A festive five minutes with Nick Lane

We caught up with Aladdin writer Nick Lane, chatting about writing the annual Christmas show, Doncaster Rovers, and the benefits of eating cheese at bedtime...

• The Christmas show’s known for its madcap spin on classics - where do you start with your ideas?

The title’s decided by the SJT team, and then it comes to me!

I knew it was going to be Aladdin a month before Beauty and the Beast opened, so I’m working over a year ahead of production starting. The idea changes – I start with an initial blurb and every year I try not to pin myself down to a specific idea, but then I find something I like and I think – oooh! But then I end up writing myself into a corner and I have to write another version.

Basically, I try to have fun and think of the maddest thing that could happen that hasn’t been done before, like the Princess being turned into a chicken. Also, I eat a lot of cheese at bedtime…

• You always include some brilliant and iconic Scarborough references, like Hairy Bob’s Cave and Seaside Danny Wilde – how do you choose which ones go in every year?

My golden rule is I don’t want it to be forced! It's not a template or a formula – you have to feel it when you’re writing it. You want to get to know people and get to the heart of a place.

Jeannie Swales [SJT Press Officer] is an amazing resource, having lived in Scarborough all her life. We talked a lot when we were writing The Comedy of Errors (more or less), especially when we were delving more into the history of Scarborough in the 1980s.

If you know a town well enough, you can drop something in now and again like the local legend that’s Seaside Danny Wilde. I'm pleased to hear he gets a big cheer in the show! It’s about doing it affectionately and with love.

• How involved are you in the rehearsal process?

Generally, the process is that I look at the rehearsal notes at the end of each day, and then I stay on the phone with the director and respond to any comments about the writing. I can write and make changes pretty quickly – for example, in rehearsals, Act 2 was running longer than we wanted and we decided it need trimming down.

I sat through a run and realised there was one scene we could lose completely which lasted 7/8 minutes – I mean, that’s the difference between someone needing a wee or their attention completely drifting! People get bored, and children often have short attention spans, so we have to be mindful of that.

It’s really a constant dialogue that’s always open.  

• How is the Christmas show different from a pantomime?

We use the word ‘panto-esque’ - we essentially do what we call ‘salad barring’ it, meaning we take the parts of panto that work really well for the Round and leave the rest.

If you do a panto and adhere to the traditions set down from years ago, there’s a very specific methodology and way of performing that can be really quite restrictive. Because it isn’t specifically given the label ‘pantomime’, we get to invest more in the story and how that moves forward.

• What do you want to take away from a Christmas show?

I want to have fun! I don’t have an agenda, I want a good story, well told, and I want to have a laugh. There could be singing, dancing, or something completely new and bonkers I didn’t think of, but I want to lose myself for a few hours and be able to wholeheartedly recommend it to others.

• If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?

I’d wish for:

Global fairness. I feel there’s a lot that would have to change if I wished for that, including freedom of movement, hunger, homes, voice and everyone having recourse for their actions.  

Doncaster Rovers to make it to the Premier League - even just for one season - and not be humiliated.

And finally – I’d ask for my cholesterol to be automatically lowered so I can eat as many crisps as I like! Space raiders, square crisps, Discos… the stronger and vinegarier, the better!

• What's your favourite film?

Die Hard.

[He's wearing a Die Hard Christmas jumper, which is a bit of a giveaway!]

• And favourite Christmas song?

Oh, now THAT’S a good question. OK… my favourite Christmas carol is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen [he sings part of it]. I just think it’s beautiful.

My favourite classic song is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra. It makes me cry every time. And my favourite festive pop song is Baby Please Come Home by The Crystals – it’s just a great song!

• What’s next for you?

I’m back at the SJT with three shows next year!

First up is Love’s Labour’s Lost, which I’ve co-written with Elizabeth Godber, then I’m back the following month with Blackeyed Theatre and Dracula, which I’ve adapted and I’m directing. Then it’s Christmas and Sleeping Beauty.

Love’s Labour’s Lost (more or less) is in a really good place, and Lizzie and I have worked really hard on it. We had such a wonderful response to The Comedy of Errors (more or less), so expect more laughs, more chaos, and more shoddy theatrical disguises – all set in 90s Ibiza!

Dracula’s a real change of tone, and I’m looking forward to bringing it to the Round. It’s a new adaptation looking at Victorian politics and exploring the place of women, the voiceless and the disenfranchised. In some ways, Dracula feels like a zero-sum game – Dracula’s bad, therefore anyone who fights him is good, but that’s not always the case, especially if we’re looking at Victorian Britain at the height of the British Empire.

2025’s going to be a busy one…

Aladdin runs until Sat 28 Nov - you can buy tickets here, or by phoning the Box Office on 01723 370 541. And if you're feeling really organised, you can get tickets for Sleeping Beauty from £10 here!