Go backstage at the panto? Oh yes we can

I can't stand those comedians who come out wearing jeans and trainers and just stand there," says Ceri Dupree, surrounded by sequined capes, feather boas and the blingest of bling-bling earrings.

"For me, showbiz needs to be bigger, bolder, greater. It's make-believe, not the real world, it needs to be entertaining.

"I don't understand why those other 'entertainers' do it, I really don't. And it's not just comedy, if Shirley Bassey came out in a tracksuit, you'd be disappointed wouldn't you?"

Ceri's in his dressing room at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, the frocks and feathers of his panto dame, Queen Passionella, are everywhere.

The table is littered with nail varnish and hairspray and there's boxes of tights, wigs and high heels dotted around the room. But it's not all glamour – there's his script and notebook and trusty supply of Cup A Soup too.

These four walls will be his home until January 18, when the final curtain will fall on this year's pantomime spectacular Sleeping Beauty.

"For me, I don't find panto hard work," he continues. "It's because you're here, in the same place, for six weeks. I find it harder when you're here one night, there the next, living out of suitcase.

"Having said that though, it still takes me an hour and 20 minutes to get ready each night and I have 11 costume changes. For me, the dame should change in every instance. Well, my dame does anyway!"

Ceri designs all of his own costumes, which are true works of art. The creations are so wild and wacky, so deliciously OTT, the Grand has crafted his very own quick-change area in the wings of the stage. It's an explosion of glitter, sequins and beads, with a lime green sequined jumpsuit hanging up, a giant fruit basket hat and a feather headdress so large, it takes two people to move it and fills the entire corridor.

"I love it all but have just had to build a storage unit in my garden at home to fit it all in – there's just so much stuff. That's the magic of panto though."

Just in front of Queen Passionella's quick-change room is the main control desk, which monitors and adjusts the mics, the music, the lights, the sound levels. Everything, basically.

It's the domain of deputy stage manager Neil Wilder, who we spoke to on the second-to-last day of rehearsals last week.

Headphones on, Neil sits at the desk which is covered with lights, buttons, dials and sheet music.

"It's pretty manic because this is the stage when we're putting everything together," he says. "I've been in the business for 12 years and no two days are the same – no two shows are the same. You'll do 70 shows and each and every one will be different."

At this moment, the lights blackout and the music starts up. Bananarama no less.

The cast runs through the number and then breaks to hear the feedback of director and choreographer Jonny Bowles. During our time behind the scenes, directions range from "Boys!

You need to be able to look like you can walk in those platforms" to "the prince needs to slap his thigh then there'll be a ta-daa and round of applause – it works every time". On the other side of the stage from the control desk, are huge chunks of the set and the props. There's a towering castle, a giant Tardis and a table featuring everything from wrapped Christmas presents to bicycle handlebars. There's also a Superman costume, which Prince Charming slips into at one stage.

But what happens if there's a rip or slip on stage? Well, wardrobe mistress and wardrobe assistant Bek Palmer and Saeni Green run to the rescue.

"For minor and emergency repairs they're in the wings with bumbags filled with needles and thread and pins," explains the Grand's press manager Kate Evans. "They are very responsive!

"Otherwise, they're downstairs in the wardrobe department, where the washer and tumble dryer are constantly whirling and there's material, costumes and sewing machines everywhere you look. That's where they make the big adjustments to the costumes."

The opening night of the panto, which runs for approximately two hours and 15 minutes, was last Saturday. Before then, the cast were rehearsing in a London studio for a week before moving to Newhampton Arts Centre and then the theatre itself.

"We are constantly thinking about panto," adds Kate. "This is one of our busiest times of year. It is definitely the biggest show of the year and we've sold around 43,000 tickets – a number that's always rising. It's the big audience favourite so all the departments of the theatre are working flat out, around 60 people in total."

One of these is flyman Dan Raven, who controls the curtains and scenery from the heights of the theatre.

"The 'get in' – that's where we bring everything into the theatre – took more than 22 hours for Sleeping Beauty. But it's actually been very smooth this year. Sometimes it can be chaos but everyone knows what they're doing. It's an unusual job but it's great. We're here for every performance so I know the show back to front by the end of it – every line of every song."

Next up, we're back to the dressing rooms. Headline act Joe Pasquale is in number one, which has seen the likes of Norman Wisdom, Christopher Biggins and John Inman.

Nearby is the home of Sleeping Beauty herself, former Corrie star Lucy Evans.

"I've been doing this show on the road for five years now so there are no nerves anymore," says Lucy as she paints her nails in front of her light-up vanity mirror. "In fact, I'd be a bit worried if I didn't know what I was doing by now.

"I've been waiting for weeks to get in front of a proper audience so I'm super excited.

"Panto is hard work, it's full-on. Although I'm quite lucky because I'm the one who gets to sleep in the show!

"It becomes your life, the theatre becomes your home. There's five of us in really nice digs in Wolverhampton but this dressing room is more like my home than anywhere else. I keep bringing more and more of my things here. I've joined the gym next door and I've brought my juicer in – everything happens here.

"I love the glitz and the glamour, I still love the costumes and the make-up. Although my wig is looking a little sorry for itself so I'm trying to get a new one. But it's a brilliant job. Who wouldn't want to be a princess?"

There's a TV and Tannoy in all of the dressing rooms so the actors can keep track of what's happening on stage and their cues. Gone are the days of runners, who would dash up and down the stairs telling cast members when and where to be.

Willenhall's Classic Academy of Dance are in the final dressing. The young dancers – 16 in total, 14 girls and two boys – form part of the chorus.

Principal Lizi Watts says: "We've been doing the Grand panto for decades now. We auditioned back in September but our first rehearsal was only on Monday of this week. The kids play villagers and guests at the palace party and I'm so proud of them. They work so hard and they're so excited. Only thing is, there's one scene where they have to pretend to be asleep and that took some practise because they were so excited they kept popping their little heads up."

Last but not least, Weekend heads into the orchestra pit hidden away at the foot of the stage.

Musical director and keyboard player Allan Rogers is in charge. He's been in the business for 30 years and his next job is as musical director for the Strictly Come Dancing national tour.

"It's going well," says Allan. "There were a few technical difficulties in the last few rehearsals but we've got there.

"After this, I'm straight off to do the SCD tour. TV, panto, stage shows – I've done it all. One minute I'm in Tokyo with Russell Watson and the next I'm in a pit in Wolverhampton."

He's joined on Sleeping Beauty by his sound technician son Sam.

"I always love coming to the Grand because this is where I met my wife Claire. Seven years ago, I was working on Snow White and she was one of the Magnificent Seven. She's 4'5" and I'm 6'4" but it works and this is where we fell in love.

"Showbiz, eh? There's no business like it."

Elizabeth Joyce