Toby Hulse is directing this year’s Oxford Playhouse Pantomime, the magical Cinderella! Written by Anna Nicholson and Bobby Goulder, it runs from Friday 25 November to Sunday 8 January 2023, with tickets on sale here.
The panto ensemble is comprised of a core team of fantastic professional actors and two brilliant Young Companies featuring local young performers hand-picked through a competitive auditions process.
The main cast includes: Priscille Grace as Cinderella, Connor Wood as Prince Charming, Robin Hemmings as The Fairy, Philipa Carson as Buttons the Mouse; Alice Marshall as Dandina; Daisy Elwin and Emmanuel Duarte as Ensemble; and Alasdair Buchan and Roddy Peters as the ugly sisters Bellina and Smellina.
You’re directing Cinderella at Oxford Playhouse, what can you tell us about this year’s Panto?
A bit like the perfect Christmas, this year’s panto is a glorious mix of the traditional and the surprising. All the characters, stories and routines that you’d expect to see onstage in Cinderella are there, but many of them have been polished up and given a bit of a twist.
So, for instance, Prince Charming’s traditional sidekick, Dandini, has now become the villain of the piece, a thoroughly evil and self-serving regent determined on taking over the fairy-tale realm of Oxland. And Dandini is now female – Dandina. And we have also tweaked a number of plot elements so that Cinderella is now the centre of her own story, and very much in charge of what is happening – no more waiting around for a Prince to come!
This will be your first Panto at Oxford Playhouse, what’s it like to return to the venue to direct a different kind of production?
It’s very exciting to be back at Oxford Playhouse again. I know that this is said of a lot of regional theatres, but being at the Playhouse really is like being part of a family, a family that comes together in its entirety every December. And, to stretch the Christmas metaphor a bit, I am now eating at the adults’ table. I am constantly amazed by the knowledge, skills and dedication of the resident production team, and it is a real treat to watch them working and playing with all of the toys they have available to them. Plus a few extras they may have just found under the tree.
Have you approached this any differently to any other kind of production?
There are obviously many new opportunities and challenges when working on a production of this scale, and the temptation is to think that one has to approach making a piece of theatre in a different way. But, actually, for me, the process is the same, regardless of scale and audience: cast actors you like working with and who you like watching onstage; help them to tell the story as clearly as they can; find the world of the play and make sure that it makes sense, however illogical and surreal that sense may be; and foster a playful, open, and creative working environment, both in rehearsal and performance. Essentially, let everyone do what they do best!
What’s been the biggest challenge in getting the show ready to open?
Time. It’s always time. There is a point in every show that I have worked on where we have turned to each other and said, ‘If only we had one more day’. And this show is no exception.
What are you looking forward to most about having young audiences in to watch?
When I teach acting in drama schools, I always draw a distinction between drama and theatre. Drama is what actors do in classes, workshops, and rehearsals, and although it’s very useful for their ongoing training, no one would actually want to watch it. However, the moment an audience arrives you’re making theatre, and the focus changes. It’s no longer about the actors, and it’s all about sharing a story with an audience. This production of Cinderella won’t actually exist until we get an audience.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Cinderella this Christmas?
I believe that, at its core, theatre is about community: a group of strangers come together in the same room to share a story, and emerge at the end of the show bonded by having had a communal experience. Pantomime does this in so many unique and special ways, actively encouraging the audience to work together to make sure that good triumphs over evil. This production of Cinderella is a glorious celebration of that communal act. It is magical, romantic, exciting, and deeply, deeply daft. Expect the unexpected and unusual; prepare to laugh, sing, cheer and boo; and together we will get Cinderella to the ball!
