Starring in Snow White as the Dame, David Robbins Chats All Things Panto

First of all, thank you for chatting with the LeftLion readers. You’re starring alongside Joe Pasquale in Snow White at the Theatre Royal. Why does panto appeal to audiences so much?  
Panto appeals to the whole family - it’s for everyone, young and old. Most of the time it’s a child’s first experience of the theatre, which makes it magical not only for the child but for the family members that take them, as they can see the joy and glee on their faces.

Is there any special knack to building rapport with the audience? 
You need to get the audience on your side from the start. I try to make sure my character is warm and funny - kind of mumsy. That’s very different from when I used to play an ugly sister, although getting booed was always a highlight. I always remember I’m a man in a costume playing a character, that way there’s no confusion.

Is there anything outstanding about this year’s production that we can expect?  
I’m afraid you’ll have to come see for yourself! Of course, Joe Pasquale is a master of comedy and will have you laughing from the moment he steps on the stage. There are times I can’t keep it together either, as he always has a cheeky glint in his eye so you know something’s coming.

You originally trained in stage management. What was your journey from backstage to centre stage? 
I had done a lot of amateur dramatics as a kid and wanted to be a puppeteer, so that’s where the stage management training came in. Specialising in wardrobe and props started by making costumes, wigs and hats for a friend of my mum’s who was a professional panto dame. Then he called me to say the panto company he worked for wanted him to play an ugly sister and asked whether he had a sister he could work with. Because I’d been making a lot of his costumes, he asked me if I wanted to make some frocks for myself and play an ugly sister with him, and the rest is history. 26 years later I’m still playing the dame in venues across the country.

What is it about playing the dame that appeals to you?  
For me, being a dame is the whole package, designing my own frocks and wigs and having the input into what my character looks like and is about. We’re a dying breed. I think if I just turned up at the theatre as an actor with costumes provided for me that didn’t fit my character, I’d give it all up!

How did you end up designing your own costumes? 
I’d always been taken to panto as a kid and seen lots of the ‘greats’ and always admired the dames that designed their own wardrobes, so when I started to play the ugly sister myself, I just knew I had to follow in their footsteps.

While I was making my costumes for my first pantomime appearance I had the good fortune to work on the Rocky Horror Show with the wonderful Barry Howard (of Hi-de-Hi! fame). I’d seen him play the dame many times and he made his own costumes, too. While we were on tour I’d be in my dressing room sewing and he’d be doing the same in his, we then used to compare notes and show each other what we were working on. Let’s just say I learnt a great deal from him and I’ll always be grateful for that. 

So, taking this year’s panto for example, how do you go about making costumes?
I have a stock of around thirty costumes that fit in with different scenes. I usually add one or two new costumes each year to keep them fresh. This year is the first time I’ve done a Snow White, so I have a couple of general new costumes being made and an opener ‘nursemaid’ frock which is specific to the character. 

Once I know what the title is, I go about designing the new frocks. I’ve usually got a lot of unused sketches from over the years which I go back on and see if they can be updated or would lend themselves to a particular scene. I then have a couple of costume-makers I pass them onto. I used to be able to make a lot of stuff myself but I seem to have less and less time with my own wig-making business now, so I outsource more of the costumes. I’m not sure I have a favourite costume for this year yet, as I’ve got so many, but there’s a particular skimpy number with a large beehive that I’m quite partial to.

Can you share any pantomime trade secrets or special memories? 
I wouldn’t say I have a particular trade secret but everyone usually comments on my eyelashes. They are quite large and cartoon-like and are actually just made out of cardboard, which people don’t expect but they look great. As for a panto moment I will treasure, I was extremely proud a few years ago to be nominated as Best Dame at The Great British Pantomime Awards. That really was an honour.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs plays at the Theatre Royal until Sunday 8 January 2023