Writer and director Chris Jordan's remarkable Eastbourne panto record

SussexWorld

It’s a remarkable record. Since 2001 – with a year off for Covid – Chris Jordan has written and directed 23 Eastbourne pantos.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers. Now a real

00:06pleasure to speak to Chris Jordan, Panto legend. How many Pantos is it you have done now, directed

00:12and written in Eastbourne?

00:13I think, last count was 23, yeah, started in 2001. Had a year off for Covid, but other

00:20than that, it's been straight through, yeah.

00:22But that's a fabulous record, isn't it? And every year you get, what, 35,000 people through

00:28a year, and a crucial part of the year for the theatre. But you speak of Panto with such

00:32passion, don't you? And this year we should say it's Snow White at the Devonshire Park

00:36until January 12th. You speak with such passion for Panto. Why does Panto matter so much to

00:42you?

00:43Well, I think for so many of us, it's our first experience of live theatre. And I certainly

00:50know it was mine. In 1973 at Watford Palace Theatre, I went to see Jack and the Beanstalk

00:55and saw this giant. And I was terrified. And then the goodie came on and the cow came

00:59on and absolutely captured me. And I think if you can get an audience young like that

01:05and show them a unique live theatrical experience that they can't get anywhere else on their

01:10iPads and their phones and their computers, then hopefully you've got them hooked. And

01:14they'll then come back at other times of the year to the theatre and experience other live

01:20theatrical experiences. And you've sort of got them for life then.

01:24And I don't want it to just be the kind of show where they don't wriggle too much in

01:28the first half and they eat an ice cream in the second half. I want it to be a show where

01:32them and as importantly, their parents go, wow, we didn't expect that. I mean, that was

01:40really funny.

01:41So tell me then, what are the things that you feel you really have to nail to be the

01:47best Panto you can offer?

01:49The story's king. So we need to keep a really strong storyline going through. The challenge

01:54then is to get all those lovely, traditional, familiar elements into the telling of that

01:59story, whether it's a ghost gag or a slapstick routine or an it's behind you, still without

02:04compromising the story. Make sure it's really, really funny for everyone. Children still

02:10absolutely love somebody tripping over a banana skin or walking into somebody, those kind

02:16of Tom and Jerry slapstick moments. But the adults appreciate perhaps a more sophisticated

02:21kind of humor. I'm not talking full of innuendo necessarily, but just just something clever

02:25and funny or a bit surreal. Make sure the comedy is really strong. And then for me,

02:31almost the most important thing is just cast really, really good people that can make an

02:36audience feel comfortable. Our prince in Snow White this year has just come out of Book

02:42of Mormon in the West End where he's been for two years. We have the wonderful Carly

02:49Norris coming back as a wicked stepmother who played malevolent for us last year. And

02:53she's got a West End CV as long as your arm. So really good talent. And actually, for me

02:58as well, the music is key, and especially live music. We're lucky enough to have built

03:04the Eastbourne pantomime band to five live musicians that are there interacting with

03:11the show, providing the underscore, providing the tension. So those are kind of all the

03:16key elements, I think.

03:17And when you get all those key elements right, then clearly you build momentum because you're

03:22telling me you announced next year's Panto on the first night of this year's Panto, and

03:26in the first three days, ridiculously good business for next year.

03:31Yeah, we've taken over £50,000, sold over £50,000 worth of tickets in three days.

03:36Does that surprise you? It must delight you.

03:37Well, it delights me. It doesn't half put the pressure on, Phil, I tell you that. You

03:41think, hang on a minute, I've barely got my head around this year. Please don't. But,

03:46we're very lucky in that we sell out most of our, well, all of our key performances.

03:51So people know that if they want to get their favourite seat, they need to book straight

03:54away. So that's got a nice sort of momentum going. People's expectations are very high,

04:01which is a nice position to be in, but also quite pressurised, you know. But no, I'm very,

04:06very proud of that sort of 20-year record of building audiences here.

04:09Congratulations on that record. It's phenomenal.

04:12Continue. Really lovely to speak to you, Chris. Thank you.

04:14And you. Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended