January 2024- working with AJP – by Lauren Ross
Travelling from Edinburgh to work with Aunty Jen Productions was an easy decision for me. This theatre company is the epitome of professionalism. I’ve worked with them during panto and summer of 2022 doing Shakespeare. Through these experiences I’ve made lifelong friends as well as having a pleasure of acting with phenomenal actors and working with hardworking tech crews/directors/musical directors. This panto season was heartwarming, performing a superb show, with an excellent team and of course for terrific audiences. The sense of community and heart was immense, I would 100% work with Aunty Jen Productions again in the future.
More reflections on joining AJP for panto – by Alex Bloor
I have done 2 productions with Aunty Jen Productions. Both occasions are now some of my most cherished memories in the creative industry. Not only the creativity of the team but the professionalism, work ethic and friendliness made the whole process on both occasions something I am proud I could be a part of. I travelled from Edinburgh to do each of these projects and the sense of appreciation and accommodation by everyone in the team is a main reason I will want to keep coming back to do more with this amazing company in the future.
January 2023 ‘Panto with AJP’ by Liam Atton
It’s that time of year again…“Oh no it isn’t!” “Oh yes it is!”
You know the one- the glitter, the gags, the oversized buns. Armed with a egg whisk, a plucked pheasant and Santa’s favourite Christmas song, rehearsals began. This was my first production with AJP, having worked with Jen decades before when I was a wee whippersnapper. I was delighted to be cast as Ali Baba, but what was the story? Surely it’s just a version of ‘Aladdin’ right? Well that’s what I thought too- wrong! Instead of stealing a lamp it’s a “teeeny tiny box of gold”, and it’s not even set in the same place-was there a forest in Aladdin? Nope, I think not-and not forgetting 40 menacing thieves…ok it’s nothing like Aladdin. I didn’t know what to expect!
Coming into rehearsals for any first day is always a mix of emotions: anticipation, excitement, hunger; but after travelling for what seemed like 14 hours on a packed sweaty train to a sports and social club in the middle of nowhere, I knew I was going to be in for a wild ride.
The first thing I noticed was how cold my nose felt soon as I stepped into the room, and the second thing I noticed was how cold the rest of me felt! It was cold!! This soon changed as we started straight away, dancing to Soul Bossa Nova, singing to Jason Donovan and getting chased by the ghoulies!
I was made to feel extremely welcome by the caring stalwarts, it was such a relaxed, creative and supportive environment…not to mention everyone was always in their pants! Laughs and jokes and fun galore. A special time. Rehearsals went by-I can’t tell you what went on, I was having too much fun to be paying attention (anyway it’s top secret, that’s where the magic happens!) The hardest part of rehearsals I recall was trying to remember all the names of the 40 thieves, some of them looked so similar?!…so it was really hard to tell them apart! In the end I didn’t want to offend so resulted in not speaking to any of them (probably made a few enemies that day). Also I’m glad I was not in the pheasant plucker scene where there were a few feathery moments shall we say, but all ruffled out by the show.
I started to really enjoy working in the quaint, slightly damp, quirky space and got accustomed to the acoustics. I particularly enjoyed the days when the locals from the bingo or the Darby and Joan club would be passing through. Some delightful characters. It really felt like we were at the heart of the community.
Before I knew it, glitter was being ploofed in my face, the cave had been shut and the show was ready to go on with us standing in the wings (the little corridor next to the fruit machine!) ready to perform. Screaming kids could be heard through the curtain. The boos and hisses had already started, and the crunch of popcorn filled the air. Like the first day of rehearsals, there’s an excitement that comes with the first show, but then it hits you…it crosses your mind that you really wish you had actually read the script and learned your lines instead of spending too long in rehearsals playing with big juicy melons. There were various glitches along the way: costume malfunctions, slippery swords, more hazelnut flakes than one needs in a lifetime, and this silly illness/flu type thing that just wouldn’t go away, I blame the Chief of Sneeze! But this was all overcome with a ‘We can do it /we are all in this together!’ attitude, which makes AJP a special company to be part of.
The fun continued and what an experience it was! From performing to 90 screaming 5 year olds to 5 sleeping 90 year olds, this panto had it all and I was taken on this adventure with a crazy and committed bunch. Being part of Aunty Jen Productions you really feel like one big theatrical, slightly dysfunctional but utterly brilliant family! I can’t wait for the next caper!
November 2021 – How to Write a Panto! By Oliver Hume
“Let’s write a panto!” said Aunty Jen
“Oooh that’s a good idea!” I thought brimming with the confidence of my many years of panto, vast catalogue of bad dad jokes and silly sense of humour.
Not as easy as you might think though. Ideas I had a plenty but putting down actual words was tough. And then Aunty Jen would ring up and merrily chirp things like “I want Robin to have a band! An actual musical band!!” or “I want this song in it!!” or “Do you want to do lunch?” So, I didn’t bother writing anything for ages. Just stored lots of ideas in my head. I knew I wanted Marion to be instrumental in the Sheriff’s eventual downfall, I wanted to put something clever in the school scene. I wanted Alan a dale as the glue. And being an actor who knows how annoying quick changes can be, I wanted to write a script that wasn’t hard to perform. And then Aunty Jen called and said “It’s September. Where’s my panto script!” and I panicked and said, “I’ll have it for you by the weekend!”
Well, that was a busy three days.
And I indulged myself, I looked for sketches I loved by comedians I admired, Danny Kay and Abbott & Costello, The Two Ronnies, John Finnemore. And looked through old scripts and found scenes I wanted to adapt.
And then I thought “what sort of set will they have?” and “Do they have time for a cow costume?” or “How good are they at staging a fight?”. So, I took out the massive fight scene with the cow involving the multi-tiered 40-foot-tall platform and sent it to Aunty Jen.
Who tells me she’s quite pleased with it. I hope you enjoy it too.
Much luck and Laughter,
Oliver
How to rehearse a socially distanced panto during lockdown 2 ! by Nicolette Morgan
Our first aim as a production company was actually to put together a pantomime for the community, during what turned out to be a very strange time !
In the summer we stage a socially distanced version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the back of a lorry… which was so much fun and gave us all some purpose back. As actors we are used to adapting to different situations (the vast majority of actors across the UK all have a range of ‘side’ jobs to be able to continue to work doing what we love) but literally everything had stopped. To have a project to pour energy into was just brilliant, and to see people in the community helping each other was so lovely. Lockdown lifted, and things began to go back towards a ‘new normal.’ We were thrilled to receive an arts grant from the Arts Council and the National Lottery, and from Warwickshire County Council when bam! A second lockdown was announced.
We were determined since the beginning that this panto will go on… lockdown or no lockdown! Zoom quizzes and script readthroughs became our way of staying in touch and keeping spirits high. Zoom rehearsals have their pros: the kitchen isn’t to far away and you can always grab a quick cuppa to keep you going but trying to explain to the family dog that he does actually need to move out of the way so we can rehearse movement is a surreal experience for sure; and rehearsals online are somehow quite draining – although fun.
Jen sending us amendments of scripts, and even dance routines choreographed with her daughters over WhatsApp was the new norm.
I write this two weeks before we can meet in person again to rehearse – and I cannot wait! Everyone is so excited to bring some festive cheer to Studley. It might not be the usual Christmas we all enjoy but in these strange times people really have pulled together and shown the true spirit of community.
Happy Christmas to you all!
