Is this the first time you are playing the dame’s role?
Yes, it is. I did my first panto in 1991, MADC’s Sinbad, as a member of the chorus, progressed to the title role in Robin Hood in 2001 and Buttons in Cinderella in 2003, and this will be my fourth panto and my first dame. They say you never forget your first time. I hope nobody else will either…
What’s the dame’s role this year?
She is Snow White’s nanny, and she plays an important part in trying to save Snow White from the clutches of her evil stepmother, who happens to be a witch jealous of the 16-year-old’s beauty. Whether she succeeds or not I won’t tell you… this year’s panto, written by the brilliant Malcolm Galea, is a little different from the norm, and involves many unusual and powerful Gothic characters whose evil may be too strong for the good guys this time round. But then again – perhaps these werewolves, vampires, zombies, dwarves or whatever they are may not be as evil as they seem…
Can you describe her character for us?
Oh, where do I begin. She’s simply fabulous darling. First of all she’s one of the best nannies ever, having worked for some of the most respected families in the kingdom. She is addicted to fatty foods, but she has an incredible dress sense, fluorescent green being her favourite colour. That Barbie-doll lookalike American singer Nicki Minaj can eat her heart out. Let’s just say that when she’s on stage, she is the centre of attraction. In some of her costumes she pretty much IS the stage. The say you are what you wear. In my case, I’m a banana yellow chandelier-shaped wedding cake. Which is a wonderful thing to be in my dame’s food-obsessed world.
What does she love about being in panto?
Panto is an opportunity to meet lots of lovely, sweet children, like her little Snow White used to be (she’s just turned 16 so no longer a child, sadly) who she can fuss over and make laugh, cry. She can also be generally boisterous and loud and noisy while watching a fairy tale being acted out in front of them. It’s also an opportunity to show off her fabulous wardrobe designed by Ernest Camilleri and wigs by Michael and Guy, in the hope of being noticed and swept off her feet by some delightful, rich and hunky man in the audience, who will also have much to enjoy in terms of comedy. Hopefully he doesn’t mind her being taller than him.
You mentioned she is food obsessed. What is her favourite meal?
She doesn’t really think in terms of ‘favourite’ meal, but always in terms of ‘the next’ meal, my dear. But a dish of stuffed pork flank – known in Maltese as a Falda Mimlija would definitely be in her top three. When she’s in a restaurant she makes sure to announce her choice to the waiter as loudly as possible. It’s important that the pork used is local – Majjal ta’ Malta (Pig of Malta) – which, I think, should be the name of a medal given to deserving people in our national honours list at the end of the year.
How do you feel about wearing high heels and tights?
For my dame, high heels and fishnets are the only things to be seen in at important functions: she wouldn’t be seen dead without them. She probably wouldn’t get out of bed if they weren’t there waiting for her to wear. The higher and pointier the high heels, the better. For me, on the other hand, they are a complete nightmare. It’s a terrible job, but someone’s got to do it…
Will she appeal mostly to the children or the adults?
She loves the kids and has plenty in store for them – sweets, stories, opportunities to be loud; but she also has plenty for the adults to guffaw about. In fact she’s thinking of mirroring recent events and sending someone else in her place on opening night. Then promptly resigning.
The Curse of Snow White
This year’s Manoel Theatre pantomime takes an exciting twist as the ever-reliable Masquerade return with their own version of Snow White. Living a fairy tale life with her father and stepmother in a beautiful castle, Princess Snow White has it all. However she soon realises that her legendary beauty is more of a curse than a gift when it attracts a dark jealousy that puts her life in danger.
Escaping into the deep wood where horrible creatures are known to roam during the night, Snow White manages to find some unlikely allies who will help her in her adventures. However, in this action-packed show where panto madness meets Gothic fantasy, Snow White will need to undertake a voyage of discovery until she unearths the dark and terrible truth.
The Curse of Snow White is a spectacular and magical show that promises to rank amongst Masquerade’s previous pantomimes Jack and the Beanstalk (2008) and Aladdin (2009) as some of the finest Manoel Theatre pantomimes to date.
The show features a top cast made up of panto veterans along with some of Malta’s most promising new talent, including Colin Fitz, Rachel Fabri, Andre Agius, Steve Hili, Katherine Brown, Joe Depasquale, Steffi Thake, Louis Cassar, Joseph Zammit, Becky Camilleri and Milly Uylenbroek. The show will be directed by anthony bezzina and is written by Malcolm Galea. The music will be directed by Kevin Abela while Ernest Camilleri is in charge of costume design. Choreography is by Lee McCallion.
This panto is being staged at the Manoel Theatre from 26 December to 6 January; with matinees and evening shows from 26 to 30 December, with matinees also on 5 and 6 January. Tickets from the Manoel Theatre box office or online at www.teatrumanoel.com.mt. Students may purchase their tickets from the Manoel Theatre box office using their smartcards