An actor who became the first person to get a degree in Panto has landed his dream role – in Jack and the Beanstalk. Jefferson Parlett, 31, has been a pantomime fan since he was a child but after leaving drama school he noticed a lack of opportunities in the festive shows.
He had appeared in shows on cruise ships and even on TV – but executives weren’t keen to hire an actor without professional panto experience. He then spotted an article in an acting magazine highlighting a new course by Staffordshire University a Masters in Contemporary Pantomime Practice.
Jefferson graduated earlier this year becoming one of the first people in the country to earn a higher qualification in panto. Now Jefferson has secured the comic “Buttons-esque” character of Simple Simon in this year’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk at The Corn Hall in Diss, Norfolk.
“I’ll be playing Simple Simon, who is Jack’s brother. He’s the one that goes up the beanstalk with Jack to help fight off the giant,” said Jefferson, from Plymouth, Devon.
“Simple Simon is the comic this was my dream role, which I did my Masters to work towards. He’s the one that’s going to be playing the games with the children and having those interactions with the audience.
“I was very lucky with this one when I heard about SparkLife Pantomimes, I dropped them an email. They had actually heard about me and my Masters degree in the news, which was fantastic.
“They sent me a script in an email, and I filmed myself reenacting that and then sent off the tape. When I sent my audition tape to him, I got the role a couple of hours after, which was fantastic.
“I was doing a stand-up comedy gig that night, so I decided to put it to the back of my mind and just enjoy the gig. I think it was about five minutes before I went on stage that I got the email which was absolutely a dream come true.
“I was very lucky that Ryan had me in mind for playing his comic this year.”
The show will have a two-week rehearsal period before beginning a nine-day, three-times-daily run from 20 to 29 December at The Corn Hall in Diss.
Jefferson believes his Masters degree was the key to getting his foot in the door – and hopes this will lead to a long and successful career in pantomime.
“It was unbelievable I can’t even describe the feeling,” he said. “It’s been my dream since I was six years old.”
“I’m sure I was put on this planet to bring joy to people. I think comedy is a great form of escapism, and the feeling of making people laugh is indescribable.”
“This is my debut professional panto, and I’m hoping to learn a lot about the comic firsthand. I’ve done the Masters and looked at all the theory how to deliver a joke and the structure of comic timing and I’m hoping to put all that I’ve learnt into this role.”
“Hopefully this is the start of a yearly tradition of me doing panto all over the country. I’m hoping this will be the start of a long and successful career as a panto comic.”