Chequer Mead Panto is back for 2024!

For those few readers that don’t know who you are, how long have you been the Chequer Mead Panto Dame and how did it come about?

“This will be my 8th Dame at Chequer Mead, 7 Christmas outings and 1 Easter! My first role was Widow Twanky in Aladdin in 2014. I then had to wait a couple of years and was delighted to be invited back to appear as Mrs Smee in Peter Pan one of the first Professional Pantos at the Theatre and I have been there ever since!

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without my annual trip to East Grinstead, running around backstage changing into another costume and laughing a lot! I have also been lucky enough to have directed the last 6!”

Over the years, have you had a favourite Dame to play? Or are they all reincarnations of the same person?

“They are all me, so there is a strong similarity amongst them all. I think a favourite would be Widow Twanky which I have played twice, once in 2014 and once in 2022.”

What do you think is the key to pantomime Dame humour? Because the adults and children find them equally entertaining!

“My dame is definitely a bloke in a dress as opposed to a drag act. I love the glamorous costumes now and again but at the end of the day she is a motherly figure with a sharp tongue, entertainment for young and old alike.”

If you could play a well-known West End/Broadway dame, who would you pick? Edna Turnblad, Mrs Doubtfire or someone else?

“There are many “Drag” parts I would love to play and I think top of my list would be Miss Trunchbull from Matilda, a real baddy with wonderful songs to sing!”

When can people come and watch you and the rest of the cast in Beauty and the Beast?

“Beauty And The Beast runs at Chequer Mead Theatre from 7th December 2024 to 4th January 2025. It promises to be a wonderful pantomime with lots of songs, sketches and surprises…book your tickets NOW!”

Go to www.chequermead.co.uk to book your tickets!