Ben Watson jokes that Hastings has never let him go. He did his first panto at the White Rock Theatre back in 2012 and hasn't been allowed to leave ever since.
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00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely to
00:05 speak to Ben Watson, who is as much an institution in Hastings as Hastings White Rock Panto is,
00:13 and you are back, for goodness. How many Hastings White Rock Pantos have you done now, Ben?
00:18 Oh, Phil, I've lost count. Oh no, I haven't. Oh yes, I have.
00:24 It's a venue you love, isn't it?
00:27 Yes, I mean, the White Rock rocks. I was only meant to be there for a month, and there's
00:35 been a horrible mistake. I've just, they haven't let me go. I've been in this dressing room
00:42 for 10 years.
00:44 Really? Held hostage? Panto hostage?
00:46 Yeah, I get cryogenically frozen for 11 months of the year, you know, like Han Solo in Empire
00:51 Strikes Back.
00:52 And then defrosted in December.
00:54 And then defrosted late November. And then I'm allowed to, which is why I've kind of
01:00 got so much energy, because...
01:02 You're not supposed to refreeze things, but never mind.
01:05 Oh yeah. I took my best before. That's all right. I've got three more weeks.
01:12 Why is Hastings such a good place for panto, do you think?
01:16 Hastings is the place for panto. I think because, for me personally, there is no other place
01:25 in the world like Hastings. It's so individual, it's so unique, and it has its own energy
01:36 and vibe down here that I absolutely love. And I think all the people are so individual
01:41 that, you know, when you put it all together in a theatre, that just comes alive.
01:49 Yeah. But to go back onto the stage year after year in the same venue, does that make it
01:54 easier because you know that the audiences know you, or does it heap up the pressure
01:58 because you think, oh my goodness, I've got to be funnier than I was last year?
02:02 Oh, I hadn't thought about that, Phil.
02:07 I'm going to have to leave this call now. I'm going to have to go. There we go.
02:14 You changed your name as well.
02:16 I'm back. Yeah. Yeah, I'm Nadine today. She's very kindly lent me the laptop to do this
02:25 conversation. But no, in answer to your question, I mean, it's a bit of both, really, because
02:31 you're, there is a bit more pressure each time because there's an expectancy and an
02:36 expectation. But at the same time, you're a familiar face. And so there is a familiarity
02:46 to this and you do build up a relationship with the audience and the community over the
02:53 years.
02:54 And talking of relationships, you have on stage, most recently, you're on stage mum,
02:59 don't you, Tim?
03:01 I do. My mum. Well, this year, this year, she's not my mum. She's my fairy god mum.
03:07 So, but she's still my mum, just fairy god mum. But yes, we have a very unique relationship
03:14 as well.
03:15 And why does that work so well when you're working with Tim?
03:19 We're very similar. We have a similar sense of humour and similar ideas for jokes. And
03:27 we like to sort of work and build on each other's jokes. So there's not really any competitiveness.
03:34 I don't think so. I don't know.
03:37 If he's competing, you haven't noticed.
03:40 He's even telling you actually, I'm always trying to outdo him. But no, we support each
03:47 other because, you know, it's it's it's it can be it's it's it's hard work, Panto. I
03:53 mean, it's you know, you're doing a lot of shows. So it's we've all got to look out for
03:58 each other. And yeah, so Tim definitely does that.
04:02 Yeah, hard work, but it fulfills a lovely purpose, doesn't it? Because it is just such
04:06 fun to go and sit and watch a Panto. And I'm sure you'll be delivering some pretty groan
04:11 worthy jokes with you this year.
04:13 I'll do my best. You wouldn't expect any less. No, but you're absolutely right. And I think
04:21 it's the one time or the one kind of sort of one type of theatre where all the family
04:28 go from, you know, the smallest to the oldest to the and you get the entire family, all
04:36 the different generations can come and enjoy the show. And there's something that all for
04:42 all of them. So it's a wonderful opportunity for families to meet. And we've got lots of
04:48 families that message and say, it's our tradition. It's our family tradition to come and see
04:54 the show. So and I remember when I was younger, you know, it's what got me into acting was
04:59 to go and see a Panto and just watch the kind of magic chaos and comedy on stage.
05:07 And interesting that it encouraged you to become an actor. And we were saying just now
05:11 that there is a lovely continuity about Panto, isn't there? That so much of life changes
05:15 around us yet somehow, pretty much in essence, Panto doesn't change, does it?
05:20 I think because of where Panto comes from, because it comes from Commedia dell'arte,
05:24 it comes from, you know, it's hundreds of years old and clowning. And so as much as
05:33 things change culturally, their pop culture and music and everything, there's still a
05:40 sort of through line, a linear of Panto traditions, the call and response, the fairy and the villain,
05:48 and they all appear on different sides. There's all the different kind of, you know, the comic
05:55 timing in three. And the audience know that. So yeah, it's passed on generation to generation.
06:02 Fantastic. Good. Well, really lovely to speak to you, Ben. Have a fantastic Christmas in
06:07 Hastings and happy New Year when it comes. Thank you.
06:11 Thanks, Phil. Oh, yeah. New Year. Haven't even gone there yet. But thank you very much,
06:16 Phil.
06:17 Thanks a lot.