PHIL Beck will be carrying on a tongue-in-cheek family tradition when he steps on stage in Warrington.

The 36-year-old is the writer and director of Tony Peers Productions’ Jack and the Beanstalk which will be at the Parr Hall from January 5 to 14.

He is appearing as the panto dame which is bringing back memories of his dad Peter’s time treading the boards.

Phil said: “I was brought up with panto. Both my parents were regularly in pantos as amateurs so I had the opportunity to see a panto every year. My dad was a dame himself in most of those shows so I guess I looked at it and thought: ‘I could do that’.”

But what do Phil’s mates make of his make-up and frock?

He added: “I do get a bit of ribbing off a few friends as you can imagine.

“But I’m fortunate enough to have done it enough now that they come and see the show.

“They’re very supportive so it’s all good natured.

“Not just playing a dame but getting on stage at all means you have to be brave because you’ve got all those eyes looking at you and judging you.

“I think that’s true of all theatre. You don’t know what you’re going to get until those curtains open and look into the whites of the eyes of the audience.”

This will be the second year that Phil has written the Parr Hall’s annual panto and he sees it as a responsibility.

He said: “I’m always conscious of the fact it could be children’s first experience of theatre.

“It can be a real watershed moment of whether or not they want to do it again and that does feel like a responsibility.

“It’s nice to see the next generation of theatre goers and live entertainment lovers coming through.”

The script can be tricky too. Obviously the story is already there but creating a layered production that makes both children and adults laugh is the challenge.

Phil, a Flamborough resident, added: “You know what the narrative is going to be.

“It’s then a question of drawing from experience and trying to remember previous shows you’ve done and sketches that worked well and then throw in topical references. It’s manna from heaven when you have a really good year on the reality shows around Christmas.

“For example last year a lot of pantos got a lot of mileage out of a character like Honey G.

“We don’t like to be too heavy or too controversial but we might have the odd tongue-in-cheek reference to Donald Trump and Boris Johnson’s dad is currently in the jungle so that might sneak in depending on how he does.”

Phil got into the entertainment industry after following his parents onto the stage. He then spent 15 years as an entertainment manager at holiday parks.

“That’s how I cut my teeth in the industry and it gave me a really good grounding on a lot of the basic stagecraft skills,” he said.

“I’ve also compered along with kids’ TV characters like Sooty and Basil Brush. I was one of those entertainers who tried their hand at everything – a bit of ventriloquism, a bit of magic. I’ve done it all.”

DAVID MORGAN