Five Minutes with Phil Rouse, writer/director of Babes In The Woods

Absolutely – laughter and righteous rage! In a crazy year of watching the world swing wildly right, the left needs to acknowledge its failings. Despair is not the answer. Robust humour can calm the nerves and steel the resolve for the challenges ahead. If 2016 has made you feel overwhelmed, some cathartic laughter is just what the doctor ordered.

What makes pantomime such a wonderful tradition at this time of year?

It is as much a festive event as it is a show. People want to interact, to connect, to be sociable in the good weather. Having a bunch of actors make fools of themselves with the explicit purpose of communal joy is such a precious thing. To know that it could happen annually makes it a tradition to look forward to.

What can you tell us about Auntie Avaricia and her family?

Auntie Avaricia is trying to make ends meet. She resents her estranged brother who has amassed a fortune for himself while she slaves away on their family’s farm. Enter two babes, Ruby and Robbie – her brother’s children. Their father has died and left all his fortune to them unless something should happen to them, then all the money would be left to Avaricia. A plot is hatched to leave the “babes in the woods” and let the harsh Australian landscape take care of the babes for her.

How can the audience get involved with the show?

Start by buying you and all your mates tickets. Head to the Old Fitz and grab a jug of beer and some delicious food from Jimmy Fitz Kitchen. Then when you enter, buy a beer from the cast and a bag of cabbage to throw at them at timely points in the show. Take your seat, learn or re-learn the Panto Rules (“It’s behind you!” et cetera). Then throw yourself into it. You might even get a kiss from one of our very sexy actors.

Is it possible for panto to get too silly?

Absolutely not!

[Babes In The Woods photo © Anna Gardiner]