Panto Role: Chorus Girl number five
Non-Panto Role: Professional Blondie
So, how did you get into theatre in the first place?
It was just for the fun of it – I was at a weekend retreat in 2002, and someone else was planning on auditioning for the MADC One-Acts. They were leaving in the middle of the retreat to go audition, and I tagged along. I had never performed in theatre before!
And Panto? How did that come about?
It was a bit later – I had just done the One-Acts in 2004. I had been in a two-hander so I had quite a good part, and I did well. So I decided that I wanted to do more that year. It had been on my mind for a couple of years to try for Panto but I had other things going on and I knew I couldn't make the big commitment that Panto requires. But that year I was on a gap year, so I had time, and I was interested in the story of Snow White, and I knew that Steve Casaletto would be directing the Panto and I liked him as a director. So I decided to try for Panto! I ended up having a second audition and I got the part of the Swedish dwarf, and it was lots of fun.
What do you like most about Panto?
The fact I end up losing weight in rehearsals because they're so active! Panto is exhausting but lots of fun, you get to hang out with lots of cool people, and it's fun to be on stage and perform.
What do you hate about Panto?
It's very time consuming, and you rarely ever have a moment to yourself!
What has been your best ever theatre moment?
Well for me it was 2004 in general, because I had both the One-Acts and Panto and I was lucky enough to be with really nice people doing it all.
So what was your worst ever theatre moment?
That was in the Snow White Panto! I was very sick during one performance, and me and all the dwarves got involved in a conversation backstage. We were so into our conversation that we missed our cue and left people hanging on stage! We got a bollocking afterwards, quite rightly.
So what has been your most embarrassing theatre moment?
My most embarrassing event happened on stage during Snow White – I got my heel caught in the trap door so I was in a dance routing, trying to look like I was dancing but in reality I was trying to get free!
And what has been your most special theatre moment?
When Panto was over! We spent the last few performances all dying for it to be over, because we wanted our personal lives back, but then when Panto really was over, it was really emotional. I wasn't expecting it to get as emotional as I did at all, but when you spend two to three months seeing the same people every single day, then when you go back to your normal life you miss them!
What is one phrase which will now and forever always remind you of this Panto?
Ħaqq it-tiģieģ bil-kulur!
What is something special about you that no-one else knows?
I played in the pool with Pierce Brosnan's son when we were both two years old!
If you could play any role at all in any performance, what would it be?
I would want it to be in Panto because it's fun, you can have a laugh with it. It would probably be fun to play one of the evil henchmen, because you can go all out and really exaggerate with the facial expressions, tone and everything. Panto is the one place you can really do that without worrying that you will be over the top!
If you could give a piece of advice to someone just starting out in theatre, what would it be?
Modesty has no place in Panto (or theatre in general), not when you get involved in productions where you have to wear sequinned hotpants!
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