The Playhouse production of Aladdin is a ‘panto with heart’

It had to be big, it had to be bold and it had to be brave. Even panto favourite Peter Duncan saw the writing on the wall when Louise Chantal took over at the Oxford Playhouse, inevitably wanting to make her mark.

But to pinch director Steve Marmion from the Soho Theatre and ask him not only to take on our famous panto, but also write it himself, was a stroke of genius, a coup d’état, a fait accompli.

“I’m only here because it’s Oxford and because it’s Louise. But more than anything I’m doing this for my mum. She loves panto and was brought up in Wood Farm, so this is all for her,” the 38-year-old shrugs.

Steve, one of the country’s finest and most contemporary artistic directors is at the top of his game. Sitting in the circle seats interviewing him while Aladdin’s rehearsals continue below, I think I’ve got his full attention, but this man is never off duty and continually leaps to his feet to issue directives and pursue minor adjustments to the set.

“I want more glitter on that panel and that one’s not quite square,” he shouts down at the stage, while explaining how the curtain must fall correctly to an uncomprehending chorus member. “It’s all about the details,” he tells me.

A perfectionist through and through Steve has risen quickly through the ranks, making his mark in youth theatre, before jumping ship to the RSC and then the Soho Theatre, raising its profile considerably since taking over five years ago. “I was the only person on the shortlist no one had heard of, but they liked my vision and I’ve been there ever since making work that people want to see, rather than feel they should.”

Increasing audience figures in Soho from 85,000 in 2010 to 220,000 in 2015, how Louise managed to lure him to Oxford remains to be seen, but it has certainly increased the hype surrounding this year’s panto tenfold.

“Am I nervous? Not until it’s done and ready to show. Of course I will be – it would be arrogant not to,” Steve says, his lanky aloofness, belying his inherent, tangible talent.

So don’t think for a second that Steve hasn’t taken this challenge and run with it. Fiercely proud of the panto tradition, his attention to detail is second to none. Famous illustrator Korky Paul has already been coerced into designing the amazing Oxford skyline set, as seen in every Lewis and Morse opening shot, and given a Middle Eastern feel. News of the amazing flying carpet has spread far and wide and Steve shows me the Oxford city crest, as seen on every council letter, reigning supreme above the stage.

The cast has also been hand-picked, mainly via the RSC, making it possibly the most revered and thespian crew in years. The dame, Nigel Betts, was lined up by Steve in January while he was working on BBC3 series Boy Meets Girl, and a stint at The National in Patrick Marber’s Three Days In The Country. No dumbing down here then.

“There is a big difference between a dame and a drag queen, and we have a salt-of-the-earth, dinner-lady Widow Twanky, who is much more Les Dawson than Danny Le Rue.”

And yet Steve’s Oxford roots are still strong. “My mum lived in the barracks at Wood Farm in huts before the estate was built and then housed on Titup Hall Drive, the perfect panto name,” he laughs.

“The whole family always went to the panto and still does. They will all be coming to see it in Oxford.”

All of which combines to make this year’s Playhouse panto quite a thing, the hype, unprecedented. Is that a pressure? “Well having written and directed it yes. It’s a lethal combination, because if it doesn’t go well you have only yourself to blame,” he grins ruefully. “But yes, I am quite aware of what came before but I’m not interested because I know what panto can and should be. I just hope everyone likes it.”

Honing his skills at the Lyric Hammersmith, after a panto hiatus there of 30 years, he has nothing to worry about, yet it’s a compliment to Oxford that Steve is taking his debut here so seriously.

“Panto is most people’s only experience of theatre and is all about community because people react to it with their hearts not their brains. It’s a British institution.”

So where does this theatrical streak come from? “I think I’m living my dad’s fantasy life. He was a Scouser who left Liverpool to become an actor in London, but went into teaching and ran his own business when he had a family. So I do feel that I’m living his dream in a funny way.”

As for Steve, he said ballet was more his thing until he grew too tall. “There aren’t many 6ft 5in male ballerinas doing Swan Lake,” he smiles sadly.

Having been at the Hillsborough disaster with his father in the infamous upper tier, he wrote his first play about the experience while at university. It was immediately picked up and taken to Edinburgh and things escalated from there. “A 15-year overnight success,” he jokes. “Even then I wanted to make it work, and I’ve done all right,” another rumpled grin.

“But like a football manager I’m only as good as my players, and luckily our cast this year is cracking. So it’s an honour to be doing Aladdin in Oxford, a real honour.”

Where and when
Aladdin 
Oxford Playhouse until January 10
01865 305305 www.oxfordplayhouse.com