Philip Meeks actor, writer and Pantomime Dame extrodinaire answers 20 questions
Lets start with some favourites
Favourite show (whether you have been in it or not)?
It was the Donmar Warehouse Cabaret with Alan Cumming as MC and Jane Horrocks was Sally. I stood to see it on the Friday night and went back and stood again for both shows on the Saturday. They redefined the roles….and the ending was so powerful. All future productions have used this as the benchmark.
Favourite book?
I read huge amounts and never reread books so I have many favourites. The one I would always recommend to people is The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. Its a huge theatrically themed epic.
Favourite theatre?
I love Broadway musicals…but the ones people have never heard of. I’m hoping to get to New York in May to see Kristen Chenoweth in “On the 20th Century” and Chita Rivera in Kander and Ebbs “The Visit”.
Favourite song?
Many many for different moods….but the song that pops into my head most often if “The Way You Look Tonight” by Jerome Kern and the brilliant lyricist Dorothy Fields.
Favourite music?
Show tunes….I’m such a cliché. Jerry Herman rules.
Favourite food?
Chinese…..
Favourite line from any show?
“What a Dump” from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”….although its originally a line Bette Davis said in “Beyond the Forest”
What is your favourite role?
Pantomime Dame. I’m a writer before an actor so I only ever really play Dame
What was your first role?
My first dame was Dame Hattie Doodle in Snow White in Arbroath in sub degree temperatures. We once had to dig the dwarfs out.
And what role would you really like to play?
Roger De Bris in “The Producers”
How did you become such an accomplished Pantomime Dame?
Luck and nice shoes.
How much input do you have into the amazing costumes?
I start with the fabric then work out what to do with it. I then design them but can’t make them. I have a fab chap who is based in Wales who makes for me. He adds his own touches and makes my ideas work. He’s working on a Full English Breakfast frock for me at the moment. Much debate about where to place the fried eggs.
If you could be anyone else for the day, who would it be?
I’d probably be someone I truly loathe and make them do outrageous things that would ruin their lives. Not people I know I hasten to add. Katie Hopkins perhaps. Or Nigel Farage. But then again I could never match the outrages things they do already and get away with…”Hilarious Katie Hopkins has a wee in front of the Queen. What hijinks will she get up to next?”
You’re clearly very talented and had a varied career, do you prefer writing or performing?
Performing makes me very happy but I don’t need to do it to live. I think you only suffer the rejections and horror of creative jobs if you need to do it. Writing is something I need to do for the time being.
Where do you get your inspiration for your plays?
Ideas bob into my head all the time. I’m in Glasgow at the moment working on the Scots soap River City. I’ve had several play ideas because the city is so inspiring. Ideas however can take years to work out. One I began thinking about in 2010 has only just been thought through to the point where I can write it
You work a lot in the regions, would you like to work in the West End?
There isn’t panto in the West End! I would always work in the North East and one day would like to be a resident Dame somewhere. I’m going to be down South this season however.
If you weren’t a writer/performer what would you be?
Well I was a teacher, then I was a publicist. I think now I’d opt to be “On the Sick”. Or maybe I’d get a little part time job being in charge of sausage rolls at a branch of Greggs.
What advice would you give 16 year old Philip?
Depends on the 16 year old…..but I feel its a waste of breath at that age. Let them make mistakes as that’ll teach them about their own lives better than words of wisdom from an old croak.
What was the last stage show you saw and really enjoyed?
The one I loved as Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire starring Imelda Staunton. I even enjoyed it more than her star turn in Gypsy. Its a great play. I love American plays as a rule but this is currently my favourite.
Your brother also acts, have you ever performed together?
Once in an amateur production of the “Good Companions” I’d love him to play Abanazar to my Twankey one day. Or we could be ugly sisters – though I probably wouldn’t cope. I’d hate to be booed in a frock after being loved in a frock so often
Can you tell us what you will be up to next?
I’m story consultant on “River City” and writing a few episodes. I’m also going to be recording my first radio play for Radio 4 soon, I’m working on a project for ITV and gearing up for a play heading to Edinburgh Festival. I’m also planning frocks for Christmas. I’m playing Trott for the first time in Jack and the Beanstalk. Really looking forward to dancing with a pantomime cow for the first time.