Liam Rudden: Supersonic

Published on Friday 24 October 2008 15:34

Last week, I finally boarded Concorde. Indeed, not only did I get to tour one of the most famous aircraft in history, I even sat in seat A1 –normally reserved for the Queen.

The reason for visiting East Fortune's Museum of Flight was a publicity shoot to promote this year's panto at the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh.

As the show's writer and director I felt it was my duty to be there – okay, I didn't have to be, but the opportunity to fulfil a life-long ambition was too great.

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without panto. For those involved, however, it's an all year round project. I first pitched this year's show to my producer last November. The script was delivered in May and the cast in place by June.

Yes, a panto evolves over a long period of time – this year's was originally Snow White now it's Sleeping Beauty.

That evolution will continue throughout the run, no two nights are ever the same in pantoland.

However, with just three weeks before rehearsals begin there's still plenty to do. Costumes, wigs and set are being made as I write – although we have borrowed Stanley Baxter's 1978 Concorde wig from The Gang Show.

The publicity machine is cranking up and the cast are calling daily for script updates. It's all about to go manic, but at least I can say I've been on Concorde – even if it didn't actually go anywhere.