. Yes, I did travel seven hours on a bus to Edinburgh to see him as Fleshcreep, and he was brilliant. Well worth the trip.
Life in England wouldn't be the same without panto. I mean when else can you boo and hiss in a theatre without getting thrown out? Where else do you see women dressed as boys and men dressed as Dames (with the exception of Soho, London)!
Pantomime is Christmas, and it's a chance to let your hair down and have fun and to see Dr Legg, Dirty Den, Ricky, etc., as you've never seen them before. HAVE FUN !!!!!!!!!!
EASTENDERS IN PANTO 2001
| Actor |
EE character |
Play |
Place |
| MARK HOMER |
Tony Hills |
CINDERELLA |
GRAND THEATRE, BLACKPOOL |
| LEONARD FENTON |
Dr Legg |
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK |
MAIDSTONE |
| SID OWEN |
Ricky Butcher |
DICK WHITTINGTON |
PAVILLION, BOURNEMOUTH |
| LESLIE GRANTHAM |
Den Watts |
PETER PAN |
THE SWAN, WYCOMBE |
| SOPHIE LAWRENCE |
Diane Butcher |
GOLDILOCKS |
THE GRAND, WOLVERHAMPTON |
| ANITA DOBSON |
Angie Watts |
SNOW WHITE |
THE DERNGATE, NORTHAMPTON |
| LETITIA DEAN |
Sharon Watts |
SNOW WHITE |
THE ORCHARD, DARTFORD |
| ANDREW LYNFORD |
Simon Raymond |
JACK & THE BEANSTALK |
THEATRE ROYAL, LINCOLN |
| CRAIG FAIRBRASS |
Dan Sullivan |
PETER PAN |
ASSEMBLY ROOMS, TUNBRIDGE WELLS |
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