The show must grow on! Peter saves the day with his garden panto
Thought Covid had put your traditional festive fun behind you? Former Blue Peter star is still Dame for a laugh
‘A good panto should be a combination of high drama mixed with slosh and slapstick’
PETER Duncan is talking about the motivation of the theatrical legend he plays in his next production. His concern is that he would hate for his audience not to take the character seriously. “She’s about to lose her home because she can’t pay her rent,” he says with furrowed brow. “She has to sell her cow to help make ends meet.”
And Peter is not the only member of the dramatis personae whose creation comes with hidden depths.
“Jack and his girlfriend Jill are a real couple with the audience invested in their relationship,” he insists.
Because, in case you hadn’t guessed, the production in question is Jack and the Beanstalk, the panto Peter will be streaming into the nation’s living rooms come December.
I join him in his back garden where he is already filming, while prancing round dressed in his daughter’s T-shirt and a pair of red-and-white striped tights.
This is far from being Peter Duncan’s first involvement with this much-loved pantomime. Back in 1974, he played Jack for his father, the successful theatrical producer Alan Gale.
Ten years ago, he wrote and directed a production at Oxford and subsequently in Catford and at the Lighthouse in Dorset.
So it’s not only the audience who are invested.
Undaunted by the closure of theatres as a result of the pandemic, Peter has mounted a new version, all performed and filmed in his garden. Along with musical director Colin Cattle – they originally worked together on a production of Barnum – he’s also written the half-dozen numbers featured in the show.
This time round, he’s playing Dame Trott, Jack’s mother, and, if the alfresco rehearsal I’ve just witnessed is anything to go by, it’s proving to be a lot of fun not only for Peter but for Ian Talbot, the former artistic director of the Open
Air Theatre in London’s Regent’s
Park – he’s playing the baddie – for the rest of the cast and, he hopes, for eventual viewers at home.
Peter, still probably best remembered for the years he presented TV’s Blue Peter, is also working with his daughter, Katie, who provides the piano accompaniment for this latest production.
He was further encouraged by the reaction to a short film, just two minutes long, of him roaming his garden singing Mi Amore with Katie accompanying him on the accordion.
“I posted it on Twitter for fun and was astonished when it attracted 95,000 views,” he says.
So why not try something more substantial, a 75-minute version of Jack And The Beanstalk?
He’s loving playing the Dame although he’s keen to emphasise she’s certainly no two-dimensional drag act.
“Good panto, for me, should be a combination of high drama mixed in with slosh and slapstick,” he says. “Yes, it’s sometimes sing-along-a-panto with gaps for viewers to shout out ‘He’s behind you!’ or whatever but there must be a strong story threaded throughout.”
Spend any time with Peter and his unstoppable enthusiasm is infectious.
Little wonder that he had no trouble whatsoever assembling a cast of 13 and crew although, in these imperilled times for UK theatres, the offer of any work would surely be seized upon.
Most recently, Peter toured in a production of Million Dollar Quartet – he played legendary record producer Sam Phillips – sharing the stage nightly with the likes of Elvis, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Fellow cast member Luke Roberts turned out also to be handy with a camera and has jumped at the chance of filming this new production of Jack And The Beanstalk.
“It’s like falling in love,” says Peter. “You can tell within five seconds whether someone shares your vision.”
AFTER he’s paid everyone involved, he’ll be making donations to a variety of good causes including Clothe Me – Thank You which gives charity shop clothing vouchers to street people; POhWER which helps the disabled and disadvantaged to get the support to which they’re entitled; and a charity that promotes a less invasive treatment for
prostate cancer. But for Peter the biggest motivation is to keep entertaining people.
“I love performing,” he says, a touch superfluously. (I’ve just watched him jumping around dressed as a bottle of ketchup.) “And I’ve never shied away from a challenge.”
After 10 years as a straight actor, he was chosen in 1980 to co-present Blue Peter, finally leaving, after a year’s break, in 1986.
Legendary Editor Biddy Baxter clearly had a keen eye. On his very first day, Peter was assigned the task of being lowered in a swing seat called a bosun’s chair and charged with cleaning Big Ben’s clock face.
“You wouldn’t be allowed to do anything like that now,” he says. “There were no safety wires and a drop of 190 feet beneath me. Still, if I’d fallen to the ground at least there’d be no argument about the time of my death!”
Wasn’t he scared? “Yes, of course but I’ve always been quite confident physically.And I don’t suffer from vertigo. The trick is not to let the fear dominate you.”
When he played Barnum, he practised long hours for the tightrope walking required and only attempted it at 20 feet when he had mastered the necessary technique.
“But it’s also true to say that I’m a bit of a daredevil.”
WHEN the job of Chief Scout came up again in 2004, Peter ignored any advice that he was mad to put in for the role.
“I’d also made a clutch of documentaries with my wife, Annie, and our four children ranging in age from six to 12 in which we filmed ourselves travelling the world.
“We went with a couple of friends and a teacher because we were away for six months. I think those films are what inspired the scouting movement to put me on a shortlist for the top job.”
Peter was only too ready for the challenge. “Here was an organisation representing half-a-million young people and run by 100,000 volunteers who needed a recognisable figurehead. But you had to mean what you were saying. It wasn’t like being in government when you know you’re lying and all you need is enough gall to carry it off.”
A voluntary role, it took up about a third of his time, wrapped around TV and theatrical work that ensured there was food on the table.
“I saw it as a natural progression from my up-and-doing antics on Blue Peter.”
After five years, he stood down and now Bear Grylls is the current Chief Scout. “A brilliant choice.”
Peter is now 66, but for him retirement is an alien word. “I think I’ve got too much energy crossed with a dash of defiance and a desire to stay fit,” he says.
“Also, I don’t like to accept that I’m getting older. On top of that, and although this may sound a bit poncey, I’m always motivated by anything creative.”
So if, heaven forbid, a vaccine to combat Covid-19 hasn’t been found by this time next year and assuming Jack proves a hit, might Peter tackle another home-grown panto? And which one?
“Oh, I think I’d fancy a quirky version of Mother Goose.”
No prizes for guessing who’d play the title role.
●Jack And The Beanstalk can be viewed at any point from December 4 to January 10. For details, go to Pantoonline.co.uk with family “early bird” ticket prices starting at £15.