Cruising home for Christmas
How would the panto principals cope without the dancers? David Whetstone learns about life in the ensemble from two Theatre Royal troupers
It isn’t their faces you see on the posters but where would The Little Mermaid be without Bethany Hall, Daniel Wilkinson and their six fellow dancers in the ensemble?
Quite likely all at sea, which is something this North East pair know all about as experienced cruise ship entertainers.
Before going on stage for their 32nd consecutive performance – some way short of the half way point – they explained why the Theatre Royal panto is special to them.
Bethany, at 27, is back on the stage where she last performed as a child, reuniting her, astonishingly, with Danny Adams and Clive Webb, starring this year in their 19th Theatre Royal panto.
“I started dancing when I was five and was lucky straight away really,” she recalled.
“My dance school got a contract to do the pantomime here when I was six and I performed here for four years as a little juvenile.
“My first time was with Lesley Joseph, when Danny and Clive weren’t here, but I got to meet them the next year and they were here for the next three that I did.”
Bethany, who grew up in the Gateshead village of Highfield, said that while she has grown up, they haven’t changed a bit.
“Danny’s just a ball of energy, to be honest. He hasn’t slowed down. I remember as a kid we used to think, this man’s crazy!
“He works so hard so it’s always in passing, but he loves to create chaos when he goes by.
“And I look at Clive and I’m like, you are 20 years older than when you were here when I was little and you are still running around.
“Danny starts on the same side of the stage as me and if I come in a bit tired, I tend to gravitate towards him. If someone’s got energy then you pick up on that.”
Daniel, aged 23 and from near Darlington, is realising his dream of appearing in a Michael Harrison pantomime, Michael being the producer of The Little Mermaid and many others around the country.
It was while performing on a cruise ship out of the port of Galveston, Texas, that Daniel got news that The Little Mermaid in Newcastle might be a possibility.
“I’ve not been home for Christmas for so long due to being away working elsewhere.
“When they asked for costume measurements, it was like an explosion of excitement. I was going to be home with family and in a theatre where I’ve watched so many shows.”
For Bethany too, the prospect of a North East Christmas was thrilling.
“I came back in January from Australia, where I’d been working on a cruise ship, and decided to audition. Same as Daniel, I hadn’t been home for Christmas for so long.
“Luckily, Ashley (Nottingham, the choreographer) picked me in the audition and brought me home, although the first show was quite surreal because the last time was when I was… 10 maybe?”
Both are seasoned entertainers. Like Bethany, Daniel performed in pantos as a juvenile and got his first professional role in Hartlepool while still at college.
He did a second one before leaving to work on the cruise ships for two years, lured by the prospect of appearing in his favourite show, Hairspray, albeit on the high seas.
He left college in London five months early to do that and has been working ever since, also appearing in Grease before setting his sights on The Little Mermaid.
Like Daniel, Bethany spent two years aboard ship and loved it.
“A lot of people do cruise ships when they’re younger and I did it a bit backwards. But what was there to complain about when you wake up near a different beach every day?
“I could never afford to go to half the places we went to.”
Both say they learned a lot about the discipline of showbusiness and combating the special demands of performing at sea.
“It’s the craziest thing, trying to dance when the ship’s rocking. But you make it work,” said Daniel.
“You kind of get used to it,” agreed Bethany. “There’s a thing called sea legs which means you come off the ship and feel the land’s rocking.”
She counts herself lucky she didn’t succumb to seasickness, as some did.
“I had to learn how to battle it,” confessed Daniel.
“There’d be eight metre waves sometimes and we’d be flying through the air on stage. I did feel seasick sometimes but, fun fact – ginger ale’s so good for it.”
Back on dry land again, they find themselves in an adventure with characters including Danny Crabstix (Danny Adams), Clive Cod (Clive Webb) and Dishy Fishy (Joe McElderry).
But there are different pressures. As well as the daily dance routines, Daniel is understudy for Joe McElderry and Bethany for Maggie Lynne who plays Ariel, the little mermaid.
Neither is secretly hoping either of them come a cropper.
“Absolutely not,” said Daniel. “Singing is my passion but I’m very much hoping Joe never has to go off because those songs are so hard to sing.”
Bethany, of like mind, said: “Maggie is phenomenal. She’s doing the show, she’s a mum and she has this absolute powerhouse of a voice. I call her Wonderwoman.
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“You look at her and think that’s big boots to fill but I suppose the adrenalin would kick in if I had to.”
Both are loving living back at home after studying in London and then working away – and also performing where family and friends can come and watch.
Bethany said her parents had always been hugely supportive, her dad having “a little cry” when he’d seen her in her dream show, Dirty Dancing.
So they’re giving this pantomime their all, striving to stay sharp and fit with proper sleep and diet. “You’ve got to fuel yourself properly,” said Bethany.
Clearly, it’s no life for a couch potato.
Daniel recalled a moment on the train going home one day, exhausted.
“I was in my own world, oblivious after three performances.
“Suddenly this little kid at a table nearby went ‘Acciduurnt’. I literally jumped, thinking, oh no, Danny’s around… he’s following us.”or call the box office on 0191 2327010
That famous Danny Adams catchphrase can be heard at the Theatre Royal where The Little Mermaid runs until Sunday, January 12. Tickets from the theatre website or call the box office on 0191 232 7010.