A city panto is hoping to prove its the fairest of them all this festive season.
The curtain has already been raised on the Gardyne Theatre’s production of Snow White, and the production is already proving to be a huge hit with audiences.
Tom Urie, who is perhaps known most for his role as Big Bob in soap River City, is back in Dundee along with others from Robert C Kelly Productions to perform the Disney classic.
Tom said: “We had our opening night earlier this month and it was fantastic. The crowd were really up for it. It was a Saturday night audience.
“After two weeks rehearsal we just want to go in front of an audience and get that buzz that happens. We were having a party on stage.
“It’s a lot of preparation before it. We have a great team up here it’s our third year here, it’s like a family.
“We have got a cast of eight – two professional dancers, three teams of eight children, on stage there is a lot of people, four back stage crew. It’s a big old team, probably about 30 of us.
“We are all staying up here, it’s like a little Christmas holiday. We all get on great, we are working hard but it does feel like a holiday at the same time.”
Tom plays the role of the dame in this year’s show which also stars Darren Connell who played Bobby in Scot Squad, Jenny Douglas from We Will Rock You and comedian Chris Henry.
However this traditional Christmas pantomime comes with a twist and Tom’s dame is a secret double agent.
Tom said: “I grew up watching Jimmy Logan and Rikki Fulton, I like to try and play it based on what I watched growing up.
“The thing I really like is the family vibe we have got with the cast and crew.
“The guy we have playing Muddles is Chris Henry, and it’s his first ever panto. He has taken to it like a duck to water. His rapport with the audience is fantastic. We have all been blown away.
“The audience are great, they really respond well.
“The school audiences are very different from adult shows. They are both equally enjoyable. The kids get really swept away with the story, while the adult crowds are more up for the gags.
“Theatre is a great experience for the kids, for a lot of the kids it’s their first experience of live theatre. We like to give them a good show.”
Tom added that although they don’t change much between school and adult shows, they change the way some things are delivered.
Discussing performing in pantomimes he said: “It is very tough, you have to have thick skin, you have to be made of strong stuff.
“You have to love it, you can’t do it if you don’t love it, we all look after each other. I have to think how lucky we are to be doing this job.”
It is the third time the group has performed at the Gardyne Theatre, and it’s a popular venue among the cast.
Tom added: “It’s beautiful, it’s the same staff that have been there for three years. They really look after us. It’s a very up-to-date modern theatre space.”
Aside from performing in the panto Tom spends a lot of his time in Dundee as entertainment at Duck Slattery’s bar in Ward Road.
He said: “Dundee is like a second home for me now.”
The show runs until December 30, tickets are still available and can be purchased from the Dundee Box Office.
