Fictional Characters in Panto: Cora’s Christmas Kiss – The Panto!

The festive challenge from Shaz was to cast some of your own characters in a panto. So these are the characters in my brand new festive story, Cora’s Christmas Kiss. Here goes…

Cora Strachan is Dick Whittington. Yes. I know Dick Whittington was a boy, but we’re living in different times now, and it’s sort of traditional to have pantomime boys played by girls in tights, so I think it’ll be fine. 

Cora came to London to make her fortune. She’s had some good times, and some really hard ones, but she’s still here, and somehow a part of her still believes that the streets might really turn out to be paved with gold.

Mrs Atkins is the pantomime dame. Fulsome of bosom and not to be messed with, Mrs Atkins in the story rules over all things festive at Golding’s Department store with a rod of iron. She keeps errant elves, and misbehaving children in check, and I have no doubt that she’d be just as happy giving a misbehaving pantomime prince a clip around the ear if she needed to.

Patrick Howard is Prince Charming. There’s a great line in Stephen Sondheim’s awesome musical, Into the Woods, where the Prince is called out on his bad behaviour, and responds by pointing out that he was raised to be ‘charming not sincere’. Well Patrick, in Cora’s Christmas Kiss, is certainly charming, but is he sincere? Only time will tell.

Trish, Charlie, Raj, Auntie Val and Fake Alan are the Fairy Godmother. Yes. I know there’s five of them, and I know there’s no Fairy Godmother in Dick Whittington, but there’s no Prince either and you weren’t complaining then. Anyway, these five represent the people we all wish we had more of in our lives – the people who are there when you need them, all full of generosity and overflowing with kindness. If they had anything to do with it, absolutely everybody would get to go to the ball.

And finally, Liam Carr is… well who is Liam Carr? That’s a big question in the story actually. He’s terrified of Cora finding out who he is; that’s for sure. Who do I think he is? Well, in every good pantomime, there’s a bit near the end where Father Christmas turns up, for no identifiable plot reason, and dispenses presents and good cheer to everyone in sight, which sound thoroughly lovely to me. So for now, we’ll say that Liam Carr is Father Christmas, and agree to leave it at that.

About Alison May: 

Alison May is a novelist and short story writer, who writes romantic comedies for Choc Lit. Her debut novel, Sweet Nothing, http://amzn.to/1vmlNOo was published in 2013, closely followed by the first Christmas Kisses novella, Holly’s Christmas Kiss http://amzn.to/1w4jXsj.

Alison lives in Worcester with her husband, but still no pets, on account of what happened to the goldfish.

You can find out more about Alison by following her on Twitter @MsAlisonMay and on her website www.alison-may.co.uk

About Cora's Christmas Kiss:
Her latest book, Cora’s Christmas Kiss, is out now for kindle http://amzn.to/1vmlH9v

Can you expect a perfect Christmas after the year from hell? 

Cora and Liam have both experienced horrible years that have led them to the same unlikely place – spending December working in the Grotto at Golding’s department store. 

Under the cover of a Father Christmas fat suit and an extremely unflattering reindeer costume, they find comfort in sharing their tales of woe during their bleak staffroom lunch breaks. 

But is their new-found friendship just for Christmas? Or have they created something deeper, something that could carry them through to a hopeful new year? 

Plus, keep your eyes peeled for characters you may recognise from Alison’s previous novella, Holly’s Christmas Kiss.