Hopes for award - UK pantomime judges visit Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre's Beauty and the Beast

They are stopping at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre during the run of Beauty and the Beast, a wild adaptation by Nick Lane, which is on at the venue until December 30.

Here we talk to Simon Sladen, chair of the UK Pantomime Association.

Can you tell us a brief history of The Pantomime Awards, and why the assocation decided to run them?

The UK Pantomime Association was founded in two years ago to explore, share and celebrate pantomime by investigating the genre’s rich past, engaging with contemporary practice and inspiring the future.

Establishing the Pantomime Awards was important to us; they recognise the outstanding work across the industry and reward excellence in practice, tradition and innovation.

Historically, there have been few opportunities for pantomimes to be included in existing award ceremonies, and a genre as specific and complex as pantomime deserves its own.

Why do you think pantomime has continued to be such a much-loved tradition in the UK?

Pantomime is an important aspect of Christmas in the UK, along with Christmas cards, Christmas pudding, Christmas trees and Christmas carols; we have the Victorians to thank for all of that.

It’s an opportunity for communities, families, colleagues and friends to come together and be transported for two hours of pure entertainment. Pantomimes act as a living newspaper of the year, allowing us to think about the past 12 months and prospects for the future.

For many people, it’s their first experience of theatre, and the audience participation, bright colours, over-the-top characters, comedy and toe-tapping music captures imaginations.

It’s also unique in its playfulness and audience participation conventions – the very nature of joining in, and being part of something, is special for many audience members.

What do you think are the magical ingredients which create an award-winning pantomime?

There are so many ingredients that go into making an excellent pantomime, which is why we work closely with the industry and academics to draw up a set of criteria for each of our award categories. Some of the areas we look for in productions include how well performers engage with the audience, characterisation, nuance, innovation, creativity, ambition, energy, balance and storytelling.

How has pantomime evolved through the years to keep up with current trends and be representative of communities across the UK?

Pantomime’s century-long survival is down to its willingness to evolve. Recent trends include greater diversity in casting, stronger female roles, greater integration of BSL signing, and an increase in same-sex relationships and LGBTQIA+ characters.