Watch out! Worthing's dame wants a boyfriend!

SussexWorld

Paul Giddings is both director and dame as he returns to Worthing’s Pavilion Theatre for this year’s big Christmas show Robin Hood: The Pantomime (December 5-January 5).

Transcript

00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Now, the

00:06Worthing Panto this year is Robin Hood. Lovely to speak, not just to the director, but to

00:11the dame of the show as well, Paul Giddings. Paul, you have history with Worthing, it's

00:18a place you love working, but to combine those two roles, that's going to be hard, isn't

00:23it?

00:24Well, do you know what? It is great fun. And I think I've been to Worthing for the past

00:30couple of years to direct the Panto down here. And then this year, the opportunity came up

00:34to play the role of the dame. And I think for me, having been in Worthing for the past

00:40two years, working with this team, working at the theatre, bringing together the stories

00:45to life. When the opportunity came up, I thought, you know what, I would love to do that. I've

00:50always wanted to play dame. And for me, it felt really nice that I could come and do

00:54it in the space here and work with this team. And we have got this year, we've got two directors,

01:01so myself and a co-director, Danielle Drayton, who's our choreographer as well. So we're

01:06splitting duties. So when I've got a wig on, I don't have to be sitting there making notes.

01:10So your first dame, really important to do it in a venue that you love and where you

01:15feel at home. But what kind of a dame are you going to be? You're a pretty poor cook

01:20as a dame, though, you don't know it, do you?

01:22No, no, Dame Delia, she's, well, she was named after all the great cooks.

01:27List them, list them.

01:29The list, Dame Delia, Mary Berry, Nadia Proulx, Nigella Microwiaby, Scarlet is her name. She's

01:36the original Scarlet woman, but she was always destined to be a camp cook. But she is terrible.

01:43And I, you know, I'm surprised those merry men ever get fed anything because everything

01:47she makes is disgusting. But she thinks she's amazing. So she's keeping them well fed. She's

01:54also on the lookout for a boyfriend this year. So I think it's only fair that the people

01:58of Worthing are prepared for Dame Delia and her quest for love in the forest of Sherwood.

02:04So the way to her heart would be to accept her terrible food, would it, do you think?

02:08Oh, if, honestly, if she found a boyfriend that ate her food, it's all they need to do.

02:14Sounds like a very high price to pay, though.

02:17They might feel ill for days after, but it'd be worth it, I'm sure.

02:21Fantastic. Well, Paul, really lovely to speak to you. Have a fantastic time

02:24in Worthing Panto in your dual roles. Thank you.

02:27Thank you so much. Cheers. Bye-bye.

02:29Bye-bye.

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