Last year I had the most amazing privilege of being involved with The Ifield Barn Theatre‘s production of Aladdin, their annual panto.

My main role was helping with the set design and leading the set build team, and I’ve been meaning to do a few technical posts about this but it’s been a busy ol’ year already and I haven’t been able to get around to it until now.

Whilst organising all the photos I took of the set build, I came across this little bunch which form a fun photo journal of my first real foray into acting (click on the link below) – albeit an exceptionally simple part I had to play.

Twisted My Arm

View the Photo Album

As anyone who has ever done any sort of production knows, with opening night looming, there is a real buzz, a lot of frantic effort to get things finished, as well as a good ol’ dose of panic in the mix.

I was busy onstage finishing off the last bits of set, and I knew that I would be crewing for the show as we needed quite a few bodies. A discussion ensued about a small walk-on part and before I knew it I had agreed. To be honest there wasn’t any real arm twisting, I thought it would be fun…and it was!

The main Aladdin Flying Carpet scene was done as a projection onto the back wall, a new innovation for the Barn, with a beautiful ‘green screen’ recording done by our wonderful writer, co-director & dame – Barrie Ward. Before this there was a scene front of curtains and the original joke was to throw a rolled up carpet in from the wings. It was thought, however, to be more funny to have a real delivery driver burst in from the back of the auditorium and throw the carpet at Aladdin and thus my starring role was created.

So at the right point in the show, I would have to whip off my gloves & head torch, grab the carpet, a coat and cap, run out through the gents dressing room emergency door to the front door of the barn and get myself ready.

I could hear the dialogue through our relay system in the bar area and there is a peep hole in the door so I could see the action on stage. My cue was The Genie of the Ring saying “Your wish is my command”, upon which I would burst into the auditorium shouting “Delivery for Aladdin…Amazon delivery for Aladdin…”. Once I got to the stage I would throw the rug at Aladdin’s feet, have a little bit of banter, then I would take out my mobile and take a photo as ‘proof of delivery’. One of the funny things about it was that despite being a modern Amazon delivery driver, I was wearing a long brown caretaker’s jacket and a flat cap – all very acceptable in pantoland.

So these are the pictures I actually took from each performance. As you can see, the first couple of shows it was just Aladdin, then The Genie of the Ring jumped in, and then we started taking a second shot of Widow Twankey, Soppy Soapy, Nee & Naa on stage right…all to a healthy barrage of “sling yer ‘ook” and “stop milking it” from our lovely dame. It really was fun to be part of and got some good laughs from the audience.

Caught the Acting Bug

So I can truly say that whilst this was the smallest of small parts, I have genuinely caught the acting bug. I originally joined up at the Barn because I wanted to do some writing and thought it would be good to be around some artistic sorts. I would never have thought that I would develop a passion for set design and build, or the technical joys of sound and lighting. And now the acting thing has grabbed me. If nothing else, what a fun journey awaits.

Thank You to the Real Actors

Aladdin – Eloise Gregory

Genie of the Ring – Phoebe Long

Widow Twankey – Barrie Ward

Soppy Soapy – Joshua Newington-Blake

Nee – Steve Mills

Naa – Antony Barden

Category: Thespian Pursuits
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Author: Richard John Harvey