The West End’s longest-running pantomime returns due to popular demand this Christmas! This Olivier Award-nominated festive celebration brings you seven classic pantomimes in 70 hilarious minutes.
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| Photo by Geraint Lewis. |
In a madcap ride through the biggest stories and best-loved characters from the wonderful world of pantomime, our dastardly double act dash from rubbing Aladdin’s lamp to roaming the golden streets of Dick Whittington’s London and making sure that Cinderella gets to the Ball.
Ahead of the festive run, we caught up with writers, creators and performers Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner to learn more.
Fitting seven pantomimes into 70 minutes sounds like chaos—how do you decide which iconic elements of each story make the final cut and which end up on the cutting room floor?
Dan: Chaos is literally the perfect definition of our creative process! You have to boil each story down to the things you absolutely can’t do without. Cinderella has to have her slipper, Aladdin would be nothing without his lamp, and where would Dick Whittington be without a well placed innuendo?
After that, anything is fair game. If it’s iconic, ridiculous, involves the audience shouting at us, or gives us an excuse to put on a stupid costume, it’s probably got a fighting chance.
Dan: Chaos is literally the perfect definition of our creative process! You have to boil each story down to the things you absolutely can’t do without. Cinderella has to have her slipper, Aladdin would be nothing without his lamp, and where would Dick Whittington be without a well placed innuendo?
After that, anything is fair game. If it’s iconic, ridiculous, involves the audience shouting at us, or gives us an excuse to put on a stupid costume, it’s probably got a fighting chance.
Panto tropes are legendary, from "He’s behind you!" to dame costumes. How do you parody these classic traditions while still giving the audience a genuine pantomime experience?
Jeff: Well, what is incredibly handy is that if you try to break down and explain the traditions, they automatically sound somewhere between a bit daft and totally loopy! So explaining that a lot of them make no sense and then STILL getting a laugh from demonstrating them is immensely satisfying.
Jeff: Well, what is incredibly handy is that if you try to break down and explain the traditions, they automatically sound somewhere between a bit daft and totally loopy! So explaining that a lot of them make no sense and then STILL getting a laugh from demonstrating them is immensely satisfying.
Have you updated any jokes, storylines, or pop culture references for this latest London run, or do the original gags still hold up?
Dan: Honestly, I’d say both. The bones of the show haven’t really changed because, thankfully, most of the original gags still get the laughs and if a joke’s still working, we’re not proud enough to replace it.
Dan: Honestly, I’d say both. The bones of the show haven’t really changed because, thankfully, most of the original gags still get the laughs and if a joke’s still working, we’re not proud enough to replace it.
But panto has always been about being topical, so there are bits that constantly evolve. Every year brings a fresh batch of politicians, celebrities and questionable cultural moments for us to mercilessly shoehorn in.
We’ve also been doing the show long enough that some jokes have actually gone out of date and come back into fashion again. At this point, if we leave the script alone for long enough, it basically rewrites itself.
Writing as a double act can be intense. What does your actual writing process look like—are you both in the room bouncing ideas off each other, or does one of you write the setup and the other the punchlines?
Jeff: With Panto, the two of us, and our director; Richard Hurst, took scenes and set-pieces off and wrote them individually, before returning and reading them out either to laughs or embarrassing silences. We then took each others’ and attempted to improve them. A lot of the writing happens in the rehearsal room though, through playing around, or quite often through Dan irritatingly improving something on the fly, just because he is feeling bored/mischievous!
Jeff: With Panto, the two of us, and our director; Richard Hurst, took scenes and set-pieces off and wrote them individually, before returning and reading them out either to laughs or embarrassing silences. We then took each others’ and attempted to improve them. A lot of the writing happens in the rehearsal room though, through playing around, or quite often through Dan irritatingly improving something on the fly, just because he is feeling bored/mischievous!
Seventy minutes of fast-paced, high-energy comedy is physical work. How do you manage the quick costume changes and backstage madness without losing the show's momentum?
Dan: I’m not sure we do manage it! The backstage chaos is every bit as frantic as what the audience sees. We have two amazing ASMs, Georgia and Sammy, who also play a few parts onstage. They race around backstage making sure everything is where it should be, and that we’re in the right costume, in the right place, at the right time. I honestly think we could sell tickets just to watch the show from backstage. What they do is extraordinary. I run off dressed as both Ugly Sisters and seconds later they’re shoving me back on as the back end of a cow… there’s a sentence you don’t hear very often in the West End.
Dan: I’m not sure we do manage it! The backstage chaos is every bit as frantic as what the audience sees. We have two amazing ASMs, Georgia and Sammy, who also play a few parts onstage. They race around backstage making sure everything is where it should be, and that we’re in the right costume, in the right place, at the right time. I honestly think we could sell tickets just to watch the show from backstage. What they do is extraordinary. I run off dressed as both Ugly Sisters and seconds later they’re shoving me back on as the back end of a cow… there’s a sentence you don’t hear very often in the West End.
Things still go wrong, of course, and actually that’s often when the show is at its funniest. Potted Panto has always thrived on the feeling that it could completely fall apart at any moment. The trick is making sure it never quite does.
Pantomime thrives on crowd interaction and unpredictable audience reactions. What is the wildest or most surprising thing a audience member—child or adult—has done during a performance?
Jeff: There are moments that we invite audience interaction, but this, of course, gives licence to interaction when we would, perhaps, prefer to not have it. Near the end of the show, I play Abanazar to demonstrate a baddie getting his comeuppance. On two separate occasions, a child yelled out how I should die (once with a sword and once jumping into a volcano, if I recall), that we decided to incorporate it into the show – so I now ask for methods of punishment every show – and it’s now a really fun section. We are not above stealing audience members’ ideas for our own gain…
Jeff: There are moments that we invite audience interaction, but this, of course, gives licence to interaction when we would, perhaps, prefer to not have it. Near the end of the show, I play Abanazar to demonstrate a baddie getting his comeuppance. On two separate occasions, a child yelled out how I should die (once with a sword and once jumping into a volcano, if I recall), that we decided to incorporate it into the show – so I now ask for methods of punishment every show – and it’s now a really fun section. We are not above stealing audience members’ ideas for our own gain…
Do you ever get stage fright or pre-show nerves before diving into such a quick-fire performance, or is it pure adrenaline at this point?
Dan: I definitely still get nervous. I think the day I stop getting nervous is probably the day I should stop doing this. Nerves are the beautiful thing that keeps everything fresh. It might be the 400th time you’ve performed the show, but it’s the audience’s first time seeing it, so every performance deserves to be played like it’s your first.
Dan: I definitely still get nervous. I think the day I stop getting nervous is probably the day I should stop doing this. Nerves are the beautiful thing that keeps everything fresh. It might be the 400th time you’ve performed the show, but it’s the audience’s first time seeing it, so every performance deserves to be played like it’s your first.
But once we’re out there, the adrenaline takes over. The show moves so quickly that there really isn’t time to be nervous, you’re too busy trying to remember what comes next, where you’re supposed to be and why you’re suddenly dressed as a fairy.
And every audience is different, which keeps it exciting. You never quite know what they’re going to give you, particularly with panto. Some nights they’re with you from the first second, other nights you have to wrestle them into submission. Metaphorically, obviously. We had to stop doing it literally.
As the West End’s longest-running pantomime, how do you keep the performance feeling fresh, spontaneous, and surprising for yourselves after doing it for so many years?
Jeff: Dan is not an actor who likes doing the same thing every show, so I never know exactly what he is going to throw at me. We’ve performed together long enough now, that we will always get back on track, no matter how much he tries to make me laugh! We both very much subscribe to the philosophy that if we are having a good time, there’s a good chance the audience are too.
Jeff: Dan is not an actor who likes doing the same thing every show, so I never know exactly what he is going to throw at me. We’ve performed together long enough now, that we will always get back on track, no matter how much he tries to make me laugh! We both very much subscribe to the philosophy that if we are having a good time, there’s a good chance the audience are too.
You two have a dynamic that feels effortless onstage. How much of the show relies on tight, scripted timing versus genuine, unscripted improvisation when things go off the rails?
Dan: It’s probably much more tightly scripted than it looks. After several years of practice, the whole show runs like clockwork or at least a clock that’s been dropped down the stairs a few times and then smashed with an oversized comedy hammer. You need that structure underneath it because it gives you the freedom to go off the rails.
Dan: It’s probably much more tightly scripted than it looks. After several years of practice, the whole show runs like clockwork or at least a clock that’s been dropped down the stairs a few times and then smashed with an oversized comedy hammer. You need that structure underneath it because it gives you the freedom to go off the rails.
We’ve been performing together for so long that we know each other’s rhythms incredibly well. I think Jeff can now tell from a look on my face when I’m about to go off-script, which is usually because I’ve completely forgotten what the script was in the first place.
That’s where a lot of the fun comes from. If something goes wrong, an audience member shouts something unexpected or a prop breaks, we’ll absolutely follow it and see where it takes us. But we always know where we need to get back to.
The audience should hopefully never be entirely sure what’s scripted and what isn’t. And, to be fair, some nights neither are we.
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| Photo by Geraint Lewis. |
Who is actually the more sensible one in real life, and who is the one bringing the "madcap" energy offstage?
Jeff: As two men in their 40s who are dads to toddlers, we have to both be quite sensible nowadays! But, historically, Dan is the more spontaneous ‘madcap’ one, but within sensible limits – one has to be quite disciplined when touring a two man show with 8+ performances a week. But the night before a day off, we have both been known to have our moments…
Jeff: As two men in their 40s who are dads to toddlers, we have to both be quite sensible nowadays! But, historically, Dan is the more spontaneous ‘madcap’ one, but within sensible limits – one has to be quite disciplined when touring a two man show with 8+ performances a week. But the night before a day off, we have both been known to have our moments…
If you had to swap roles for just one night, which of you would make the better Pantomime Dame, and why?
Dan: Jeff. I don’t think any further explanation is required.
Dan: Jeff. I don’t think any further explanation is required.
The show targets audiences aged "six to 106." How do you balance family-friendly slapstick for kids with subtle double entendres that keep the adults laughing?
Jeff: This is probably what we are most proud of. When we started working together, we wanted to perform shows that would’ve made us and our dads laugh when we were kids. We always try to ensure that we are playing to the adults, because kids’ sense of humour is more sophisticated than they are often given credit for. And if a gag does happen to go over the younger audience members’ heads, then there’s always a kick up the bum round the corner, and when that stops being funny, I shall hang up my slapstick.
Jeff: This is probably what we are most proud of. When we started working together, we wanted to perform shows that would’ve made us and our dads laugh when we were kids. We always try to ensure that we are playing to the adults, because kids’ sense of humour is more sophisticated than they are often given credit for. And if a gag does happen to go over the younger audience members’ heads, then there’s always a kick up the bum round the corner, and when that stops being funny, I shall hang up my slapstick.
What does returning to the West End this Christmas mean to you both personally, especially given the show's history and Olivier Award nomination?
Dan: It genuinely means a huge amount. Potted Panto has been part of our lives for such a long time, and to be able to bring it back to the West End again is incredibly special. The Olivier nomination was one of those moments neither of us ever expected when we first had the idea for this silly little show, so to still be here, still doing it, still finding new audiences to share it with, and getting to celebrate Christmas with them in the most ridiculous fashion possible is something we’re incredibly proud of.
Dan: It genuinely means a huge amount. Potted Panto has been part of our lives for such a long time, and to be able to bring it back to the West End again is incredibly special. The Olivier nomination was one of those moments neither of us ever expected when we first had the idea for this silly little show, so to still be here, still doing it, still finding new audiences to share it with, and getting to celebrate Christmas with them in the most ridiculous fashion possible is something we’re incredibly proud of.
There is also a lovely bit of irony in the fact that we’re playing at the Apollo, directly above Derren Brown, who actually won the Olivier the year we were nominated. Who saw that coming? Well… Derren, obviously. That’s kind of his thing.
For someone who has never been to a traditional British pantomime before, why is Potted Panto the ultimate crash course?
Jeff: We cover all the main pantos and pretty much every routine a panto will contain. We have had Europeans, Americans and others come and thank us after the show, as they finally felt like they understood what panto actually is. And I would wager we have more laughs a minute than any other panto, as we cut out all the boring bits and filler, to make sure we cover all the good bits from each story!
Jeff: We cover all the main pantos and pretty much every routine a panto will contain. We have had Europeans, Americans and others come and thank us after the show, as they finally felt like they understood what panto actually is. And I would wager we have more laughs a minute than any other panto, as we cut out all the boring bits and filler, to make sure we cover all the good bits from each story!
If you were forced to add an eighth pantomime to the show on the spot, which story would you try to squeeze in?
Dan: We actually did this one year! We put it to a public vote and added Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I played the porridge and Jeff got attacked by a bear. Unfortunately, the bear had a much stronger union than we did and his demands became increasingly unreasonable, so we swiftly went back to seven.
Dan: We actually did this one year! We put it to a public vote and added Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I played the porridge and Jeff got attacked by a bear. Unfortunately, the bear had a much stronger union than we did and his demands became increasingly unreasonable, so we swiftly went back to seven.
If you had to write a fantastical pantomime about your life, what would you call it?
Jeff: Jeff and the Beanstalk (Dan is 6’5” after all…)
Jeff: Jeff and the Beanstalk (Dan is 6’5” after all…)
What was the first piece of theatre that you remember seeing?
Dan: Button Moon at the Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth. I think I must have been about four years old. It was a gripping plot: Mr Spoon built a homemade rocket ship fashioned from a baked bean tin and a funnel, and travelled on a perilous journey upwards through the “Blanket Sky” to Button Moon.
Dan: Button Moon at the Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth. I think I must have been about four years old. It was a gripping plot: Mr Spoon built a homemade rocket ship fashioned from a baked bean tin and a funnel, and travelled on a perilous journey upwards through the “Blanket Sky” to Button Moon.
Mr Spoon, now there’s an actor who deserved an Olivier. Such range. Such presence. And all with a wooden spoon for an arm. I wonder what ever happened to him?
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing Potted Panto?
Jeff: Seventy minutes of laughing. Its 2026, life is hard and the news is depressing. Sometimes it’s just nice to laugh at a couple of fools prancing around in tights.
Jeff: Seventy minutes of laughing. Its 2026, life is hard and the news is depressing. Sometimes it’s just nice to laugh at a couple of fools prancing around in tights.
Potted Panto runs at London's Apollo Theatre from 6th December until 3rd January 2027. For tickets and further information, visit https://www.pottedpanto.com/
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