When Kenny Davies was a kid he trod the boards at Leeds City Varieties but never imagined his first professional panto would be on the very same stage.
“I was born and bred in Rothwell going to Intake High School in Bramley, and I was in a few shows at the Varieties from age 11,” Kenny recalls.
“I then went to Rose Bruford in London to study acting and it’s great to be back in the refurbished Varieties. This is my first professional show at home since I graduated, and it’s nice to be able to wear my Leeds Rhinos shirt round town.
“It’s really lovely to back on home turf, but it is weird as onstage it’s the same as it has always been, looking out at a beautiful Victorian theatre. But you go backstage and it’s all been done up, so it’s new but the same all at the same time, which is strange.”
Kenny has done a few tours round the country, but for his first pro gig in Leeds he plays Wishee Washee in a rock ‘n’ roll panto that the Varieties is pitching as a first.
“A rock ‘n’ roll panto is what it says on the tin – we are a cast of actors who also play instruments. All the actors play the traditional characters and when we’re not acting we’re in the band, which is on stage too.”
“It’s like a concert really. When people think of rock ‘n’ roll they think of wild hair and guitar solos, but this show has a wide variety of songs from the 60s, the 80s to the present day.
“We do classics like the Monkees’ I’m a Believer, Wild Thing and soul stuff like Aretha Franklin’s Think, so there is plenty there for all ages.”
But don’t worry as the Varieties haven’t gone all avant garde as this show still has all the elements that make pantos such a guilty pleasure for all theatre goers.
“It’s still a traditional panto with all the characters like The Dame or my character Wishee Washee, but with live music thrown in. There’s no backing tracks or pre-recorded tapes, it is all played by the cast.
“It’s got slapstick, the old ‘oh yes he is, oh no he isn’t’ gags with loads more songs, so I can imagine a lot of people tapping their feet or jumping up to dance.”
- Aladdin The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto runs until Sunday 8 January at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, Swan Street. Tickets are priced from £13 to £20 with boxes from £32 to £46. Visit www.cityvarieties.co.uk or call box office on 0113 243 08 08.