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British Pantomime 101 Part 3:
Cinderella Tradition and family in a magical tale

Clive Ramroop, Contributor

llie King has been the

director and writer of
the Royal Canadian Theatre
Company’s pantos for years, and
was recently honoured as a Civic
Treasure by the Surrey Board of
Trade for her contributions to the
arts. The Other Press caught up
with King after a promotional
photo shoot to discuss her latest
production, Cinderella.

Without giving away any
spoilers, what can viewers
expect to see in Cinderella?

[At that moment, an
animatronic prop horse whinnies
in the background.]

Obviously, a horse. Lots of
noise, lots of colour, lots of silly
old jokes. The ugliest stepsisters
you've probably ever seen in
your entire life. Just lots of fun
for the whole family.

What was the decision behind
splitting the show’s run
between two venues this year?

We decided it was time to
explore new fields, but we want
to stay with our fans in Surrey,
because we know we have a big
following in Surrey. People have
followed us from the Metro, to
the [defunct] Burr [Theatre], to
Surrey, and back to Surrey. We
don’t want to let our fans down
there, but we felt it was time to
spread our wings and try new
pastures as well. That’s why we
thought we'd go to Maple Ridge.

What was your first exposure to
panto, and why do you think it
stuck with you over the years?
I was two-and-a-half; I was
a sapphire in Dick Whittington. I
grew up doing panto in Britain,
and I learnt my style of panto
from the old guys who had
been on the road doing panto
professionally. They came with
all the gags. I learnt from them
until I was about 17 or 18, and

I’ve played just about every role.

Except dame.

Panto is also a family affair
for you, also involving your
husband Geoff as musical
director and elder son James
on stage. Would you tell our
readers a bit more detail on
their full duties in panto-land?
Geoff, he’s my musical
director. You know that hokey
song, “Wind Beneath My
Wings’? That would be Geoff.
He does so much stuff, it’s hard
to even begin to put into words.
He writes and arranges music
and records it; all of it comes
from his talented fingers. It’s not
pre-recorded stuff—he actually
lays down every single track
to build orchestras and bands.
Then we write together; he'll
write original compositions
and I write the lyrics with him.
He is my pyrotechnician; he
will design, build, and explode
multiple things on stage.

Like your own Michael Bay?
Well, boom, y’know? We
work together to design the

scenery, and then he will build
it. Where we're sitting right
now, we have spent part of this
afternoon talking about scenery.
We'll be spending dinnertime
talking about scenery. And
tomorrow morning, we'll be
talking about scenery. He also
serves as a director on the Board
of Directors for the [Royal
Canadian Theatre] Company.
Apart from that, he doesn’t do a
damn thing. Nothing.

You've also written your own
panto scripts for many years,
but have occasionally been on
stage for some of them in the
past. Do you ever get that Orson
Welles itch to return on stage
for one of your pantos one more
time?

No. It was never my plan
to be on stage in the first place.
I think it’s a bad idea to direct
and be on stage at the same
time. But the producer who was
putting the shows together, it
was his decision to do that. He
was the man paying the piper, so
I danced to the tune; what can I
say? No, not while I’m directing.

Cinderella will be playing from
December 20 to 29 at the Surrey
Arts Centre and from January 2
to 5 at the ACT Theatre in Maple
Ridge. For ticket information,
contact the Surrey Arts Centre
box office at 604-501-5566 or the
ACT Ticket Centre at 604-476-
2787.

Tune in next week for part
four of British Pantomime 101!

Sparkling Family Fun
Brimming with
Magic, Music, Sprsattiraats & Mayhem

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7.00 pm Dec 20 (2 tert Preview) Dec 21, 27,268 ”
3.00pm Dec 21, 22, 26, 28, 29

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Cultural Grants Programme

 

‘Mary Poppins’ brings back the magic of childhood

Arts Club presents
a Disney classic

Aidan
Mouellic
Staff Writer

 

ust in time for the holidays,

the Arts Club presents
the hit Broadway musical,
Mary Poppins. Playing at
Vancouver's Stanley Industrial
Alliance Stage, the 150-minute
production will enchant
audiences with its touching
storyline and stunning musical

numbers.

The show is directed by
Bill Millerd and offers the
audience a thrilling ride from
beginning to end.

The musical follows the
story of the Banks family, an
upper class British household,
who has trouble finding a
suitable nanny for the two
rambunctious children. Along
comes Mary Poppins, played
by the enchanting Sara-
Jeanne Hosie, to make life an
adventure for the Banks.

Poppins takes the Banks
children, Jane (Kassia Danielle
Malmquist) and Michael
(Graham Verchere), on a

journey that expands their
minds and eventually brings
the family closer than ever
before. The two young cast
members, who are only 13
and 12 years old respectively,
performed marvellously and
had the audience laughing
many times.

Warren Kimmel, who
plays the father, George Banks,
is another reason why this
show is so delightful. The
South African actor, who now
resides in Vancouver, plays the
part with great charisma and
charm.

The musical is excellent.
It’s a classic and the actors

really shone in the Arts Clubs
rendition of it.

The cast performed dance
numbers that had everyone in
awe, and even a few acrobatic
feats were thrown in for good
measure—all of which is even
more impressive considering
the short rehearsal period they
were given.

“We started rehearsing
just over two weeks ago. It’s
been non-stop rehearsal since
then,” Daniel-James White,
who played the role of the
Policeman, told the Other Press.

The cast’s hard work paid
off because the audience gave
a standing ovation and many

patrons stayed afterwards to
meet and congratulate the
actors on a job well done.

The Stanley is a perfect
venue for Mary Poppins with
its smaller historic stage that
allows the cast to connect
with the audience and create
a warmth that larger venues
cannot match.

The Arts Club presents
Mary Poppins at the Stanley
Industrial Alliance Stage until
January 5, 2014. Tickets start
at $29 and are available for
purchase at the box office or at
www.artsclub.com