The Express & Star chat to panto stars including TV star Giant from Gladiators as they get set for the production of Beauty and the Beast at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.
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00:00Hello, I'm James McMirovich and this gentleman next to me, he's a gladiator, but he's also
00:04appearing in Panto at Wolverhampton. This is Giant. Giant, how are you doing?
00:08Hello, I'm very well, thank you. How are you?
00:09Not too bad, thank you. Tell me about appearing in Panto. How did the opportunity arise?
00:13I was approached after obviously the show Gladiators was so successful and I believe
00:19I'm the first gladiator to be in Panto or have been assigned to a Panto company in Wolverhampton.
00:27I think we have a super fan who works at the Wolves Grand called Vicky and she was adamant
00:32that she needed a gladiator and obviously I was her first choice.
00:35So what did you think when you were approached? Did you think, cool, something to do? What
00:39were your thoughts about it? I feel as though I've suppressed my theatrical
00:45nature all of my life. So I've come to 39 years old and now I get to express what I've
00:51wanted to do for years, which is a bit more drama.
00:54You're suddenly sticking on a leotard and you think to yourself, okay, now I can actually
00:57be a bit more theatrical. So playing a bad guy in Panto is just a natural progression,
01:01isn't it? Definitely, exactly that. And I think playing
01:05a bad guy instead of the good person I generally play in life and on the gladiators is going
01:09to be a nice twist. Tell us about your character.
01:13So the character is called Gladius. Gladius is somewhat an evil entity that, no spoilers
01:21here, but I might cast a spell on the prince that then obviously becomes a beast and he's
01:28got to prove his worth to get that spell gone. Have you had much experience of, I mean obviously
01:35doing gladiators, but much experience of performing before that?
01:38Well, my acting experience consists of Instagram, videos and YouTube, which I think is a level
01:46of acting. And then obviously the show gladiators is televised on TV, which is a natural progression
01:53to that. This is going to be something completely different because people are going to stare
01:57at me and I've got lines and I'm just looking forward to having fun, I think.
02:01How have you found the process so far? Yeah, great. And the cast that's obviously
02:05been put forward for Beauty and the Beast, they're all fantastic people, professionals
02:09and experts in their own right. I think they're going to make my job very easy.
02:13You've obviously had the chance to see the Grand Theatre, what do you think of the place?
02:16Beautiful. You can't really ask for much more in terms of the history that's in there. It's
02:23a traditional theatre, horseshoe shape, you can just feel the atmosphere and I imagine
02:28that fall is going to be like another level. They haven't felt the need to put a dual platform
02:33or anything have they? I don't think so.
02:35They're kind of missing a trick really, aren't they?
02:36They might try and work it in somewhere. Well, good luck with it, enjoy it and enjoy
02:41Wolverhampton as well. Lovely, thank you very much.
02:43My pleasure. This is Tam Ryan, he is a veteran of Panto,
02:47particularly life at the Grand Theatre. How many years is it at the Grand Theatre now?
02:50This is the fourth that's starting now, yeah. So yeah, does that qualify as a veteran now?
02:58Particularly within that venue, I could get a government payout.
03:00That sounds alright. What is it about the Grand Theatre that brings you back every year?
03:05Do you know what? It would be an easy thing to say. I'll be very genuine, I think it is
03:13potentially my favourite venue that I've ever worked in and I'm not the measure of
03:18all great venues, don't get me wrong, but yeah, it's just a wonderful set up there.
03:22I say each and every year to the point where I'm probably boring people about it, but it's
03:26just very rare, it's a rare commodity where you get everyone pulling in the same direction
03:32and I think that is credit to the way the place is run. You're made to feel incredibly
03:38supported, appreciated and you don't always get that in entertainment and in showbiz and I think
03:46yeah, it's just a joy, it genuinely is a joy to perform there. It's a grand setting as well,
03:51isn't it? It's a beautiful theatre. Obviously, you need the numbers in as well and I think
03:56testament to the fact that it's such a good place to watch live performance is that it is
04:01well supported and people come from Wolverhampton and the surrounding areas and beyond the catchment,
04:06that's kind of what we get. So, yeah, it's a joyous place to work, it genuinely is, yeah.
04:13Tell me about your character within Beauty and the Beast, who are you playing?
04:15Yeah, well, it's a traditional telling of the story, but essentially Beauty and the
04:22Beast is a play that has become a pantomime, so we wanted to, whilst being true to the familiar
04:30story that obviously the audience would recall, we needed to switch it up a little bit and put
04:36our interpretation on it, so essentially I am playing Belle's brother, who didn't really exist
04:42in the traditional tale, but guess what, he does now. The whole thing's like a variation on the
04:47original theme. It is, yeah, because obviously Ian and I have developed a good sort of partnership,
04:56I think, here over the last three or four years. A rapport would be a better way to say it. So,
05:01rather than Belle's father, we've got Belle's mother and where I fit in is I'm Belle's brother,
05:08so it's a family really, which serves us in a few ways in terms of the storyline and the
05:14plot and the narrative. And when you look at the cast, you realise you're in the same cast as a
05:18gladiator. Yes, absolutely. I think, and I might be on a limb here, I don't think I'm going to have
05:23the best body this year. Fair enough. Yeah, it's disappointing, but in fairness, last year we were
05:30without a gladiator and I still didn't have the best body in this show. You're being modest about
05:35it, that's the most important thing. Yeah, I'm fine with it. I'm absolutely fine with it. No,
05:39do you know, Jamie, I only met him for the first time yesterday. What a lovely guy. Genuinely,
05:44and he's switched on as well. Really bright, intelligent guy, personable, got time for people.
05:50I think he's going to be a great casting. And just in general, how much are you looking forward
05:54to the run that you're about to have at the Grand Theatre? Oh, massively. We had so much fun. I mean,
05:58I've had fun every year, but last year for me was a real standout year. We wrote the book last year,
06:03Ian and I, and we had such fun doing that. I mean, that brought its own pressure because if we didn't
06:07execute it right, that would have been our fault, right? So, you know, it's just a great... I feel
06:13generally very humbled and privileged to be afforded the fact that we can write the material,
06:19hopefully serve everyone's character and everyone in it, and then perform it as well. It's just,
06:24that is, you know, gold dust in performance. Well, enjoy the run and enjoy being back in
06:28Wolverhampton. Can't wait. I appreciate it. I'm here with Liv and JJ, two of the big stars of
06:32the Panto Beauty and the Beast. Hello! How are you finding your day out in Dudley? Oh, it's lovely.
06:38We're having a great time. It's lovely in Dudley. Yeah, the sun's out now, so we're getting warmer,
06:42which is fantastic. It's like a precursor to obviously being inside a hot theatre every
06:47night for a month. How did you end up in Beauty and the Beast? Well, my agent put me up for it,
06:54auditioned. We've actually got a funny story. Yeah, we do actually. Go on, tell it. So my
07:02agent also put me up for this pantomime, and I was actually in for Belle. And I was in for Fairy.
07:09And then... They swapped. I'm now playing the Fairy in the pantomime. Serendipity, basically. Yeah,
07:16it's meant to be. We're meant to be together. I believe it. Do you look at the roles and think,
07:20okay, these are perfect roles for me? Yeah, actually. I really do. Yeah, usually what we
07:26put up for, I'm like, yep, thank you. That sounds good. Fitting into your personalities and obviously
07:31the way you would then... I'm guessing you put your own inflections into the character as well.
07:34Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I feel like both our characters are a little feisty as well,
07:38which I do feel sits in us. Definitely. A little feisty, but also good spirits and...
07:44Kind. Kind. Have you appeared at the Grand Theatre before? Yes. So I was there two years
07:49ago with Waitress, the musical, and yeah, beautiful theatre. Have you been there before? I have, yeah.
07:54I was there this year with Madagascar, the UK tour. So I don't need to ask you what you think
07:58of the place, but tell me what you think of the place. I absolutely love it. You don't forget it.
08:03It's gorgeous. It's beautiful. It's such a... From both perspectives, as a performer, to be on the
08:08stage, but also watching as an audience, we luckily got from the company a ticket to watch
08:13Anne Juliet the other day. So also watching the show in that theatre was just incredible also. So
08:18I think from both angles, it's a delight. And you've been cast as the characters. You've had
08:22a chance to read the scripts and everything. What do you think of the adaption of Beauty
08:26and the Beast? Oh, I think it's great. Yeah, I love it. I think it's fantastic. I think the
08:29writing is incredible. All the characters that have been put in as well. Yeah. Just,
08:33they're brilliant and they add to the story, I think. Yeah, I think it's going to be such a hit
08:37this year. That and being on the same bill as a gladiator as well. Yeah, yeah. What was your
08:43first reaction when you found out that was happening? Jesus. I was like, so giant. Okay,
08:49cool. Is it going to be Gaston? Yeah. I wasn't sure of the role, but then once I read the script,
08:55I was like, oh my God, amazing. That was it. When I was talking to the Grand Theatre about it,
09:00they said, are you playing Gaston? I said, I'm playing a different character. I thought,
09:03all right. I think it obviously seems to work for what, because it's not the traditional telling
09:07of Beauty and the Beast, it's an adaption of it. Right. Yeah. And I think that's what's good
09:10about it. It brings that new flavour and something different for a panto. And also,
09:14Jamie, who is the giant, is amazing. He's such a lovely person. You're thankful about the fact
09:19you're not going to be playing Jor with him. No, no. He'd not lick us and we'd go. Jamie,
09:26what can people expect from the play for those who've maybe not been to see a panto at the
09:29Grand before? You can expect a spectacle. I think what's amazing about Wolverhampton's
09:36productions is they really put time and effort and energy to make it a really amazing pantomime
09:41and something to leave you with that you're literally like, oh my gosh, I can't wait to
09:44come back for more. So yeah, you're just going to be blown away, I think. Brilliant. Well,
09:50ladies, perhaps enjoy Wolverhampton and good luck with it. Thank you so much.