Panto Wars

SECC show accused of being too blue.

TV star John Barrowman has been accused of being too blue for family pantomimes.

The Torchwood actor, who stars in the SECC’s annual panto with The Krankies, has been criticised by Iain Gordon, manager of rival theatre The Pavilion.

It seems that despite it only being May, the Christmas panto wars are already red hot (oh yes they are!).

Glasgow, Scotland’s pantomime capital, has three big annual shows vying for an audience at The Pavilion, King’s Theatre and SECC and this year looks to be the most fiercely contested yet.

In a letter sent to customers by The Pavilion last week, the theatre claimed it had received feedback that other recent Christmas shows in the city haven’t been suitable for families due to offensive material.

Speaking to The Sunday Post, Iain explained: “We’ve had a lot of feedback from schools and general customers about how blue John Barrowman was and the number of gay references he made.

“We’ve taken at least 10 schools from the SECC due to teachers saying they weren’t comfortable with the kids hearing the material.

“The King’s has maybe been a bit guilty with Karen Dunbar, but not to the extent of the SECC.

“I don’t blame The Krankies I think they’re just following Barrowman’s lead. There’s a time and place for being risque and blue, and panto is not that place.

“I decided I was going to write to people and tell them they could feel safe coming to The Pavilion in the knowledge it would be completely child-friendly and squeaky clean, while still being funny.”

Allan Snedden, head of concert and event sales at the SECC, responded: “We’ve been privileged to welcome the Qdos pantomime to the Clyde Auditorium for the past three years and have received excellent feedback from all ages each time.

“The city plays host to a variety of pantomimes and as a family show we provide entertainment to suit both children and adults. This, plus the fact we have multiple sell-out shows year on year, speaks for itself.

“The cast are loved across Glasgow and, upon announcing the return of Qdos, John Barrowman and The Krankies to the venue, initial interest has been overwhelmingly positive.”

A spokesman for The King’s Theatre, whose pantomime features comedian Karen Dunbar and former Still Game star Gavin Mitchell, said: “The King’s has always prided itself on being Scotland’s favourite family-friendly panto and the script is written with the family in mind.

“It’s suitable for all ages from two to 102. We focus on topicality, high-quality production values and the traditional elements of panto.”

The Pavilion says their panto, which stars veteran Dean Park and singer Michelle McManus, is already up on sales by £35,000 compared to this time last year.