Just Imagine

For the Christmas edition of the podcast Martin heads to Swindon to talk to the cast of Snow White at The Wyvern - David Ashley, Divina De Campo, Nathan Connor, Paul Burling and Samantha Dorrance. This episode also features special Christmas messages from some of the Imagine team.

This week Martin is joined by radio presenter Scott Mills who is making his pantomime debut this year in Jack and the Beanstalk at De Montfort Hall. Scott talks to Martin about how his decision to do a panto came about, the advice he has been getting from his showbiz pals and his past performing experience on Strictly Come Dancing.  Don’t miss Scott in panto at De Montfort Hall 15 Dec 2023 – 7 Jan...

This week Imagine’s Joint CEO and Business and Marketing Director Sarah Boden joins Martin to talk through everything that is currently happening at Imagine Theatre HQ as well as on the pantomimes themselves. Everything is in full swing with two shows now open, some shows in rehearsal and others due to start rehearsing shortly. The final touches to set, costumes and props are done and they are bei...

This week Martin is joined by Imagine Theatre’s Steve Boden and performer and director Steven Wren to talk about Peter Pan. Peter Pan has been around for 120 years in numerous forms – firstly as a book and then a play, a musical, many different movie adaptations, and now as an increasingly popular panto.  They discuss the way that it has been adapted over the years, the way the story is evolving a...

Panto Set Pieces and Routines Simon Sladen, Paul Morse, Janice Dunn join Martin on this week’s episode to talk about the traditional panto set pieces and routines such as slosh scenes, ghost gags, song sheets and call backs. They delve back into the early days of panto to talk about where some of the routines originated as well as discussing some more modern innovations.  A must listen episode for...

This week on the podcast Martin is joined by actor and director Andrew Agnew.  From starting out in The Wizard of Oz at school and being mesmerized by panto as a child to playing PC Plum in Balamory, Andrew talks about how he got into the industry and how his career has developed.  He also talks about the differences between English and Scottish panto and the challenges of playing Dame as well as...

This week on the podcast Martin is joined by three guests to discuss the role of technology in pantomime. He talks to Imagine’s Artistic Director Eric Potts, Head of Operations, Dave Edmunds and Nina Dunn from PixelLux. They discuss the innovations throughout the history of pantomime and how technology has helped with the evolution of the genre in a variety of ways from lighting, sound, automated...

For this week’s podcast Martin joined the team at their largest photoshoot event of the year. Taking place over 4 days the August shoot brings people together from all over the United Kingdom to have their publicity photos taken and promo videos filmed. This is the final shoot of the year and is the last opportunity to gather marketing assets for the forthcoming season.  The shoot not only brings...

The pantomime version of Dick Whittington has been around since the early 1800s and is believed to be the only pantomime based on a real person. This week Eric Potts and Robert Marsden join Martin on the podcast to discuss one of their favourite titles. They discuss the delights and challenges of staging this particular panto as well as its versatility and history, and relive some of their favouri...

Daniel took an unusual route to being a professional musician having first studied Sports Science at University before going on to Mountview Dan has worked with Imagine for a number of years as a Musical Arranger and Musical Director and he talks to Martin about how he came into the theatre profession, those that have influenced him, as well as more about what is involved in being an Arranger and...

This week on the podcast Martin catches up with Steve Boden to learn why there is no such thing as a restful summer for the Imagine Team. With casting auditions for both adults and juniors, photoshoots, set maintenance, hires, props creation, script reads and much more going on, it is full steam ahead on panto planning during July and August. Take a listen to the podcast to find out more!

This week Martin talks to Mark Thorburn.  Mark’s love of the theatre began with a pantomime at the Coventry Theatre aged 8 and he has gone on to be involved in theatrical industry in many different roles, some of which include Chief Executive of NODA, Editor of the Amateur Theatre Magazine, Artistic Director of YOG, a Coventry youth theatre group, as well as being part of the Imagine Team in its e...

This week the tables are turned and it is Just Imagine podcast host Martin Ballard who is in the hot seat with Imagine MD Steve Boden taking over the role of interviewer.  Martin spent many years hosting on BBC radio and his links with Imagine go back 20 years from his time as Dame at Loughborough Town Hall. Steve discusses with him how he got into the entertainment business, how he came to be wor...

This week Martin talks to Chris McGuigan from Trafalgar Theatres, which is part of the wider Trafalgar Entertainment group. Chris has had an extensive career in the theatre industry and is now Group Commercial Director for Trafalgar Theatres. Imagine and Trafalgar Theatres began working together for the 2022 season and Chris, a lifelong panto fan, talks to Martin about panto from the perspective o...

This week’s podcast is all about the Junior Ensemble. A big part of the ethos at Imagine Theatre is to give as many children as possible the opportunity to experience performing in professional productions and Martin has a variety of guests on the pod this week to talk about the experience from different perspectives.  Martin speaks to Sarah O’Gleby who has gone on from the Junior Ensemble in Leic...

Eric Potts and Iain Lauchlan join Martin on the podcast this week to talk about Jack and the Beanstalk.  This is the second of several ‘special’ podcast episodes where we work through the popular pantomime titles in turn, examining them in more depth by talking through the title’s roots, such as Jack’s origin in Cornish folklore, the background story and the unique elements of the title, like the...

This week Imagine Theatre is celebrating its 18th birthday and Martin talks to Steve about the history of the company – how the company came into being, how it came to be called Imagine, Mi workshops, the landmark moments and much more.  The podcast also features birthday wishes from some of the amazing people Imagine have worked with over the years. 

Martin heads to Staffordshire University for this episode of the podcast to speak to the students on the MA in Contemporary Pantomime Practice as well as Robert Marsden and Richard Cheshire who created and run the course and Sarah Boden who was a guest speaker on the day.  This vocationally led course offers both research and practical study in the pantomime genre to enhance the students’ understa...

This week Martin went behind the scenes at the 2023 UK Pantomime Association Awards at the Trafalgar Theatre in the West End.  The event celebrates all things panto and is an opportunity for everyone from the panto world to come together to honour the genre. Martin spoke to Sir Ian McKellen, Vernon Kay, Debbie McGee, Joe McElderry, JP McCue, Anna-Jane Casey, Damian Williams, Sam Munday-Webb and Si...

This week Martin talks to three members of the UK Pantomime Association - Simon Sladen, Samuel Munday-Webb and Nick Humby.  Founded in 2021 the UK Pantomime Association is a charity with the aim of exploring, sharing and celebrating pantomime. They ardently believe in the positive promotion of pantomime and inspiring and encouraging others to engage with the genre. In addition they hold the annual...

This week sees Martin catching up with Steve and Sarah to see what is happening at Imagine during March.   He talks to Sarah about the huge workload she and the accounts team have in reconciling accounts for the end of the financial year and how this affects budgeting for the 2023 season. Also under discussion are the current challenges faced by both the industry and the general public by the risi...

Something different for the ‘Just Imagine’ podcast series, Martin sits down with Imagine’s Managing Director Steve Boden, and our Artistic Director and renowned pantomime writer Eric Potts to talk about the pantomime Cinderella.   This is the first of several ‘special’ podcast episodes, spread over the next 2 years, where we work through the popular pantomime titles in turn, examining them in more...

This week Martin interviews the incredible Nigel Ellacott, pantomime dame extraordinaire and the brains behind the encyclopaedic pantomime website www.itsbehindyou.com. Join them both in this fascinating walk-through pantomime over the years. Listening to Nigel talk, you’ll soon understand why the UK Pantomime Association chose him as the recipient of their 2022 award for Outstanding Achievement i...

This week Martin catches up with Steve and Sarah and finds, contrary to popular belief, they are not able to put their feet up now the panto season has finished and have a well-earned rest. Join him as he talks to them about how the 2022 panto season went, how it was to have six brand new venues for 2022, their pride at having almost half a million people watch an Imagine pantomime and why the tea...

Vernon Kay has done almost everything from playing American football, to modelling, radio and TV presenting, to taking part in I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, but until this year one thing he had never done was appear in a panto. Now he is getting rave reviews as Dandini in Cinderella in Wycombe and he joins us for our festive special podcast which also features Christmas messages and festive...