The 2024 Pantomime Awards – UK Pantomime Association
Reviewed 18 June 2024, G-Live.
5/5
A spectacular celebration of pantomime!
What a show! The UK Pantomime Association put on a fantastic celebration of pantomime at G-Live in Guildford this year, in a move away from the West End. The move was partly in recognition of the importance of regional theatre, but also because the awards had outgrown their previous venue, the Trafalgar Theatre!
Despite the move to the regions, the event was well supported by celebrities, including John Partridge (EastEnders), Tom Lister (Emmerdale), and Dame Kelly Holmes, who made her pantomime debut in 2023 playing the ringmaster in Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Plymouth.
Hosted by Angellica Bell, Ore Oduba, and the incomparable Myra DuBois, the event was slick, colourful, and full of laughs (including some unscripted ones) – just like a good panto.
We were also treated to some fantastic performances during the evening: Matthew Siveter gave an hilarious rendition of ‘Let it Be’, Tweedy had everyone in stitches with his hilarious antics involving a hat, a ladder, and his pet iron, Keef, and the kids from Stagecoach Performing Arts showed us the future of performing arts is in safe hands.
Unfortunately, the fabulous Anita Harris, who was to have performed, had to pull out at the last minute due to an injury, but Rob Madge, who was there to present the ‘Best Panto’ category, stepped in to deliver a spellbinding performance of a number from his one-man show ‘My Son’s a Queer but what can you do.’
It really was a spectacular evening celebrating not just the performers, but the entire industry, and we thank the UK Pantomime Association for yet again pulling together the amazing event.
We will have a full review, including chats with some of the winners, in issue 8 of the magazine, but in the meantime you can take a look at the full list of winners here: https://pantomimeassociation.co.uk/winners-announced-for-the-pantomime-awards/