Fictional Characters in Panto: Talli Roland casts Snow White

When I contacted authors to take part in this Fictional Characters in Panto feature, Talli Roland was one of the first to say yes despite having never watched a panto.

I love writing over-the-top characters, so when it came time to cast my characters in a pantomime, I had no trouble. My first novel, The Hating Game, is a tongue-in-cheek take on reality television featuring very vivid individuals. 

With the evil, sausage-scarfing producer Silver, the ballsy female protagonist Mattie who’s locked away her love, and the dodgy group of men she’s meant to be dating on the TV show, one play sprang to mind: Snow White. Okay, so Snow White is rather passive while Mattie is the opposite, but they do meet their prince at the end – after many trials and tribulations.

Fictional Characters in Panto: The Wedding Proposal in Anti-Panto

Something a little different for you today from Sue Moorcroft for the festive Fictional Characters in Panto feature.

Pantomimes don’t lend themselves to my books. Panto heroines are too wishy-washy, hanging around and waiting to be rescued, and my heroes tend to be a bit too attitude-laden to fulfil the role of Prince Charming.

So here’s my anti-Panto: Elle, wishes for a new life on a boat in a marina in Malta, leaving behind her old self in Corporateland and volunteering at a drop-in centre. As she doesn’t have a fairy godmother, she makes this happen herself. Or maybe Simon, who lends her the boat, is her fairy godfather? I can’t see him in a tutu and wand. And he could equally be cast as a mischievous elf because he has also lent the boat to …

… Brooding Prince Lucas. Lucas is the good guy, he really is. Truth and honesty are his constant companions and right is always on his side. Unfortunately, he has been blinded to any form of the truth that’s not black or white, making him a teeny weeny bit judgemental, especially where Elle’s concerned. Beautiful Elle is hiding a boatload of secrets. And Lucas doesn’t like them. He does not need her turning up just when he’s reinvented himself as a divemaster in a magical land of sun and fun. 

Fictional Characters in Panto: My favourite Panto Heroes and Villians by Clare Dowling

Today it's the turn of Irish author Clare Dowling to be creative for this festive feature.

It’s that time of the year again (oh no, it’s not!) when there’s a Christmas panto on at a theatre or town hall near you. Everybody’s got a favourite panto character or two, whether it’s Peter Pan or the Ugly Stepsisters (although I think they should get a medal for putting up with that wet rag Cinderella).  Pantoland wouldn’t be the same without beautiful princesses, wicked witches and men dressed up in enormous bloomers.  And hopefully a handsome prince to help the evening along.   

Here are a few of my favourite panto heroes and villains, except I’ve decided to mix it up by casting them with characters from my books.  Coming to a theatre near you…

The Character: Buttons.  One of the sweetest panto characters around.  Young and hapless, but capable of vicious jokes at the Ugly Stepsisters’ expense.  Deeply in love with Cinderella, except she has no idea.

The Cast: Anto Brady, from ‘A Special Delivery’.  Anto is an unintentionally funny teen who finds himself the butt of many jokes. Like Buttons, he too suffers from unrequited love, for the beautiful Nicola, who scarcely acknowledges his existence. Even if he’s a little rough around the edges, Anto’s a bit of a show stealer.  

The Character: Sleeping Beauty.  The first thing that should be said about her is that she sleeps a lot.  She’s also resilient and forgiving, even if she has to do a lot of hanging around waiting for that prince to come and kiss her.

The Cast: Nicola O’Sullivan, from ‘A Special Delivery’.  This would be casting against type, as the only thing Nicola has in common with Sleeping Beauty is that she, too, sleeps a lot, but for an altogether different reason.  Troubled and headstrong, Nicola never takes anything lying down.  And though she meets her Prince Charming in the end, it’s not quite as rosy as in fairytales.  

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.

Fictional Characters in Panto: Cinderella, starring the cast from One Hundred Christmas Proposals

Today's festive feature is brought to us by author Holly Martin who has certainly been a busy lady this year with the publication of her novels The Guestbook, One Hundred Proposals and One Hundred Christmas Proposals.

Harry and Suzie would make the perfect Prince Charming and Cinderella.  Harry adores Suzie and in One Hundred Proposals he takes her round the world to prove his love for her.  Prince Charming proves his love for Cinderella by going to every house in the land to try to find her.  Suzie is a normal girl who works hard in her job, just like Cinderella.  After a tough patch in her life when her brother dies, she needs the magic of the proposals to turn her life around and Harry, her very own Prince Charming, does that for her.

Badger would make the perfect Buttons.  He is loyal to Harry and Suzie and goes out of his way to give them both the happy ever after they deserve. In One Hundred Christmas Proposals it looks like Badger will get his own happy ever after too.

Fictional Characters in Panto: A.L. Michael casts Driving Home for Christmas

Well, no doubt, when considering the characters from my new Christmas book, Driving Home for Christmas, and how they could fit into Panto, I had some doubts. Firstly, I don’t know panto that well, beyond each year taking a bunch of less than enthused brownies and girl guides to watch something in the church hall. But there seem to be some themes, and some of the characters I knew instantly would fit.

Presenting Auntie Anna as the Fairy Godmother

Anna is exactly what you’d want in a fairy godmother; she’s wise, loving, never sees a problem she can’t fix and tends to meddle in your life in order to make it better. She’s the reason my main characters Megan and Skye decide to go home for Christmas to see their estranged family. Anna is fun and fabulous, and more than a little sneaky. She took Megan and Skye in when Megan was disowned by her parents as a pregnant teenager, and is now giving her back her family for Christmas. Who needs a magic wand?

Jeremy as The Dame

Jeremy isn’t a main character, but I love him, and he fits the role of Dame so well. Living with Anna and Megan and Skye as a lodger, he’s a playwright by day and a drag queen by night. He’s thoughtful, a constant presence in the women’s lives, supporting Anna and her old actress friends in creating a Gatsby Christmas for them, as well as being there as a shoulder to cry on for Megan, and recommending great books to Skye to make sure she has a well rounded education. He’s fabulous, fun and talented, and he’ll tell you the truth, no matter what, usually in a sassy and to-the-point kind of way. Just what you need in a dame. Plus, his makeup skills are fantastic and he’s excellent with the glitter.

Fictional Characters in Panto: Where's a Fairy Godmother When you Need One?

The Fictional Characters in Panto features are certainly proving very popular so today I'm pleased to welcome Margaret James with her casting.

It’s Christmas and that means pantomimes, doesn’t it? Well, here in the UK it means pantomimes, stage shows in which traditional fairy tales are loosely – sometimes very loosely – reinterpreted as opportunities for famous and not-so-famous celebrities to do their party pieces, excuses for the loud and out-of-tune community singing of current pop songs, and chances for the smaller children in the audience to get up on stage and be acutely embarrassed in exchange for a lollipop or one of the celebrity’s latest CDs.

My novel The Wedding Diary features the tag line where’s a fairy godmother when you need one. The fairy godmother is a key character in the pantomime of Cinderella, and my version of Cinderella was certainly lots of fun to write. 

My heroine Cat doesn’t exactly sit at home in the kitchen while her ugly sisters (in Cat’s case her friends Tess and Bex) go off to the ball. But at the start of the story poor Cat has just been dumped by a heartless rascal and she’s feeling very sorry for herself. As for Prince Charming – in this case he’s a builder who specialises in restoring stately homes and he’s not remotely rich or famous, but he is very gorgeous and you can’t have everything – my Prince Adam needs a lady in his life. But he’s already had his heart broken by one daddy’s little princess and he hasn’t much inclination to look around for another one. 

Fictional Characters in Panto: Robin Hood with a sprinkling of Cinderella …

This morning I have another fabulous festive feature for you from Emma Davies, author of Letting in Light, or in a seasonal variation, Robin Hood with a sprinkling of Cinderella …

This is so difficult, putting your book characters into a pantomime, but I think in my case it had to be Robin Hood, seeing as a large part of Letting in Light is set at Rowan Hill, a woodland estate.

So that must make Will, the lead male character, Robin Hood? Erm, well no actually. You see Will is not your typical dashing hero, never really pictured him in tights somehow (too short), but I think he'd make a good Will Scarlett, grumpy (but with good reason), brooding, but a good man, misunderstood, and just needing the love of a good woman, which brings me to Ellie …

Now Ellie is definitely a Maid Marion type, looks good in autumn colours, teeny bit feisty, and not adverse to a bit of ‘theres a bear behind you’ … ‘A bare behind, where?!’ She's no slouch when it comes to fighting for her man either, and I think if pushed would definitely buckle her swash! 

Fictional Characters in Panto: The Not Quite Perfect Christmas Pantomime

I was festively delighted when Sharon asked me to write something for her Christmas feature, firstly because she is a brilliant blogger, tireless supporter of our books and all-round lovely person, secondly because I love Christmas almost as much as my children do and thirdly because pantomimes are my guilty festive pleasure (along with M&S Snowy balls and the Christmas24 movie channel).

Over the past three years I have accompanied my son’s class on their annual trip to see a pantomime. Two years ago, one of the other mums and I came over a little peculiar at the sight of Sid from Cbeebies playing Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk (I know, I should be ashamed). Last year I hugged myself with delight watching Phil ‘Get art ma pub’ Mitchell as Captain Hook. I love the cheery sing-alongs, the rubbish jokes, the laugh-out-loud slapstick and most of all, watching the children’s faces as they drink it all in.

So I thought I would try to re-imagine the cast of Not Quite Perfect in a medley of my very favourite pantomimes.

The Characters

Emma Darcy as Cinderella
I always secretly wanted Cinderella to marry Buttons and had a nagging feeling that the handsome prince was too good to be true. Emma may not have an evil stepmother or ugly sisters but she certainly needs a Fairy Godmother to help turn her life around.

Emma’s fiancé Martin as Buttons
He’s reliable, dependable and always there for Cinders, just like Martin is for Emma. Okay so reliable isn’t always the most exciting but surely it’s enough? Oh no it isn’t! Oh yes it is! (Sorry)

Fictional Characters in Panto: Janey Fraser casts After The Honeymoon as a Panto

I’ve always loved panto! When my children were little, we used to take them to see them to Oxford or  Chipping Norton where we’d roar ‘It’s behind you’ until our throats were sore. Now they’re older, I have to beg them to come with me so I can keep the tradition going.

But I have also have a terrible confession to make. One Christmas, when I was still trying to get published, I took a recently-finished manuscript with me to ‘Aladdin’ where I sat in the back row, with my torch, and did a last-minute edit while my three children (all under seven) were jumping up and down in their seats. It was the equivalent of putting them in front of the television while I worked. And yes, I know I’m a bad mother....

I also used to wonder which one of my characters would make a good baddie. So when Shaz’s Book Blog asked me to role cast some of my heroes and heroines and villains, I jumped at the chance to set them in AFTER THE HONEYMOON, my latest novel about one Greek honeymoon destination; three couples; and six secrets. Here goes:

Greco is a very sexy hero in ‘After The Honeymoon’ who starts off life as a villain/Jack the Lad. The clue is in the name. Yes! I’d cast him as Jack in the Beanstalk. Why? Because he’s a bit naive; he does some stupid things; but he means well. My Greco is also short of a few beans which gets him into trouble but I’m not going to spoil the story. However, I will add that what he makes up for in intelligence, he more than makes up for in another area. In fact, he’d rival a Giant in that department, any day...

Fictional Characters in Panto: Linda Mitchelmore casts Cinderella from To Turn Full Circle

The latest author to accept the Fictional Characters in Panto feature challenge is Linda Mitchelmore. 

The bottom line is that TO TURN FULL CIRCLE is a pure, Cinderella, rags to riches story.

CAST

CINDERELLA – Emma Le Goff. This pantomime could have been written for Emma Le Goff. The story opens with her in borrowed clothing which is too big for her, and none too clean. She is mentally strong and feisty – well, she has to be with all that’s happened to her. She can’t dance at the beginning of the story but she finds someone who can. Will a turn around the dance floor turn her head away from Seth and towards Matthew Caunter. Hmm … we shall see.

PRINCE CHARMING – It’s rare for a man not to know how handsome he is but this can be said of Seth Jago. He would walk over hot coals for Emma Le Goff, never mind search high and low for her to return a glass slipper. He goes travelling and has one teensy fall from grace but then, he’s a man. And he redeems himself in the end.

Fictional Characters in Panto: The Christmas Party as Cinderella by Carole Matthews

It would appear that Cinderella is a popular choice when thinking about pantomimes so it was no surprise to find that it was chosen by bestselling author Carole Matthews for today's festive feature.

My favourite pantomime is Cinderella as I do love a happy ending. My current book is a perfect setting for a pantomime as it takes place at an office party - the modern equivalent, I suppose, of Cinderella's ball. 

My Cinderella would be Louise Young, a single mum who's just joined the working world again and has a good job at a corporate headquarters. But her boss, Tyler Benson, is tricky. He'd be my pantomime baddie - perfect for people to boo and hiss. Some of the things he gets up to are truly terrible. 

Fictional Characters in Panto: Liz Harris likens A Western Heart to Cinderella

When I was trying to think up ideas for this year's blog festive feature, I eventually decided to try and do something a little different and emailed authors asking whether they'd like to do a guest post based around pantomimes and I'm pleased to say that a few were up for the challenge...

The first Fictional Characters in Panto feature is brought to you by Liz Harris.

Christmas is the time of goodwill, so I’m relying on you being good-willing enough to let me take liberties when likening my novella, A WESTERN HEART, with the pantomime CINDERELLA.

Why Cinderella? Well, it’s that a moral of the Cinderella story is that while it’s an advantage to have intelligence, breeding and common sense, even these may fail to bring you success without the intervention of a fairy godmother. I think we can include fairy godfather in that, too. Yes, first liberty!