Panto planning began over a year ago - things are well under way for Sleeping Beauty

Wednesday, 4 September 2024 06:00

We sat down with Gareth Machin, Wiltshire Creative's Artistic Director, to talk about this year's Pantomime, Sleeping Beauty.

In Part One of the interview, we talked about the planning and some of the creative aspects of the show.

We discovered the huge amount of work that goes into producing the Panto each year in Salisbury. Every production is unique; the set, the costumes, and the script are all brand new - nothing has been recycled from years gone by.

The planning for this year's Panto began in 2023 when the show was picked; this time, Sleeping Beauty. "It's a big show that we make here, and we make everything from scratch here in Salisbury.

"So it does take a lot a lot of planning. I mean, in fact, yeah, we're talking August now, August 24, and I'm already working on pantomime for December 25. But, you know, we have to think about what the title is.

"It begins a good year and a half before any audience comes in to see it. About 18 months before we decide on the title, commission the writers, we then bring the director on board and the designer, and around January time, we start to look at some of the early designs because the design process takes, you know, several months, because it's all, as I say, being imagined afresh every year.

"We need the design process to be finished by Easter so that then our workshop team can start making the show because, you know, there's a lot of sets to build. Then we cast over the summer, and then three weeks before opening night, we start, start rehearsing, and then away we go."

This time, Gareth isn't directing the show himself, "I'm really thrilled this year that we're bringing back Ryan McBryde, who last directed Beauty and the Beast here, which was about five or six years ago. He's a brilliant director of pantomime. We have a fantastic designer coming in. Katie Lewis created this incredible, more sequin, glitzy, filled world. You know, it's just going to be delightful on stage. And then we've got a lot of the creative team from last year, the choreographer, the musical director coming back as well.

Tickets for this years Pantomime, Sleeping beauty are on sale on the Wiltshire Creative Website - https://www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/events/sleeping-beauty

You can listen to the full interview below: