Latest Panto Podcast Episodes
Episode 82 – Pantomime Music with Miles Russell
Just Imagine - July 05, 2024 15:00 - 27 minutesHave you ever wanted to know more about the music in the pantomime? This week Martin is joined by Miles Russell who has spent a number of panto seasons as an MD and Arranger with Imagine Theatre. From starting out age seven learning to play the trumpet Miles is now a multi-instrumentalist. He h...
Episode 81 - Behind the scenes at the 2024 Pantomime Awards
Just Imagine - June 21, 2024 15:00 - 27 minutesJoin Martin as he goes back stage at this year's UK Pantomime Awards. Taking place on Tuesday 18th June at G Live in Guildford, the 2024 pantomime awards were another star studded, glittering evening celebrating all things panto! Martin talks to presenters Ore Oduba, Angelica Bell alongside lo...
Episode 80 - Adam Brooks
Just Imagine - June 07, 2024 15:00 - 31 minutesThis week Martin is joined by former contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee and current Deputy Head of Wardrobe at Imagine Theatre, Adam Brooks. Adam talks about those early influences that led to his love of theatre and costume. He also discusses his varied career from drama school, to bei...
Episode 79 – Stage Management and Training
Just Imagine - May 24, 2024 15:00 - 36 minutesThis week Martin talks to two key members of the Imagine team about how they got into the industry and their experiences of training in stage management. Ruth Porter, Deputy Head of Stage Management and Props and Jazmyne Evans, Operations and Production Administrator talk to Martin about how t...
Episode 78 - Lighting and Sound Design
Just Imagine - May 10, 2024 15:00 - 29 minutesThis week’s episode focuses on the roles of two key elements of any theatrical production – the lighting and the sound. Lighting Designer and Programmer Matt Ladkin and Sound Designer and Head of Project Engineering and Head of Education at Orbital Sound Mike Thacker, join Martin to talk about...
Episode 77 - A Focus on Snow White
Just Imagine - April 26, 2024 15:00 - 29 minutesThis week Eric Potts and Palace panto regular James McAnerney join Martin on the podcast to talk about Snow White. Snow White originated from the Brothers Grimm in the early 1800s and it grew and developed from there to become the version of the story we know today. Eric and James discuss th...
Episode 76 – What Imagine Are Doing During Spring
Just Imagine - April 12, 2024 15:00 - 27 minutesWe are already a third of the way through the year and this week on the podcast Sarah and Steve talk to Martin about where Imagine are in the panto process at the moment. New set and costume designs are underway for the three brand news shows being created this year. This includes planning for...
Episode 75 - The Role of the Director
Just Imagine - March 29, 2024 16:00 - 29 minutesEpisode 75 – The Role of the Director This week the podcast focuses on the role of the director. Robert Marsden and Mairi Cowieson join Martin on the podcast to discuss what being a director actually involves. They discuss how the role of director has developed from ancient times to present ...
Episode 74 – Trafalgar’s Dame Rosemary Squire and Helen Enright
Just Imagine - March 15, 2024 16:00 - 31 minutesJoint CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment Dame Rosemary Squire and CEO and COO of Trafalgar Theatres Helen Enright are Martin’s guests on the podcast this week. Despite an early love of theatre, neither Rosemary or Helen set out to have a career in the industry and both came to their current roles t...
Episode 73 - Swansea Legend Kev Johns
Just Imagine - March 01, 2024 16:00 - 31 minutesThis week Swansea legend Kev Johns joins Martin on the podcast. Kev has been a panto dame for 30 years, with 25 of those at the Swansea Grand. He also presented numerous radio shows, including more than 20 years on the Breakfast Show, as well as being a match day announcer for his local footbal...
Episode 72 - A Focus on the Pantomime - Part 5 - Beauty and the Beast
Just Imagine - February 16, 2024 16:00 - 29 minutesThe pantomime version of Beauty and the Beast is one of the most popular titles of all, along with being one of the most loved Disney classics. This week Eric Potts and Liam Dolan join Martin on the podcast to discuss one of their favourite titles.
Episode 71 - The Role of the Producer
Just Imagine - February 02, 2024 16:00 - 30 minutesThis week Steve Boden and Laura Taylor join Martin to talk about the role of the producer. Producers are crucial to each production as they have overall responsibility for the show, but it is one of the roles that many people know little about. Steve and Laura explain how they came to be panto...
Episode 70 – The 2023/4 Panto Season Comes to a Close
Just Imagine - January 19, 2024 16:00 - 27 minutesMartin catches up with Sarah and Steve to discuss how the 2023 panto season went and what is in store for 2024. Imagine have had their biggest ever panto season with 19 pantomimes and 3 Santa shows. They have employed more people than ever before with around 500 people hired by Imagine to work ...
Episode 69 – Backstage at the De Montfort Hall Panto
Just Imagine - January 05, 2024 16:00 - 36 minutesThis week Martin goes backstage at DMH where he spent 10 years performing in panto himself to chat to the cast of this year’s Jack and the Beanstalk. He finds out how Scott Mills has settled in to his first ever pantomime, learns Jarred Christmas’s process for choosing his final jokes for the s...
Episode 68 – A Christmas Special from Swindon
Just Imagine - December 22, 2023 16:00 - 36 minutesFor the Christmas edition of the podcast Martin heads to Swindon to talk to the cast of Snow White at The Wyvern - David Ashley, Divina De Campo, Nathan Connor, Paul Burling and Samantha Dorrance. This episode also features special Christmas messages from some of the Imagine team.
Episode 67 – Scott Mills
Just Imagine - December 08, 2023 16:00 - 26 minutesThis week Martin is joined by radio presenter Scott Mills who is making his pantomime debut this year in Jack and the Beanstalk at De Montfort Hall. Scott talks to Martin about how his decision to do a panto came about, the advice he has been getting from his showbiz pals and his past performin...
Episode 66 – The Panto Season is Underway
Just Imagine - November 24, 2023 16:00 - 29 minutesThis week Imagine’s Joint CEO and Business and Marketing Director Sarah Boden joins Martin to talk through everything that is currently happening at Imagine Theatre HQ as well as on the pantomimes themselves. Everything is in full swing with two shows now open, some shows in rehearsal and other...
Episode 65 - A Focus on Peter Pan
Just Imagine - November 10, 2023 16:00 - 33 minutesThis week Martin is joined by Imagine Theatre’s Steve Boden and performer and director Steven Wren to talk about Peter Pan. Peter Pan has been around for 120 years in numerous forms – firstly as a book and then a play, a musical, many different movie adaptations, and now as an increasingly popu...
Episode 65 - A Focus on the Pantomime - Part 4 - Peter Pan
Just Imagine - November 10, 2023 16:00 - 33 minutesThis week Martin is joined by Imagine Theatre’s Steve Boden and performer and director Steven Wren to talk about Peter Pan. Peter Pan has been around for 120 years in numerous forms – firstly as a book and then a play, a musical, many different movie adaptations, and now as an increasingly popu...
Episode 64 - Panto Set Pieces and Routines
Just Imagine - October 27, 2023 15:00 - 31 minutesPanto Set Pieces and Routines Simon Sladen, Paul Morse, Janice Dunn join Martin on this week’s episode to talk about the traditional panto set pieces and routines such as slosh scenes, ghost gags, song sheets and call backs. They delve back into the early days of panto to talk about where some...
Panto Set Pieces and Routines
Just Imagine - October 27, 2023 15:00 - 31 minutesPanto Set Pieces and Routines Simon Sladen, Paul Morse, Janice Dunn join Martin on this week’s episode to talk about the traditional panto set pieces and routines such as slosh scenes, ghost gags, song sheets and call backs. They delve back into the early days of panto to talk about where some...
Episode 63 – Andrew Agnew
Just Imagine - October 13, 2023 15:00 - 32 minutesThis week on the podcast Martin is joined by actor and director Andrew Agnew. From starting out in The Wizard of Oz at school and being mesmerized by panto as a child to playing PC Plum in Balamory, Andrew talks about how he got into the industry and how his career has developed. He also tal...
Episode 62 – The Role of Technology in Panto
Just Imagine - September 29, 2023 15:00 - 37 minutesThis week on the podcast Martin is joined by three guests to discuss the role of technology in pantomime. He talks to Imagine’s Artistic Director Eric Potts, Head of Operations, Dave Edmunds and Nina Dunn from PixelLux. They discuss the innovations throughout the history of pantomime and how te...
Episode 61 – Behind the Scenes at the Photoshoot
Just Imagine - September 15, 2023 15:00 - 27 minutesFor this week’s podcast Martin joined the team at their largest photoshoot event of the year. Taking place over 4 days the August shoot brings people together from all over the United Kingdom to have their publicity photos taken and promo videos filmed. This is the final shoot of the year and is...
Episode 60 - A Focus on Dick Whittington
Just Imagine - September 01, 2023 15:00 - 29 minutesThe pantomime version of Dick Whittington has been around since the early 1800s and is believed to be the only pantomime based on a real person. This week Eric Potts and Robert Marsden join Martin on the podcast to discuss one of their favourite titles. They discuss the delights and challenges ...
Episode 60 - Focus on the Pantomime - Part 3 - Dick Whittington
Just Imagine - September 01, 2023 15:00 - 29 minutesThe pantomime version of Dick Whittington has been around since the early 1800s and is believed to be the only pantomime based on a real person. This week Eric Potts and Robert Marsden join Martin on the podcast to discuss one of their favourite titles. They discuss the delights and challenges ...
Episode 59 – MD, Composer and Arranger Daniel Jarvis
Just Imagine - August 18, 2023 15:00 - 27 minutesDaniel took an unusual route to being a professional musician having first studied Sports Science at University before going on to Mountview Dan has worked with Imagine for a number of years as a Musical Arranger and Musical Director and he talks to Martin about how he came into the theatre pro...
Summer at Imagine HQ
Just Imagine - August 04, 2023 15:00 - 28 minutesThis week on the podcast Martin catches up with Steve Boden to learn why there is no such thing as a restful summer for the Imagine Team. With casting auditions for both adults and juniors, photoshoots, set maintenance, hires, props creation, script reads and much more going on, it is full stea...
Episode 58 - Summer at Imagine HQ
Just Imagine - August 04, 2023 15:00 - 28 minutesThis week on the podcast Martin catches up with Steve Boden to learn why there is no such thing as a restful summer for the Imagine Team. With casting auditions for both adults and juniors, photoshoots, set maintenance, hires, props creation, script reads and much more going on, it is full stea...
Episode 57 - Mark Thorburn
Just Imagine - July 21, 2023 15:00 - 32 minutesThis week Martin talks to Mark Thorburn. Mark’s love of the theatre began with a pantomime at the Coventry Theatre aged 8 and he has gone on to be involved in theatrical industry in many different roles, some of which include Chief Executive of NODA, Editor of the Amateur Theatre Magazine, Art...