THERE could be sightings of a UFO in Aberdeen this winter. People are being told to check for signs of a dishevelled wig, huge chandelier earrings and copious amounts of glitter. It may also be making strange, grumpy sounds, and trailing bags behind it.
“Honestly, that’s how they’ll find me – in the middle of Union Street, unconscious and muttering about Christmas shopping,” said Elaine C. Smith.
Don’t worry, Elaine hasn’t completely lost the plot. She’s just worried that she might. You see, on top of a busy year, she has also signed up to play the Fairy Godmother in HM Theatre’s pantomime, Cinderella. This wouldn’t be a problem if she didn’t also have her daughter’s 21st, and Christmas shopping to do, too.
While having her lunch break, dressed as “Mary Doll”, her Rab C. Nesbitt alter ego, Elaine said she was already feeling the strain.
“I am knackered. I’ve taken on a lot this year, but it’s a very happy tiredness,” she said.
“I’m filming for Rab C. Nesbitt at the moment, then I get 10 days’ rehearsal for panto, which people never believe, but that is genuinely all you get.
“I’ve got a night off halfway through the run for my daughter’s 21st. She started howling when I told her I’d be in Aberdeen that night, so we’ve managed to work it so that the two shows that day are earlier, so I’ll drive down straight after to be with her. Then I’ll drive down after the show on Christmas Eve, spend the day with my family and drive back up on Boxing day. I’m mad. Thankfully, I’ll spend some time with my sister’s brother-in-law in Stonehaven and his lot are coming to see the show on Boxing Day, so I’ll still be surrounded by family.”
Elaine wasn’t planning on doing panto this year, following a busy year of filming and touring Calendar Girls. But when she was approached by friend Michael Harrison, Cinderella’s producer, she couldn’t refuse.
“I’d said no to Glasgow because I thought I wouldn’t have time, but when Michael offered me the chance I couldn’t say no,” she said.
“I’ve always loved working with him, and what he’s done for this show is amazing. I’m delighted to be doing it. I’d been disappointed with pantomimes for a while because of the lack of magic, but Cinderella is out of this world. We’ve got 3D, we’ve got four white ponies and amazing technical tricks, it really impressed me.”
For someone so well known for their comedy, it may come as a surprise that Elaine wasn’t a pantomime regular as a child.
“I lived in Lanarkshire, and pantomime was just too expensive and too far away,” she said.
“My folks weren’t theatregoing folks, so, before I stepped on stage in one, I’d never seen a pantomime. It made me even more determined that my girls saw plenty of pantomime’s because really it’s a child’s first experience of theatre.”
Although there can be a stigma attached to pantomime, Elaine says she’s watched it evolve into a magical, fun and value-for-money show for all the family.
“I used to turn down panto all the time because I thought it was naff,” she said.
“Scotland’s good because we still have a great tradition of putting on a good show with people who can actually act. In other parts of the country, they tend to just stick a soap star in and ride off the back of their fame, but the shows are always rubbish. I didn’t like how old fashioned some of them were, either – the whole girls dressing as boys thing was so outdated. They only introduced that in Victorian times so that men could look at women’s legs.
“Thankfully, we’ve moved on and Scotland has some of the best pantomimes around. As an audience, we love all the interaction up here; we like a good show. It’s great fun. It celebrates popular culture; it’s a fantastic tradition for storytelling, and it celebrates local culture, too.
“That’s one of the most important things. Folk in Aberdeen don’t want to know what’s happening in Glasgow or Edinburgh, they want local jokes. I’ve even had to find out what a blooming rowie is, for goodness sake.
“Pantomime is a fantastic leveller, too. It brings parents and their children together, and also you can find yourself sitting next to the Lord Advocate or the girl that works in the supermarket: it brings everyone together.”
Although the traditional Fairy Godmother is an ethereal creature, appearing at the start of the story and helping to transform Cinderella, Elaine will be bippity-boppity-booing throughout this show.
“Michael has written the show so that I help Cinderella the whole way through, and it’s so much fun,” she said.
“My first costume is the traditional one, with glitter and sparkles, but then I appear in different guises to help guide Cinderella, so I’m everything from Amy Winehouse to Susan Boyle. There’s a lot of daftness going on.
But it is a really fantastic show, and people can expect a lot of magic, fun, comedy and a really good night out.”
Like the rest of us, Elaine must prepare for Christmas, and she has warned the shoppers in Aberdeen to be prepared for her presence.
“I am so excited about the pantomime, because I love being in Aberdeen and the folk are really great, but I’m going to be absolutely shattered by the end of it all,” she said.
“I’ll have to get everything ready for Christmas between shows. So if you see me struggling down Union Street, bags in hand, face covered in glitter, make sure I’ve taken off my wig. I might have forgotten.”
Now that wouldn’t look very magical, would it?
Cinderella opens at HM Theatre on Saturday and runs until Sunday, January 3. For tickets call 01224 641122 or visit www.boxofficeaberdeen.com