December 23rd 2023.
The show must go on. Christine Taylor, an amateur theatre actress, is a strong believer in this adage. She works with the Hackney-based theatre group Immediate Theatre, whose latest Christmas panto, Second Chance, just wrapped a tour of nine shows bringing Christmas cheer to marginalised groups around east London.
Christine is 74 and has been living in Hackney for 48 years after growing up near Heathrow in west London. She now lives on her own, having lost her husband to lung cancer and an autoimmune disease over Christmas in 2021. Since retiring from teaching at 60, Christine has dedicated herself to caring for those around her, including her dad who had dementia for 10 years.
Christine has been a part of Immediate Theatre for four or five years now. In her own words, the group “feels more like an ensemble, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, everyone is equal.” This year, she was part of a cast of 12 actors – most of them in their 70s – who took to the stage in sheltered accommodation, lunch clubs and community centres to share the story of Second Chance.
The play is set in a charity shop and takes an upbeat approach to topics around ageing. Christine played Molly, a woman struggling with the cost of living crisis but with little regard for material possessions. For Christine, taking the show to people who may not be able to attend the theatre is the best thing. She believes that theatre is often seen as a middle class thing, which is why tickets are so expensive in Hackney.
Immediate Theatre was established by Jo Carter in 1996 with the aim of engaging people of all generations, many of whom are vulnerable. Previous grassroots projects include Christmas pantos like Cindy Rella, which was inspired by Cinderella, and last year’s Beauty and the Beastly, which starred both older actors and local youth.
Due to the pandemic, the group had to switch to virtual meetings and outreach programs, delivering parcels and tablets to those in need. This year, they’re back on the road and have been successful with their tour so far. Jo said that “some people in the group were very anxious about being back in the world and I feel as though it is only when you actually get out and do stuff that you can regain your confidence. For some of these people, they needed a reason to do that.”
Janet Evans, another 78-year-old actor in the show, got involved with Immediate Theatre six or seven years ago. Her first foray into acting was when she took her then-10-year-old son to a bingo hall in search of actors for a play.
The show must go on. Through Immediate Theatre, Christine and Janet, along with the rest of the group, are making sure of it. In bringing the theatre to marginalised communities and vulnerable elders, they are creating opportunities for joy and connection, and giving people the chance to regain their confidence.
Christine Taylor, an amateur theatre actress, talks about the work of Immediate Theatre – a Hackney-based theatre group. Christine has been part of Immediate Theatre for the past ‘four or five years’ and her social group has grown. “Immediate feels more like an ensemble, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, everyone is equal,” she explains.
Their latest Christmas panto, Second Chance, has just wrapped a tour of nine shows bringing festive cheer to marginalised groups around East London. Around 12 actors – most of whom are in their 70s – took to the stage in sheltered accommodation, lunch clubs, and community centres to share the story of Second Chance, a tale mostly set in a charity shop with an upbeat approach to topics surrounding ageing.
Christine herself plays Molly, a woman named after her real-life mother who is struggling with the cost of living crisis but doesn’t pay much value to material possessions. The importance of staging a Christmas panto for those who may not be able to go out to the theatre is paramount to Christine. “To me, that’s the best thing. It’s the same with the youth [productions], they take it to the estates where the kids are. Theatre is very easy for it to fall into the bracket of it being a middle class thing and theatre tickets are so expensive these days especially for people round in Hackney where people are still really struggling.”
Immediate Theatre was established by Jo Carter in 1996 with the aim of working closely with community groups and local organisations to engage people across generations, many of whom are vulnerable. Bringing together different generations through the arts is at the core of the charity’s work.
They had hoped to travel around the community last year but it didn’t work out. During lockdown, Jo and her team went into ‘overdrive’, keeping up with those who needed them most via meetings, delivering parcels and tablets for those in need as well. The actors performed in sheltered accommodation and lunch clubs, and the elders transferred to Zoom, which was tricky.
Despite the rocky lockdown period, the show has gone on with their first Christmas panto tour in years. Jo says: “We are very excited. There was quite a lot of feeling over the summer that Covid was on the increase but we’re one week done and so far everybody’s been fine and people have been well. I think some people in the group didn’t come out even after everything was kind of cleared. They were very anxious about being back in the world and I feel as though it is only when you actually get out and do stuff that you can regain your confidence. For some of these people, they needed a reason to do that.”
Janet Evans, 78, is another actor in this year’s panto. She got involved with Immediate Theatre around six or seven years ago. Her first foray into acting came when she took her son, who is now 48, to a bingo hall aged 10 where they were looking for actors for a play.
The show must go on for Immediate Theatre. They are dedicated to bringing people together through the arts, and they have found a way to do that despite the pandemic. Their Christmas panto tour continues to bring joy to marginalised groups around East London, and they also have funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to make a series about the hidden histories of local London communities.
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