Panto Beast Jordan is looking forward to Christmas in Godalming

Christmas this year is going to be very different as the country continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

But one beacon of light amidst all the gloom is that fact that, in Godalming, the traditional panto will still be taking place.

The Guildford Fringe production of Beauty and the Beast is the only professional pantomime taking pace in Surrey this year. It runs at The Borough Hall from December 12th to 6th.

Here at Godalming Nub News we're really looking forward to the show - and we managed to bag a quick chat with the Beast himself, aka rising star Jordan Wheatstone.

This is the first professional role for Colchester-born Jordan, and he says he is very excited to be playing the Beast.

"It's quite strange because I graduated in 2018 [from Arts Educational Schools London] and lots of my friends were getting work, and now nobody's getting work and I have found myself a job!" he laughs.

So how did he land up treading the boards in Godalming this season, one of the few entertainers doing live panto in 2020?

"I was working with Peter Duncan filming a panto in his back garden - it's going to be streamed online - and one of the producers was involved in the casting process for the Godalming panto," he explains.

"They were running auditions in a small room at the back of a pub in Guildford, and so suddenly there I was, in front of the director, Nick.

"I chanced my arm - and then found out I had got the job! I realise that I am so lucky to be in a cast full of West End superstars. I am really looking forward to using the opportunity to learn from them during the rehearsals."

Jordan will be co-starring alongside Maria Coyne as Beauty, Ben Redfern as Potty Pascal, Philip Day as Dame Dominique Derriere, Lily De Lay Haye as Sybil, Paul Kemble as Monsieur Bertrand, and Charlotte Wyschna and Arran Bell in the ensemble.

Rehearsals started on Monday: "I think we all walked in a bit nervous - not about how we were going to do our job, but more about how it was going to work," he confesses.

"As actors we are quite tactile, especially on stage, as we have to have the chemistry. But the directors were great at making us feel at ease, and everyone was very clear about how we needed to adapt."

Tickets for the show are selling fast, and Jordan believes that's because people want a bit of normality in their lives after such a trying year.

"I think we have all spent so much time indoors this year, watching TV, and seen such negative things on the news. People want the joy of the panto - the theatre is the only thing that can give you that buzz.

"The advantage of doing it in a small local theatre, the Borough Hall, is that audiences can come here and realise that the theatre isn't a place they need to avoid."

As Jordan's first professional role, he says, it's great to be doing something so magical for families after such a difficult year.

This Tale as Old As Time isn't just about a beautiful young woman and a beast, Jordan stresses.

"I begin the show as a prince, and I am not a very nice character," he says.

"The prince is very arrogant, and not a nice person. He is turned into a hideous beast and everyone starts to hate him, and he thinks its because he's ugly, but it's not - he starts to learn that it's what inside that counts."

Despite the obvious restrictions of panto in a Covid year, the show will still radiate fun, laughter, silliness and great songs.

"We do a really good job of avoiding the subject of Coronavirus," he says. "I think the whole reason we go to the theatre is to escape, so it's important to try to forget Covid exists, just for an hour.

"It's important to do these things, to make it feel like Christmas."

And Jordan says he's looking forward to seeing Godalming all lit up for the festive season too. Told about the magnificent lights, and the stars around the Pepperpot, he can hardly contain his excitement. "I love Christmas lights," he says. "I can't wait to come and have a walk around the town and see them.

"I love Christmas - I start wearing my Christmas jumper on December 1st. I'm really looking forward to Christmas in Godalming."

Beauty and the Beast runs at The Borough Hall from December 12th to 26th. This is a Covid-safe production, with measures in place to ensure audience safety. The performance runs for one hour 15 minutes, with no interval.

To buy tickets, visit the website.