Hester Chillingworth is bringing their new LGBTQI-friendly pantomime to Brighton. Jamie Walker talks to them about it.

So tell us the story of the panto?

It’s a mash-up world in which some of the characters of Dick Whittington and some of the characters of Jack and the Beanstalk think each other’s is the one that’s happening.

In the middle of all this there’s Jack, who is a non-binary child, who is trying to navigate how to be comfortable in a world where there’s not much experience or language of how to describe being non-binary.

So how did the idea for this show come about?

It came from watching pantos when I was young and also in more recent years, when I had actor friends in pantos, and being struck by how a lot of them continue to be quite regressive in their politics and messages – although most see them as just traditional.

There’s a lot of transphobia, homophobia, racism and normally the audiences are packed with families and children. I was looking around the auditorium and thinking about the messages that are being put out to this young audience.

I wanted to see some shows out that put my perspective out there and told that narrative.

How important is it that these alternative pantomimes exist to put a different spin on it?

Obviously there’s a comfort in the tradition of panto but I think that can also be an excuse for not looking at what’s going on around you. It can never hurt to look at your stories and think about if that is the message you want to be putting out.

No doubt there are some well-crafted, thoughtful, pantos but for every one of those there are probably about 25 that don’t think of the messages that they are putting out.

Do you have any examples of things in panto you think could be putting across those messages?

I think the trope of the pantomime Dame in the centre of things, again there are some great portrayals of Dames that take place but at the same time there are lots of examples where the joke is that it’s a bloke in a dress – there’s nothing more interesting or layered than that, it’s the prospect of laughing at a man in a dress.

So is this a family friendly show?

Yeah it’s ages five and above, it’s a children’s show. Quite often alternative pantos are a bit raunchy and for more of an adult audience. We want to think about how it can be accessible to everyone.

And again how important do you think that is, when it comes to the age a child should be before they are introduced into the world of gender identification.

I don’t think you can ever be too young to learn acceptance and openness. Having been a non-binary child myself I know that I knew more about gender than a majority of the world around me – or at least that’s how it felt.

Nothing went over my head because it was in my body and my life. I would say that my experience was “how come everyone is pretending there’s only two gender?”.

The more experience you have, the more empowered you can be to talk about your identity. The more conversation you can have the more expression you can have.

Have you done shows in Brighton before?

Yeah, I’ve worked with the Marlborough a fair amount over the years. They commissioned another show that I made, which was about the experience on a non-binary child.

They have supported work I’ve done with my theatre company and I have a close connection with them.

What do you like about both Brighton and the Marlborough?

I think the thing about the theatre, and more widely in Brighton, that is so special is the sense of community. You get an audience at the Marlborough where there’s a crossover.

They’ll be an LGBTQI audience and an alt audience and sometimes people are both, or neither.

People are coming to see the work for their own reasons, but it feels like there’s more going on than the actual show.

That’s special because I don’t know how many places there are like that.

So why is this the show to see?

Because it’s a really close and intimate show. It’s happening right in front of you, not far away where you can barely see it.

It’s a joyful show by some fantastic performers that’s all about children finding their voice and their power and happiness in the world.

If you’re sick of the same old stories this will be really memorable.

The children will almost be able to reach out and touch the actors. It’s more of an intimate experience of live performance.