Panto stalwart says venue has 'new lease of life'

A panto stalwart returning to a theatre where he spent a decade said it was like "sitting in an old comfy chair again".

Bob Golding, who now lives in Northamptonshire, is in Cinderella at the Alban Arena in St Albans, Hertfordshire, a venue of which he is also patron.

"I'm over the moon, for loads of different reasons, but mainly because these are my people," he said. "I feel like I've come home."

He added that since he was last in the building, it felt like it had "got a new lease of life and a burst of energy".

Golding had been prepared to spend his 10th year in the St Albans pantomime when Covid hit and the run of Mother Goose in December 2020 was scrapped.

He moved to Northamptonshire and in 2021, performed in Northampton's Royal and Derngate pantomime instead, where he played the dame for three years.

At that time, and with a two-year-old daughter, to be working 10 minutes from where he lived was a "no-brainer" but now she is older, he has returned to the Arena.

"Don't get me wrong, I loved the three years I've been in Northampton, it's been fantastic and it's a wonderful theatre but to come back to St Albans really feels like sitting in an old comfy chair again," he said.

This year, Golding, who played comedy great Eric Morecambe in the award-winning play Morecambe, returned to the character in Paul Hendy's The Last Laugh, which had a successful Edinburgh run and will embark on a national tour in 2025.

But before that he will be one of the Ugly Sisters, alongside his best friend, Ian Kirkby, in Cinderella, which he said is "the greatest of all the pantomimes".

"To be here, back in the old building again it's like nothing's changed but everything has changed," he said.

"We've even got a working sink in the dressing room now."

Throughout his sojourn in Northamptonshire, Golding remained a patron of the venue, a role he has held since 2018, when he organised its 50th anniversary gala, but which he said had been "slightly dormant" since the pandemic.

"I had lots of things planned and it was very exciting but then Covid happened and it kind of put the kibosh on anything that we were going to do to get more attention to the arts locally for the people of St Albans," he said.

Now he is back he said he fully intended to "take on my patron duties whatever they may be in the future" and represent the venue on an artistic level.

It has been a tricky few years for the Arena, with the pandemic in 2020 and the discovery of asbestos in December 2021 which led to its pantomime closing early and the postponement of all shows for about four months.

There has also been discussion about replacing it with a new entertainment space.

But Golding is championing the theatre, which is now under new management and "looking great", he said.

"I'm fighting it's corner," he said. "There's been a big shake up and it's got a very nice, exciting fresh new feel about it, it's a bit of a renaissance moment.

"It's had a few licks of paint and it just feels like it's got a new lease of life and a burst of energy.

"This old building, I've always said, is probably one of the ugliest buildings in the city but with the biggest heart so it's nice to see some love going back into it again and hopefully we can continue to bring some more joy to the people of the area.

"I'd love to be here again... so we'll see what happens next year."

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