Ever wondered what it takes to choreograph the panto chaos? We sat down with our pantomime Director, Andrew Lynford, who is steering the ship to Neverland, to talk about audience participation, slapstick timing, and why playing the baddie is always more fun!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I have always been lucky enough to work in the arts, starting as an actor and later as a director, choreographer, producer, writer, and casting director. Most of it happened by chance! But always with a dream and the support of brilliant people around me.
What keeps you coming back to the pantomime director’s chair?
Pantomime is unique and excites so many parts of us, but mostly it is the magic. No matter how old you are, if you are in a panto audience, we must make you believe the magic.
Will this Peter Pan be a traditional panto, or will there be a twist?
What is so brilliant about working with Joe Tracini (as writer) and the creative team at the Norwich Theatre is that the ambition is to retain traditional elements (established routines, stories, jokes, and styles) while adding new, modern twists and add-ons.
How are we planning to make the audience feel part of Neverland?
There is no panto without an audience, but what you must be sure of is to allow the audience in and give them permission to join in vocally and react in the first few minutes of the show. You need to make them feel comfortable and important, and as soon as they are, they are off!
How do you work with everyone to ensure the slapstick is sharp?
It needs timing, the beats where someone turns, bends, falls, etc. It’s like a piece of choreography. But once you’ve rehearsed many times and got things up to speed, the fun begins.
The slosh scene is a fan favourite. How do you choreograph the mess?
You literally break it down, step by step. It is also important to pay attention to the logic of the scene, the storytelling part – you can’t fool a panto audience.
Time to pick a side: would we find you with Tinker Bell or on the Jolly Roger?
Oh, absolutely, a pirate on the Jolly Roger. Actors always say that baddies are more fun to play, and they do usually have more extreme characteristics to hang on to.
But actually, I think our pirates (even Hook) will be seen to clearly be lovable idiots and quite a lot of fun, more than anything else.
