11:39am Friday 7th December 2007
By Nicola Orchard
THERE is quite a distance from being principal dancer with the Royal Ballet to starring in pantomime, but Wayne Sleep is far from a snob. "Panto really teaches you your craft as an actor," he explains.
Wayne, who is playing Buttons in Cinderella at the Theatre Royal Windsor this festive season, thinks pantomime is an important part of theatre training.
"I just find it an art - you sing, dance, act and do slapstick, which is all the theatre there is really.
"You have to be willing to send yourself up, and it is a good learning curve for lots of actors who are pompous and in love with themselves."
He adds: "When I did my first pantomime, Dame Ninette de Valois from the Royal Ballet asked me what I was doing over Christmas. I said I was doing panto, feeling all sheepish, and she said it is only the critics who don't approve of panto. It's all entertainment."
Wayne, whose entertainment career stretches back to the 1960s, when he joined the Royal Ballet Company, believes panto has another importance.
"You could be performing to three generations, and it might be the kids' first time at a theatre, so it is your responsibility to make them enjoy it, and come back to the theatre," he says.
Wayne joined the Royal Ballet Company in 1966 on a scholarship and soon rose through the ranks to become principal dancer.
He has also starred in a number of theatre productions, including Mr Mistofeles in Cats, the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Emcee in Cabaret, and Uncle Willy in High Society, which visited High Wycombe on tour earlier this year.
He is also a choreographer, and set up his own charity The Wayne Sleep Foundation to help aspiring youngsters.
But every December, Wayne's thoughts turn to panto. Last year, he visited Watersmeet in Rickmansworth in Beauty and the Beast, and he has played Buttons on several previous occasions.
He has worked with actor Michael Sharvell-Martin - who is playing one of the Ugly Sisters alongside Christopher Beeny in Windsor's Cinderella - on numerous occasions, and says: "Michael has lots of jokes and he just does them brilliantly. The Ugly Sisters are very good together."
This year, Wayne is also looking forward to swapping jungle stories with the Fairy Godmother, played by former newsreader Jan Leeming.
Both Wayne and Jan appeared in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here - Wayne in 2003 and Jan in 2006.
He says: "There will be some jokes about it.
"Anything topical that doesn't interrupt the flow of the script is great in panto," he adds.
"It is a truly English tradition. I tried to explain it to an American once and said the leading man is a girl, the mother is a man, and it went on and on like that. You just can't explain it.
"They thought I was barking mad, and that is the beauty of it."
Cinderella is at the Theatre Royal Windsor from Wednesday, December 5 until Sunday, January 6. Details: 01753 853888 or www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk
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