Panto stars reunite for Alhambra Theatre’s Jack & The Beanstalk

The dance studio just off the High Street buzzes with noise and chatter as they run through routines and shape the show that will transfer to the venue just as soon as it wraps a busy week of touring shows.

Jack And The Beanstalk, which runs from December 6-28, brings some familiar faces back to the Alhambra.

It is Ian ‘Sheepie’ Smith’s fourth time at the Dunfermline venue, while everyone's favourite baddie, Mark Hayden, returns for a record fifth time to play the wonderfully named Fleshcreep. Kevin McLeod,Ross Dillon, Rebecca Jamieson and Louise Jempson are also back.

Joining them is Gayle Telfer Stevens, best known for playing Caitlin McLean in River City and currently starring in the BBC sketch show, Stevens & McCarthy.

Her return to the Alhambra also sees her reprise the role as Dame Trott she played eight years ago.

“My last panto was at the Armadillo and I’ve missed it,” she said. “In panto you are in completely in it. The mammy I play is for the kids - she is brash, bright, and beautiful.”

Gayle is no stranger to the Alhambra having brought her hugely successful show, The Dolls, to the venue - and it’s a place she loves.

“It’s a great venue and this is like no other company I have worked for. I’ve always kept in touch with Bill Fletcher and he asked if I fancied doing panto. It’s great to be doing this at this time of year -you don’t want to be sitting on your backside!

“I’m really excited about getting started and getting on stage.”

Before opening night the cast will shift from the rehearsal studio to the stage and start working with the sets. In common with all panto teams, a lot of work is done in a very short timescale.

“A lot of friends ask me in August how rehearsals are going,” said Ian. “People think we start months in advance, but it done in a very short space of time -panto is an art form and there nothing else quite like it.”

Ian came to the Alhambra after 11 years doing panto in Motherwell, and he has become an integral part of the venue;s big show.

“I came during Covid and that was strange but this is my home now,” he said. “You feel part of the family here, and getting everyone up and laughing is a great job!” Both Ian and Gayle are steeped in the joy of panto, and enjoy the buzz that comes with full houses and lots of excited kids.

“Panto is so special,” said Ian, “The great thing for our character is we can be topical - so that means gags about I’m A Celebrity. That’s fun to do.

“We have big special effects and features. There are beanstalks - that’’s not a spoiler! “Audiences change from school shows to evening performances and it is brilliant to get them involved. There are jokes that kids love, and jokes that adults get - panto is for every generation.”

It’s also an art form where people can go off script as they react to the audience, but there is a clear structure that underpins every performance; one currently being fine tuned in the rehearsal studio.

“There’s a lot to learn,” said Gayle. “You have to get it all down quickly - it’s amazing how much the brain can take in in a short period of time.

“ First night is tough. You just want it out of your mouth, but you have a great story - you need that in every panto - and you know on the first night the jokes which land the way you expected, and those which don’t, but all the prep work is done rehearsal. That’s where the work is done - go home or go hard!

“And if it goes off script I know we have each other’s backs. You play off each other and trust each other. “