NEWS – 15 May 2023
Scotland’s favourite squaddie Gary: Tank Commander to star in His Majesty’s Theatre pantomime as full cast for Sleeping Beauty announced
Gary: Tank Commander will be entertaining the troops at Aberdeen’s His Majesty’s Theatre this festive season as he joins the cast of this year’s pantomime Sleeping Beauty, Aberdeen Performing Arts has announced today.
Gary joins panto Dame extraordinaire Alan McHugh as Nurse Nellie Macduff, comic actor and River City Star Paul J Corrigan as Slimeball and Aberdeen’s own Danielle Jam who returns this year as The Spirit of Pantomime.
Aberdeen Performing Arts Director of Programming and Creative Projects, Ben Torrie said: “We are pure buzzing to say Hiya to Gary and give him a huge HMT welcome this festive season alongside our beloved Dame, Alan McHugh, our favourite cheeky chappie PJ Corrigan and the fabulous Danielle Jam. There is nowhere more magical than His Majesty’s Theatre in panto season and we can’t wait to see what this amazing cast have in store!”
Sleeping Beauty is staged by Crossroads Pantomimes, the world’s biggest pantomime producer, led by Michael Harrison and the creative team behind last year’s production of The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan.
Michael Harrison said: “We’re announcing a stellar comedy line-up for our HMT Aberdeen panto today, guaranteed to provide laughs for all the family. Gary: Tank Commander will bring his own trademark comic talent to the panto, alongside the faces Aberdeen audiences love so much, including Alan McHugh, Paul J Corrigan and Danielle Jam.”
Gary: Tank Commander is the Scottish Bafta award-winning creation of actor and writer Greg McHugh. He is known to many as ‘Howard’ the dressing robed, socially awkward oddball in the hit Channel 4 series ‘Fresh Meat’ and most recently as ‘Eddie’, in BBC One’s ground breaking show about Autism- ‘The A Word’.
Greg wrote and starred in three series of ‘Gary: Tank Commander’ for the BBC. Greg’s other numerous TV credits include: multi award winning BBC Film ‘Marvellous’, Channel 4’s ‘Dates’, and ‘A Discovery of Witches’ for Sky One.
The production will also see the return of much-loved comic duo Alan McHugh and Paul J Corrigan.
Alan is delighted to be back at His Majesty’s Theatre playing Dame for the 19th year, and once again writing and directing this year’s panto. Alan has worked and toured with all the country’s leading theatre companies, including the Citizens, National Theatre of Scotland, the Traverse, Royal Lyceum, the Tron, the Arches, Wildcat, Borderline, Perth Rep, Dundee Rep, 7:84. He has worked extensively in television in Scotland, including Outlander, the double BAFTA Award-winning Limmy’s Show, five episodes of Taggart (never the deid body once!), High Road, River City, Scot Squad, Two Doors Down, Rab C Nesbitt and Still Game. For Aberdeen Performing Arts, Alan featured in the joint HMT/National Theatre of Scotland production of Tutti Frutti, and their tours of Sunset Song and Silver Darlings.
Paul J Corrigan returns to the His Majesty’s Theatre panto in the role of Slimeball. Paul could recently seen in Aberdeen’s production of The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan as Smee. He has recently starred as Muddles in the Crossroads Production of Beauty & the Beast in Aberdeen, and in The Ticket Meister at the Oran Mor and The Beacon, directed by April Chamberlain. Paul is probably best known for appearing as Stevie in the recurring Scottish drama River City for the BBC and the role of Adam in the beloved Gary: Tank Commander, a role in which he reprised last year for an arena tour in Scotland. In terms of theatre, Paul starred in the National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch, Cuttin A Rug at the Citizen’s theatre, It’s Behind You at Oran Mor and most recently as the leading role in Sunshine On Leith at the West Yorkshire Playhouse which went on to tour in all the big Scottish theatres. Further TV Credits include:Scot Squad and Still Game for BBC.
The star cast is completed by Danielle Jam in the role of The Spirit of Pantomime. Danielle’s theatre includes the starring role of Mina in the upcoming Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning for the National Theatre of Scotland, which premieres at His Majesty’s Theatre in September and follows previous productions for National Theatre of Scotland: James IV: Queen of the Fight and Wings Around Dundee. Danielle has been seen on screen in Scot Squad, DASH and as Daisy in Cbeebies’ Molly and Mack.
Sleeping Beauty will be casting its spell over His Majesty’s Theatre from 2 December 2023 until 7 January 2024. Once upon a time in the far-off fairy-tale land of Aberdonia, Princess Aurora is given a twenty-first birthday present by her evil aunt Carabosse. By pricking her finger on an enchanted spinning wheel she is placed under a cruel curse and forced to sleep until woken by true love’s kiss. Can true love win the day, and her dashing Prince break the spell? All will be revealed in this spectacular panto packed with magic, music, comedy and special effects.
