Anita Harris (President)
Anita Harris is a celebrated English singer, actress and entertainer whose career has spanned over six decades. Harris made her pantomime debut in 1962 in Babes in the Wood at the Gaumount Theatre, Southampton (now The Mayflower)and since then has appeared in over 20 pantomimes across the country from Edinburgh to Manchester, York, Birmingham, Coventry, Wimbledon, Richmond and Plymouth. She has appeared as Principal Boy, Principal Girl, Fairy and Villain, and most recently starred at the Theatre Royal Windsor from 2021 to 2023. Her illustrious career has seen her share the stage with many pantomime greats including Allan Stewart, Una McLean, Max Boyce, Dora Bryan, Jimmy Tarbuck, Jack Tripp, Billy Dainty, Terry Scott and Frankie Howerd.
Beyond pantomime, Anita spent two years as Grizabella in the West End production of Cats at the New London Theatre. She has also made her mark in film and television, appearing in two Carry On films and starring in the children’s series Jumbleland. More recently she has taken on roles in Casualty, EastEnders, Midsomer Murders and appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2018. Harris is also an acclaimed singer and recording artist, with her recording career beginning in 1961 with EMI and the John Barry Seven. In the mid-1960s, she had a string of singles with her 1967 hit, ‘Just Loving You’, reaching Number 6 in the UK charts and selling over 600,000 copies.
Derek Griffiths (Vice President)
Derek Griffiths has played numerous pantomime roles over the years, both comic and villain, from Dick Whittington which he wrote, directed and composed at Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in 1976 to Beauty and the Beast, at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, in 2021. Special memories include the prestigious London Palladium 1987 pantomime Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood with actress Barbara Windsor, who has one of The Pantomime Awards named in her memory. This was the final pantomime to play the Palladium until the welcome return of star-studded pantomimes at the venue in 2016. Derek also appeared with UK Pantomime Association Trustee Chris Jarvis in Peter Pan at The Hexagon, Reading, and in the CBeebies pantomime, A Christmas Carol.
Derek’s countless other stage credits in the West End and around the UK, include The Mousetrap at St Martin’s Theatre, Exit The King at the National Theatre, Driving Miss Daisy on tour, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof alongside James Earl Jones and Adrian Lester at the Novello Theatre, and Miss Saigon at the Drury Lane Theatre playing the Engineer.
Family stage highlights include West End roles playing the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and originating the role of Lumière in the West End première production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Alongside his theatre work, Derek Griffiths has worked in television for many years from his early days on Play School and Play Away to most recently the hit drama series, Unforgotten.
Trustees
The UK Pantomime Association has an organising board, each of whom share responsibility for governing and directing how the association is managed and run. Drawn from a range of specialist backgrounds in the arts, business and education, they use their expertise, unpaid, for the benefit of the purposes of the UKPA. They are committed to ensuring that there is inclusivity, transparency and professionalism in all facets of the work of the association.
Simon Sladen (Chair)
Simon Sladen is Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Performance at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Senior Tutor (Performance) on the V&A / RCA’s History of Design postgraduate programme. He is Pantomime Editor for the British Theatre Guide and in 2011 founded Panto Day, later creating the Pantomime Advice Page and National Database of Pantomime Performance. His published scholarly research on contemporary pantomime encompasses tradition, training, casting, conventions, cross-dressing and global forms of the genre.
Sam Munday-Webb (Vice-Chair)
Sam is a director, writer, producer and educator with experience in theatre, education and schools and has overseen many pantomime productions in many guises. In 2016 Sam founded the Great British Pantomime Awards. Sam trained at Royal Cental School of Speech and Drama and he has worked in community arts engagement as a director and educator in Northamptonshire and facilitates and manages the artistic programme for Brackley Youth Theatre. He also has an in-depth knowledge of Safeguarding and works with local and national organisations to support their safeguarding provision. Sam’s company The Inspiration Factory offers bespoke workshops to business to promote well being and better team practices, which includes a talk about ADHD, OCD and mental health to encourage people of all ages to talk about mental health. Sam is a trustee and director of the Royal and Derngate, Northampton where he also sits on the Arts Sub Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Joanne McKain (Treasurer)
With a strong background in finance and account management, Joanne brings many years of experience in the banking industry to her role as Treasurer for the UK Pantomime Association, blending professional financial knowledge with a lifelong love of the arts to offer a rare mix of precision, creativity, and dedicated community leadership. She began her journey in amateur dramatics behind the scenes in sound and lighting before expanding into vocal coaching and choral work and eventually stepping confidently onto the stage herself, performing opera and pantomime on the Perth Theatre stage as part of the Perth Panto cast, an experience her children greatly enjoyed seeing her be part of. Beyond performing, Joanne is deeply committed to youth and community support, having held roles as both Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson within community organisations, and volunteering with Police Scotland Youth Volunteers as well as Scouting groups from Beavers and Cubs through to Scouts, helping young people build confidence, practical skills and curiosity while ensuring fun and creativity remain central. A champion of all things creative, she enjoys costume design and making, baking delicious cakes for charities and churches to sell, and collecting the unusual, from quirky ornaments to timeless classic cars, and is proud to support the UK Pantomime Association in championing, celebrating, and sustaining pantomime across the country.
Alex Jackson
Alex is a Director and Writer originally from Exeter, now based in London. Alex has a passion for theatre with entertainment at its heart. Theatre that will make you laugh, and make you cry. He was Co-Founder and Festival Director of Exeter Fringe Festival, a Junior Associate at the King’s Head Theatre, and co-creator of new musical theatre podcast Making a Musical recorded live at The Other Palace. He has a breadth of experience working across comedies, histories, queer stories and musical theatre. He has directed pantomimes for Exeter Northcott Theatre and Little Wolf Entertainment, and his pantomime scripts are produced by professional and amateur companies across the UK and internationally.
Chris Jarvis
Chris Jarvis has appeared on Children’s television since 1993, hosting a variety of shows such as Fully Booked, Friday Zone and Jungle Run. Behind the scenes, he has written and devised shows including the BAFTA & RTS winning Old Jack’s Boat, Show Me Show Me and many Children’s BBC pantomimes. Chris has appeared in professional pantomimes every year since 1995. He is a proud trustee of Action for Children’s Arts and a director of Little Radio Ltd producing shows for BBC Sounds and CBeebies Radio.
Susie McKenna
Susie McKenna is an established Director, currently Associate Director at the Kiln. She recently co-directed the critically acclaimed NW Trilogy by Roy Williams, Moira Buffini and Suhayla el Bushra at Kiln Theatre, and previously Blues In the Night starring Sharon D Clarke, Clive Rowe, Debbie Kurup and Gemma Sutton at Kiln Theatre as part of their re-opening inaugural season; Olivier Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an affiliate theatre.
After writing and directing Hackney Empire’s first ‘in house’ pantomime, Dick Whittington, in 1998, Susie wrote and directed the pantomime there every year since, including 2020’s 21st anniversary production of Dick Whittington set in post war London 1948 as Dick arrives on the SS Empire Windrush. Her other main house productions at Hackney Empire include: Blues in the Night, Beau Jest , Sit and Shiver (starring Steven Berkoff, Kat and Tameka Show), La Variété, Sing Out, Alter Ego, A Midsummer Night’s Madness ( NYC and Edinburgh) a musical adaptation of Macbeth and Once on this Island; a co-production with Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse.
David Lloyd-Jones
David’s lifelong interest in Music Hall, Pantomime and Variety began as a child having seen many Summer Seasons in his home Town of Llandudno and, later, numerous Pantomimes at the Swansea Grand Theatre. Training in Drama at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama has led to a varied career as a Butlin’s Redcoat; Performer; Lecturer: Education Manager; and Theatre Director. He has also been awarded Degrees from both Swansea University and the University of Glamorgan. As a Pantomime Director, he has worked for a number of leading Production Companies in a range of venues across the UK. These include: Grand Theatre, Blackpool; Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl; The Riverfront, Newport; and the magnificent Sunderland Empire. In addition to working in Theatre, David undertakes freelance work with Post Graduate students for the University of Buckingham and is an external moderator for the University of the Arts London.
Robert Marsden
Robert Marsden is an experienced pantomime practitioner, having directed professional pantomime since 1999. Since 2007, he has worked with producer Stephen Boden at Imagine Theatre Ltd across the UK. As a theatre director, he has worked in both commercial and subsidised theatre sectors in the UK and into Europe. Directing experience includes comedies, dramas, verbatim and documentary theatre, Shakespeare, Jacobean tragedy, Restoration comedy, new writing and musicals, having worked for Selladoor Worldwide, the New Vic, Stephen Joseph Scarborough, Leatherhead Rep, Swanage Rep, Frinton, DGO, Milton Keynes Theatre, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Bolton Octagon, Reveal Theatre, Yvonne Arnaud, Hordern Ciani, United National Productions and the BBC. Robert is Director of Curriculum at Wilkes Academy, Swindon and has been an Associate Professor in Acting and Directing and holds a doctorate in rehearsal room practices and breakthroughs. His books, ‘Inside the Rehearsal Room’ and ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Directing Theatre’ are both published by Bloomsbury/Methuen.
Laura Taylor
Laura has worked in the world of theatre production for almost 30 years and in that time has been associated with over 300 productions, with pantomime always most prevalent in her career, working for many pantomime production companies including Paul Elliott at E&B Productions; Nick Thomas and Jon Conway at Qdos Entertainment; and Kevin Wood at First Family Entertainment, part of the Ambassador Theatre Group. During her career she has been responsible for casting some of the biggest names ever to grace the pantomime stage, including David Hasselhoff, Priscilla Presley, Pamela Anderson, Cilla Black, Barbara Windsor, Bradley Walsh, Dame Edna Everage and Henry Winkler, and continues to introduce the greatest names in entertainment to the world of pantomime. Laura is now proud to be an Associate Producer and Head of Celebrity Casting for Imagine Theatre, overseeing seven productions commercially and creatively this season, and in addition to pantomime has worked on a wide array of other theatre productions including Anniestarring Lesley Joseph and Paul O’Grady; Boogie Nights starring Shane Richie; See How They Run starring Warwick Davis and the Reduced Height Theatre Company; and Mr Bloom’s Nursery and Panto’s On Strike starring Paddy McGuinness and Jonathan Wilkes. She is also proud to be a Trustee of the UK Pantomime Association and, alongside the other board members, enjoys championing the artform to ensure it thrives in the modern world for future generations to enjoy the uniqueness and joy of pantomime.
Lottie Pheasant
Lottie manages the Kenton Theatre in Henley on Thames, the fourth oldest working theatre in the UK, and as part of her role oversees their annual pantomime; whilst she loves all genres of live theatre, she has a genuine love of pantomime dating back to her early days of youth theatre and performing on The Kenton stage. She has a background in marketing and development in professional services but has now spent over a decade working in the charity sector for different charities, whilst also volunteering for organisations including Samaritans and Home-Start UK, and holds a Charity Law and Governance qualification from The Chartered Governance Institute, currently supporting the Board of one of the largest homeless charities in Cambridge. Lottie is passionate about promoting and facilitating effective governance in charities, particularly within the arts and culture sector, and is delighted to have joined the Board of the UK Pantomime Association to support the charity in achieving its aims, particularly in relation to governance and regulatory responsibilities.
Honourary Officers
Alastair Walkinshaw (Secretary)
Alastair Walkinshaw is one half of TimpanAli Productions based in the Channel Islands. He has written, performed in, directed and produced many pantomimes over the last 20 years. Originally from Plymouth, now in London via Jersey, he has a passion for all things pantomime and loves nothing more than interacting with audiences as one of Cinderella’s sisters. He wrote his dissertation on the History of Pantomime which was published under the title of ‘Harlequin’s Travels’ on Nigel Ellacott’s website – It’s-Behind-You.com
Jacob Bush (Marketing)
Jacob is a hugely passionate supporter of theatre and the performing arts. He can often be found sitting in an audience and has also performed in amateur musicals and plays – notably Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Sister Act and Les Miserables, all with Easy Street Theatre Company. Jacob has over four years experience in higher education marketing and is now seeking his next career opportunity. He thoroughly enjoys combining his passion for theatre with his marketing experience to manage the UK Pantomime Association’s social media presence and celebrate excellence in pantomime in all its varying shapes and sizes. Alongside volunteering as the UKPA’s Marketing Officer, he reviews theatre for West End Best Friend and Last Night I Dreamt Of, as well as The Reviews Hub, for which he is the Yorkshire and North East Editor.