While audiences are swept up in the festive magic of pantomime, the reality for performers can be a whirlwind of potential disasters, from pyrotechnic malfunctions to severe physical strain. As the season reaches its peak, seasoned actors share their most excruciating backstage and on-stage moments, proving the show must go on against all odds.
Explosions, Eggs and On-Stage Emergencies
For Adam Buksh, playing The Genie in Aladdin at Howden Park Centre, Livingston in 2013, a routine magical effect nearly ended in catastrophe. During a scene to break a curse, a handheld pyrotechnic device, over-packed with charge, exploded in his hand. The red-hot metal casing stuck to his skin, temporarily blinding and deafening him in front of 300 spectators. Miraculously, no one was harmed by the flying parts, and Buksh lip-read his way through his next line before continuing the performance as if nothing had happened.
Buksh also recalls a particularly dedicated – and disgusting – moment from a Jack and the Beanstalk run in Arbroath. During an 'egg gag' skit, the Dame was confronted with a real egg covered in bird excrement. In true panto spirit, the performer put the soiled egg in their mouth regardless, committing fully to the bit for the audience's laughter.
Panic, Pain and Perseverance in Costume
The physical and mental toll of a demanding panto schedule is immense. Anna Soden, who played Dave the Cow in Jack and the Beanstalk at York Theatre Royal in 2023, suffered a scalded hand from a steam accident before a two-show day. The pain became so severe during the performance that she experienced a full-blown panic attack while in her cow costume. After lying on her dressing room floor in a state of hysterical breakdown, adrenaline propelled her back on stage for the finale to play the trumpet alongside her childhood hero, CBBC's Raven.
Ewan Goddard's ordeal came in the form of aerial agony during 96 shows of Peter Pan at the Gordon Craig theatre, Stevenage, in 2016. The flying harness, worn for hours each day, caused the worst chafing of his life, leaving his skin feeling like it was on fire. He performed complex aerial manoeuvres, sword fights, and sang Defying Gravity while battling exhaustion and severe skin irritation, saved only by the camaraderie of his fellow cast members.
Injuries, Infections and Unlikely Hazards
Other performers have faced serious health crises mid-run. Natalie Law performed Princess Amelia in Jack and the Beanstalk in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, in 2014 while battling what turned out to be a kidney infection. She vomited between scenes before returning to sing solos and dance, only heading to A&E after the final curtain fell.
Physical injuries are common. Luke Adamson, playing Chester the Jester in Sleeping Beauty at London's Hoxton Hall in 2021, gave himself a concussion by running headfirst into a low door frame. The following year, in Hartlepool, he broke a rib during a messy 'slosh scene' involving a giant cake and cream.
The hazards aren't limited to actors. Stage door supervisor Charlie Barnes recalls the less glamorous duty of cleaning up after the real Shetland ponies used in a Cinderella production in Dartford in 2017. He cleaned their surprisingly large droppings twice daily for a month, a task far removed from the on-stage magic.
From Stewart McCheyne dripping blood from a leg wound while flying as Peter Pan in Motherwell, to the collective exhaustion that bonds a cast together, these stories reveal the immense, often painful, dedication behind Britain's beloved festive tradition. The magic, it seems, is hard-earned.
