Meet Hastings' Cinderella

SussexWorld

Hannah Ponting is our Cinderella at Hastings’ White Rock Theatre this Christmas – her second time as Cinders and her fifth panto in all.

Transcript

00:00 No, no, no.

00:00 - Good afternoon.

00:02 My name is Phil Hewitt,

00:03 group arts editor for Sussex Newspapers.

00:05 Now, what a pleasure to be speaking to Cinderella,

00:09 also known as Hannah Ponting.

00:11 Hannah, you are our Cinderella

00:13 at Hastings White Rock this Christmas.

00:15 Your first time in Hastings,

00:16 your second time as Cinderella.

00:18 Cinderella, it's the best panto part, isn't it, basically?

00:22 - I think it has to be, yeah, definitely.

00:25 - Well, what makes it such a good role, do you think?

00:28 - Well, she has such a journey throughout the story

00:32 and she gets to interact with every other character,

00:37 which is really fun as an actor

00:40 because you get to sort of make friendships

00:43 in the company with everyone

00:45 'cause you're the person

00:46 that sort of ties everybody all together.

00:49 So yeah, it's really, really good fun,

00:51 good character to play.

00:51 - And sometimes you see Cinderella

00:53 and she does seem a little bit downtrodden,

00:55 but yours is gonna be a feisty, curious, adventurous.

00:59 - Yeah, absolutely.

01:01 Yeah, she's sort of seeking out her dreams

01:04 and isn't afraid to go out there and get them.

01:08 And she's very forgiving.

01:11 Her sisters aren't very nice to her at all,

01:14 but she sort of takes it on the chin and stays positive.

01:18 And I think that's really great for her.

01:22 - And you are a repeat offender when it comes to panto.

01:25 This is number five, did you say, five or six?

01:27 - Yes, yeah, this is my fifth pantomime, so I love it.

01:31 - What drags you back to panto?

01:33 Why do you do it?

01:34 - Oh, it's just so much fun.

01:38 You know, we're storytelling,

01:39 but you've got silly gags, you've got slosh scenes,

01:43 you've got amazing costumes, lighting, songs, dancing.

01:47 It's just, and I think as well,

01:49 there's something for everyone in a pantomime.

01:51 You know, there's stuff for really young children,

01:54 but there's also, you know,

01:55 jokes that maybe only the adults will understand.

01:58 I just think it's, yeah, it's just so much fun.

02:01 - And you were saying really interestingly

02:03 about the truth of it.

02:04 You've got to play it true, haven't you?

02:07 - Yeah, definitely.

02:08 I think because if you don't believe

02:10 what your character is going through,

02:12 I don't think the audience will either.

02:14 And you know, because there is a clear storyline,

02:18 I think in Cinderella, and we wanna show that.

02:22 We wanna bring it to life and adding in

02:24 all these little fun things that pantomimes have.

02:27 - Fantastic.

02:28 Well, it's a lovely prospect.

02:30 I hope you have a fabulous time in Hastings,

02:32 your first time in Hastings with Cinderella.

02:35 Lovely to speak to you and happy Christmas when it comes.

02:37 - Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too.

02:40 Thank you.

02:40 - Thank you so much.

02:41 Good to speak to you.

02:43 - You too.

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