After a two year break, pantomime is back at Contact, Manchester with a fun-packed production of Rumpelstiltskin from The Big Tiny Company that is reventing the genre.
The Big Tiny’s unique approach to pantomime is guided by co-director Ben Richards’ ongoing PhD research, which looks at how contemporary British pantomime responds to evolving ideas of identity. His work explores how the traditional form can move beyond outdated Victorian conventions to better reflect local communities, foster inclusion, and celebrate diversity. Rumpelstiltskin is a practical realisation of these principles — combining glittering spectacle and classic panto fun with a deeper question at its heart: who do we see as “us,” and what makes us different from “them”?
Thomas Corner meets Ben to find out why this year’s family panto will appeal to new audiences and traditional panto fans alike.
What can we expect from this year’s production of Rumpelstiltskin?
Ben: “So, it’s obviously not a traditional title, in pantomime we call them the big 6 titles and it’s not one of those. It’s the third time we’ve mounted a Rumpelstiltskin production and we have specifically tailored this to the audience to make it very local to Manchester. But at the same time we’re going to interrogate these ideas of who gets to be us, who gets to be in the in group who gets to be in the out group, ideas of otherisation.
“So, that’s what the pantomime is going to do as well as being a traditional pantomime with lots of people falling over and slightly rude jokes, and songs from this year’s pop charts. It’s also going to have an engaging and dramatic theme at the same time”.
It’s clear you enjoy making pantomimes with a local focus and including diversity and inclusivity in your productions, how important is that for you?
Ben: “It’s super important. As well as making pantomime, I’m an academic studying contemporary British pantomime. Rumpelstiltskin is the first part of looking at pantoime through a hyperlocal lens that I’m using as part of my PhD at the moment.
“As part of our engagement we’ve been keen to engage local communities from the global majority, so we’ve been out to the Melanin markets for instance speaking to people. We’ve also cast for ethnic diversity, rather than colour blind casting. Specifically trying to vanguard people from communities who would otherwise find it difficult to access careers in the arts.
“We’ve moulded the script around where the actors come from and their influences they are bringing with them. So not only is it responding to the multicultural melange around the theatre itself, which is in a cosmopolitan area, it’s also responding to the actors and what the actors bring to the table”.
Speaking of the story, how have you adapted it from the original tale?
Ben: “We are going to turn the story on its head in some very unexpected ways. Modern pantomime comes from a Victorian era where people had a very fixed idea of morality – good vs evil. In real life everyone is the protagonist of their own story and this production of Rumpelstiltskin zooms in on that and says who is the villain and how are villains made? The pantomime zooms in on that question but in a completely light-hearted way.
“At least half the people who go to the theatre don’t go to see a pantomime. One of the reasons is pantomime is often wafer thin when it comes to story and characters. Well this isn’t. We have managed to change that and retain the comedy so hopefully we’re going to entice an entirely new strand of people back into the form of pantomime.”
“We have a 35-feet wide spider with huge glowing eyes that can come out and terrify the audience!”
What is the inspiration behind the designs of the set and costumes?
Ben: “So two thoughts came to me – love and otherisation. How do we get people and bring them in and how do we move together as a community with all the differences that human beings have? So that theme of love is reflected in every part of the set – if you look at the trees the branches curve to make hearts, the throne is a heart and there’s over 200 hearts represented in the set across the different scenes.
“With the costumes, I don’t want to give everything away but, the theme of colour as a proxy for diversity is used and you’ll see that in people’s characters, their costumes change along that theme. We have also thought about the theme of weaving from the original tale, and we thought about all these people who are being duplicitous in some way and so, what kind of creature would you want to represent the final evil if it’s weaving?
“Well, of course it’s a spider. So, we have a 35-feet wide spider with huge glowing eyes that can come out and terrify the audience!”
Rumpelstiltskin is set in the Bavarian town of Lieblingsberg. What German influences have you included in the production?
Ben: “Well, everybody has some German name, and I have a German song in there and the audience have to sing. It’s like the Birdie Song – it’s the song that your auntie puts on when she’s a bit drunk at party. The song means everything has an end, only the sausage has two, and so we sing that in German, and we have a string of 360 sausages. There’s lederhosen as well, which everybody loves in Bavaria.
“My father comes from Baden-Baden, so I’ve got a lot of German friends and they all love pantomime when they come over. So, there’s a lot of German in it and hopefully people will come and see themselves reflected in it and feel it’s great fun.
“I think in that way pantomime is a brilliant art form because it’s easily digestible. It’s not just a man in a dress, it’s like your dad in a dress with balloons up his jumper at Christmas – you know, that is hilarious, no matter where you come from, everybody would find that hilarious, and that’s what the pantomime gives people, it’s an easy in”.
Rumpelstiltskin is at Contact, Manchester from 11-31 December 2025.