Podcasting pantomime with the kings of the Leven Street stage
Think of panto in Edinburgh and you inevitably think of Grant Stott, Allan Stewart and Andy Gray. They have been treading the boards each Christmas since 1998 in one show or another.
We also have to include Jordan Young, the newest recruit, who joined the team last Christmas, and is now firmly part of the family. A graduate of Queen Margaret University, he has also appeared in Filth, River City and was in panto with Elaine C Smith in Aberdeen for a number of years.
Allan had just finished the run of his Big Big Variety Show at the King’s, celebrating 60 years in show business, when the pandemic closed the theatre. Grant and Andy were also in the show which kicked off with Allan singing I’m Still Standing. They are all very adept at poking fun at each other, as well as themselves, but I must reveal that during our Edinburgh Reporter podcast there was a moment when I made Andy Gray cry. Andy had been shielding at home for three months, and when we spoke he had just come back from his first walk outdoors.
It was nothing to do with that, that made him well up. It was the thought there might be no panto. Of course it was a bit of a gag, and although they know how to make you laugh, there is a serious side to what the alternatives are if there if this year's panto is cancelled.
Andy calculated how much time they have spent talking and laughing together in the King's dressing room during the intervals over the 20 years or so they have been on stage together. It's easy to understand why - we ran out of time during our call, they had so much to say.
The truth is that nobody knows yet whether audiences will again take their seats in our theatres, or indeed when it will happen. So for the moment the panto boys Zoom together on Thursday nights to keep in touch, and make each other laugh.
Allan is in London with his family where he has made a video with his version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, recorded in tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore who raised £32.7 million for the NHS. He recorded the charity number at his son David's recording studio, and director Ryan Dewar (Wonder Boy according to Allan) made the video.
With 750,000 viral hits within days he said he was ‘really chuffed’ but he is still in awe of Grant’s video "Save Lives" which is a clever rendition of his trademark, "That’s Fife", accompanied by photos of Edinburgh’s Covid-19 empty streets by photographer, Tom Duffin, and also deftly edited by Ryan.
So, the panto might be on (Oh, yes it is) and this band of panto villains and dames discuss the wealth of possibilities each Thursday night.
Grant said: “The only form of information I have had from a reliable source was from Fiona Gibson, the new Chief Executive of Capital Theatres on my show. I asked the question and she genuinely doesn’t know either. They are following everything closely regarding government and health advice. As it stands nobody knows.”
But there are all sorts of ideas under discussion such as using technology - including the possibility of using canned laughter in an empty theatre while recording.
But panto is very much an in-person experience as Andy stressed. He said: “Theatres need to get people in the doors. That’s why they are there in the first place, and they need to make money. If there is ay kind of social distancing whatsoever it will affect the atmosphere, the number of people in the theatre and ticket prices. There are a lot of decisions to make. It would have to be something that the theatre company and the production company were on board with too. It would have to look good.”
Jordan added: “The entire thing is that you need the audience there. If you tried to recreate this on Zoom you could never recreate the timing or what the live feeling really is.”
Andy passionately believes that Scottish panto is a peculiar and unique brand of its own, based as it is on music hall with heaps of drama, great music, as well as beautiful scenery and costumes.
We just have hope that Allan gets to wear his dresses on stage this winter, rather than saving the dressing up for the Zoom calls with the boys. (Oh, yes he will).