00:00It's been absolutely wonderful, I mean I had a great time last year, my first panto, it was, what was it, it was er...
00:07Jack and the Beanstalk, it was only last year.
00:10And it was just one of the most wonderful experiences ever, so it was kind of like a no-brainer to come back.
00:15As Alison Hammond and Matt Slack continue to entertain Birmingham in Peter Pan, the story behind the curtain is just as exciting.
00:23Two apprentices have kick-started their theatre careers through a WMCA-backed scheme,
00:28highlighting opportunities for young talent in the region.
00:32So at the moment we're on Peter Pan Pantomime, and it's given me the opportunity to shadow all of the technicians at the Hippodrome
00:39and to work closely and learn from them.
00:41It's a great way to learn a lot about a lot of different departments, which I feel will help me going forward.
00:47I mean I'm getting work experience every day, I mean I know exactly what it's like to work on shows, because that is what I'm doing.
00:56So I couldn't really ask for a more relevant work experience.
01:00Every day is different, so the goal is to get the show up and running so the audience enjoy it,
01:05but there's always little things that can go wrong.
01:08It's live theatre, it's overcoming those problems, and working with people backstage have been brilliant.
01:16The apprenticeship scheme has given young people like Tegan and Laura the chance to turn their passion into a career.
01:23Their work behind the scenes has been vital to bring the magic to life.
01:27Alison Hammond and Matt Slack reflect on the joy they've brought to Brummie families this Panto season.
01:35It's been great, we've had a great time, haven't we?
01:37It's been lovely, the audiences have just been so warm and lovely.
01:40And busy, it's packed.
01:42Every day, every single show, I want to see an empty show once.
01:46No you do not, don't say that, edit that a bit.
01:49We want it full, all these seats we want full.
01:51It's been a joy though, we've got a wonderful cast, a wonderful company, a wonderful crew,
01:55and everybody that works in this theatre is like a big family, they're all fantastic.
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