Watch out, there’s a new dame in town... KATHERINE MACALISTER meets the brash, red-lipped super heroine Dame Doris Donut (aka actor Leon Craig)

Sitting down for a drink ain’t easy when you’re a dame – a panto dame that is.

I might need a straw,” Dame Doris Donut says, peering into her glass, and pursing her red sequinned lips, as we sit chatting in the Oxford Playhouse bar.

Suitably frocked and coiffed, Leon Craig is resplendent as Dame Doris Donut, out to promote this year’s Oxford Playhouse panto Dick Whittington. She/he has an enormous task ahead of him/her. Not least a 45-minute make-up routine before each of the 73 shows.

Luckily, director Peter Duncan seems to have chosen a dame well used to the pressures of panto for his seventh Playhouse festive production, Dick Whittington. Leon has been playing panto dames since he was 17.

The 30-year-old even has a special shed at the end of his Manchester garden for his 10 panto dame outfits, wigs, shoes and accessories. “I order my heels from America because I’m a size 12, so I often wear them in around the house or otherwise they can be agony,” he laughs.

But even though this will be Leon’s 11th pantomime, he’ll need all the practice he can get, because with over nine costume changes and a One Direction Song to remember, you won’t be disappointed with this year’s extravaganza.

Leon has never even been to Oxford previously, let alone starred in one of its famous pantomimes, and is champing at the bit to get on stage. “I’ve never done Oxford before – so this is intimidating and really exciting at the same time. Oh how I love panto,” he adds theatrically.

And then he bats his red diamante eyelashes, rolls his eyeballs and adds: “And yet people think panto is easy but it’s not and relies on such a small group of people, so you really have to keep taking the vitamins and look after yourself,” Leon says.

A bit of a diva then? “Oh yes, I demand white M&Ms in my dressing room, my own small Christmas tree and a bed so I can sleep between shows,” he chuckles.

Obviously this isn’t so much a job, as a calling. So what gave Leon the panto bug in the first place? “I went to see Michael Barrymore as Buttons when I was little and I thought, ‘That looks like fun,’” he remembers.

Outside panto, Leon has had a busy acting career including parts in Priscilla Queen of the Desert and, most recently, the Jesus Christ Superstar arena tour, all of which adds to his dame act. “In Priscilla they sent me on a special course to learn to walk in heels properly,” he says.

“But then I’m quite a leggy dame – 6ft 3in with big hair which helps, as you really have to command the stage and get the audience on your side. You have to reassure them that you will look after them and that you are going on an adventure together,” he explains. “I’ve always had the same look,” he continues, “it’s just got bigger: bigger lashes, and more glitter because I want it to be really effective and stunning,” he says.

As if to prove a point, a local gentleman comes over to our table and starts unashamedly chatting Dame Doris Donut up. After we manage to get rid of him she turns and asks: “Do women usually look like this in Oxford?” before adding, “Actually it happens all the time. I often get wooed with flowers and chocolates at the stage door.”

So Dame Doris likes a bit of banter then? “I love a bit of ad-libbing and a heckle, and the parents almost enjoy it more – they get to be as childish as they want for a change,” he laughs. “And the kids get to laugh and shout without getting told off, so it’s really a win-win situation.”

Leon is obviously a dedicated pro then, so what’s the secret to dame immortality? “You have to be real and make people laugh. But ultimately you are given a story which you need to bring to life,” he says seriously.

Surely by January, after the tinsel and mistletoe has gone, some of his bonhomie will have disappeared? “No,” Leon says, “because as soon as you get your make-up on and hear the audience – the screaming kids you get excited. I love the magic of it all, the band, the crew – panto is like a small family. I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to getting into the Christmas spirit.”

  • Dick Whittington runs at the Oxford Playhouse from Friday, November 30, to Sunday, January 13.
  • Call the box office on 01865 305305 or see oxfordplayhouse.com