After 11 years as the loveable comic in Oldham Coliseumās family pantomime, Richard J Fletcher is stepping into the Dameās shoes for the first time.
How does it feel to play the Dame and were the rehearsals much different as Dame instead of as the Comic?
Richard J Fletcher: “Itās not hugely different because itās still a comic character. Iāve got a bit more scope to do stuff for the older members of the audience this year. The Comic is really mainly for the children, and thatās why I loved doing that character, but I can be a little bit more cheeky playing the Dame. Itās slightly ruder because the Jack character is very naive whereas the Dame character is anything but. Itās just a great laugh.
“Itās quite odd watching Sam [Glen, playing Jack] doing what Iāve been doing for the last decade, but heās brilliant at it. I think heās great, heās got a really good energy.
“What was really funny was that he told me that heād spent his youth coming to watch me playing that character ā which makes me feel really old! But thatās why itās great being back at the Coliseum, because I used to come here throughout my youth to watch panto. This is where I started watching pantos from the age of probably three or four-years-old ā with Kenneth Alan Taylor and Jeffrey Longmore as Dames”.

Can you tell us about your big reveal as the Dame?
Richard J Fletcher: “Every new costume is a big reveal with the Dame, thatās another thing that Iām looking forward to. The Wardrobe department at the Coliseum are so good and the designs are so brilliant that you only have to walk on stage in the costume and it often gets a round of applause. The costumes are so hilarious. Iāve got five or six costumes this year and theyāre big costumes ā Iām not going to spoil it and tell you what they are but there are some brilliant ones. The Wardrobe team start making them in the middle of the summer and quite a lot of them will need one or two dressers to get them on me, because theyāre quick changes backstage as well”.
What can audiences expect from your Dame?
Richard J Fletcher: “Iāve spent the last 11 years in a rehearsal room with Fine Time [Fontayne, co-writer and former Coliseum Dame] so I think subconsciously Iād been learning quite a lot over those years from him. Hopefully Iāll be able to bring a little bit of what Iāve learnt from him to the show. My Dame is a bit younger than Fine Timeās and sheās a better dancer! Iām joining in with more of the big dance routines and the design is different ā I requested a kitten heel for the opening costume and my makeup is different to his. People will notice a difference. Iāve been practising walking in my heels because itās not easy dancing in heels as Iām sure ladies will agree! A kitten heel is enough for me!”

Are there any other differences in this yearās show?
Richard J Fletcher: “The writing of Jack and the Beanstalk is so up to date. Although itās pantomime and itās fun and stupid, it has some serious issues behind the writing. We talk about the villains who are really bad for the environment and they litter ā those are very important messages to get across to children ā whatās good and bad about littering and the effects on the environment. Itās really relevant to today.
“Musically, there are songs that have only just come out and some big hits from the year. I didnāt know any of them before we started rehearsals, except for the ones I recognised from my daughterās bedroom! When you walk into a shop or you put the radio on theyāre playing the songs that youāve been singing twelve times every week, but that just proves that those are the popular songs. Sometimes you find yourself singing along in the middle of Boots”.

Do people recognise you in Oldham town centre through the year?
Richard J Fletcher: “ Because the Comic character always has the call and response from the audience, for the past ten years Iāve had those shouted at me in the aisle in Tesco all year round. I wonder whether they will recognise me this year because Iām going to have a lot of makeup on and Iām going to have some fantastic wigs”.
What was it that made you want to get involved with pantomime 12 years ago
Richard J Fletcher: “I trained in physical theatre at Drama School and one of my favourite genres is Commedia DellāArte, which is kind of where pantomime is derived from ā Italian Theatre Commedia. You can find a lot of the Commedia characters in each pantomime. I also like musicals and Iām not good enough to be in them so I get the chance to pretend Iām in a musical! Jack and the Beanstalk is like a full on musical, I think weāve got 15 songs this year”.

What is your history with the Coliseum?
Richard J Fletcher: “I started coming to see pantomime at the Coliseum when I was very young and then I did youth theatre here throughout my childhood. When I was 15 had a Saturday job here working in the cafĆ©, which was called The Lionās Den – I used to make toasties for all of the actors in a little kitchen which is now the offices next to the upstairs bar. I grew up coming to this place all the time. I went to London for twenty years and then, getting the chance to come back and now to be the Dame myself, it feels like a complete cycle”.
Jack and the Beanstalk is at Oldham Coliseum from Saturday 16 November 2019 ā Saturday 11 January 2020.
Read our review.