Pantomime returns to Aylesbury's Waterside Theatre

Pantomime is back. But Covid is still here. How are this year's productions balancing restrictions with the joy of the return of a much-loved Christmas tradition?

Last year, with many theatres closed and Covid restrictions often changing, the answer to "is the pantomime on this year?" changed from "oh yes, it is" to "oh no, it isn't" on a regular basis.

But this year, panto is back in front of live audiences, with some changes, such as Cinderella at Aylesbury's Waterside Theatre in Buckinghamshire.

Many theatres are asking audience members for their vaccination status or negative Covid tests, and some familiar routines are being adapted, but both actors and theatre staff are just relieved to be back.

Former Pop Idol contestant Mark Rhodes, who is taking on the role of Dandini says "it's a bit of escapism from the world we've lived in for a while".

As one half of the CBBC presenting duo Sam and Mark, he has spent much of the past two years in a TV studio without an audience and has been looking forward to getting back on stage.

"In the TV world you can make allowances and make it work, but for panto you need people in the audience so you can tell a joke and have people laugh - hopefully," he says.

"Interaction with the audience is what it's all about."

Director Chris Nelson "absolutely adores" pantomime and says it is "nice to be back and have that fun again".

But directing, playing one of the Ugly Sisters and navigating the latest pandemic restrictions is no mean feat.

A key element of pantomime is topical jokes, and while Covid has the capacity to provide new material, he is also aware it is not necessarily funny. Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored, he says.

"In Britain it ties in with the tradition of panto, that kind of gallows humour," he says.

"When the chips are down we find the light side of things, so we don't make fun of what's happened, but we make nods to it.

"It gets the elephant in the room - out of the room - early on."

And while he has to keep his cast safe with regular Covid testing and adhering to a "show bubble", they are trying to keep things as normal as possible.

Children are no longer allowed on stage and the cast cannot throw anything into the audience but he says it gives them a chance to be creative and they do have a "few tricks up our sleeves".

"You've got to make it work, we don't want the audiences to be thinking 'oh, they can't do that this year'," he says.

"Without giving too much away, there are certain routines we aren't doing but I don't think we've compromised the experience, we're just being sensible.

"[Covid] is still in the back of your mind, it's still out there, but we've made what provisions we can and otherwise just carry on as normal."

Andy Collins says he knew things were different this year because "it was the first time in 21 years that I had been reading my script for two weeks ahead of the first rehearsal".

"After two years I was a little bit worried about getting it - but by the end of the first day it all came flooding back," the BBC Three Counties Radio Breakfast Show presenter says.

This year Collins is returning to the role of Buttons, which he first performed in the Waterside's first pantomime after it opened in 2010.

As a leading warm-up man, he usually works on TV shows including Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain's Got Talent (BGT), so audiences are the lifeblood of his work.

And after working with virtual ones for much of the year, he is delighted to be back in front of a live one.

"I did BGT and the Masked Singer and Dancer on Zoom and you do lose that connection, but finally we can get an audience in and you can see, hear and smell them and get that instant laugh," he says.

"It's just great to be back, I love this theatre with a passion and couldn't wait for it to be buzzing and rocking."

He said audiences will not miss out on the traditional fun, such as his now legendary 12 Days of Christmas routine, which usually involves him running around the theatre and having a mass water fight with them.

"There was talk by councils and the government - people in high viz jackets with a bunch of keys - that we wouldn't be able to do things like that, but now we can, so people should come tooled up like never before," he says.

"I'm coming for them and I've got two years of water in my pistol.

"We didn't have a Christmas last year... so it's time to get together and have a party and a proper celebration."

Being closed for 523 days was hard for the theatre and the "financial impact of no panto was large", according to the Waterside's director Sophie Denney.

"[It was also] very difficult for the whole team, not just the performers but staff and front of house," she says.

"It's been really important having it back and you can really feel the uplift in everyone in terms of their mental health and wellbeing. There's a real buzz in the air, a little bit of normality."

She adds that putting on pantomime is also a big step in helping the industry get back to where it was.

"If people come and have such an uplifting 2.5 hours they will book for other things," she hopes.

The theatre has moved to e-tickets and staggered entry times. They have increased cleaning, installed hand sanitiser and are asking people to consider wearing a mask.

Audiences must show they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or have had a negative lateral flow test.

"We're pleased with how our mitigating actions have been received by audiences," says Ms Denney.

"And once you are in your seats, most other parts of the theatre experience are still as normal and as magical as possible - it's still a fabulous experience."

Recently, new research suggested many people were reluctant to return to live shows and panto ticket sales in the UK were suffering.

Ms Denney says "sales are strong" at the Waterside but it is looking forward to an "uplift" as people, who would normally book months in advance, wait to see if they are able to go.

"Normally panto sales start from the first day of the previous panto so we didn't have that last year... there's a time lapse for all theatres but we're still confident people will come - if there's space!" she says.

"This panto season is a true reminder that theatre is back, we're open and we're safe to come to."

Eleven-year-old Verity, from St Albans, who went to an early performance, said she saw about three pantomimes online last year and while that was "better than nothing" it was "so good" - and felt important to see one live again.

"After being in lockdown last year, it felt like you were there for a bigger reason, it felt significant," she says.

"It was amazing because a year ago we thought we would never get back to this point, where we could be with so many other people having fun."

She said she did not mind references to Covid in the panto and did not really notice anything different about the production.

"In pantomime, they always do jokes about things that are happening in real life so it was fine," she says, "I did like the Boris Johnson impression.

"I also didn't mind kids not being allowed on the stage because there was less risk of me being chosen!

"It was just a normal, great and really funny panto and it was good to be back."

Cinderella runs at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre until 2 January.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]