Greenwich welcomes "the Hamlet for dames"

He said: "I've always loved pantomime as it allows me to become a comedian. Only in panto is the dame the central role.

"I have played the baddie in the past but I always got lonely. As a dame I see the role as a licence to do anything and I do just that. It is my job to get everybody going."

The performance schedule for panto is pretty intense, but Andrew said it was still a varied experience for the performers.

He said: "We find our feet with the schools, but I get my kicks during the evening performances.

"We slightly change it, but it's still daft. People forget it is a mixed audience and you have to cater for that.

"Of course there are the classic routines. Actually, we tried to be different last year and left them out. But we actually had letters of complaint. People welcome the traditional jokes like old friends."

As writer, Andrew decided to take on Mother Goose partly for the rarity value.

He said: "Usually you have the five or six classics done regularly and Mother Goose is not done that often.

"The story was written for panto in 1904 at the Drury Lane Theatre. It has lots of traditions and they call it the Hamlet for dames. There is a moral to this one and it is a bit more dramatic, I was a bit worried the kids would get bored, but they don't."

After five years of constantly working on the theatre's pantomime productions Andrew is enthusiastic about Greenwich and its theatre.

He said: "It's the family atmosphere there, a small team and everybody gets on. The good thing about panto in Greenwich is the intimacy, so the little ones can get involved. Audiences pick up on that.

"I was at the switching on of the Greenwich lights and had kids walking up to me remembering gags from two years ago; we are part of their Christmas and we have built up a huge local audience.

"Last year was the most ill I have ever been during a show, it was the closest I have ever been to cancelling a performance. But the show must go on - you grit your teeth and get on with it."

Pantomime has become a big part of Andrew's year.

He said: "It's a craft. In January or February I tend to write a synopsis of what we might do and get told how many actors I will have. The first draft comes in April or March.

"Then we have to work on the sets and costumes and then another draft. It does not go away. Kieron Smith, the director, and Steve Smith, the musician, will offer gags, but it is mostly me writing alone."

Aside from festive fun in Greenwich, Andrew spends his time as a jobbing actor.

He said: "I write the Christmas show for Northern Broadside, but I am mainly a jobbing actor - last week I was in Coronation Street.

"I am part of a rural touring show and street theatre, and I have also written a couple of corporate shows - I like to keep it varied."

Paul Critoph also makes a return to Greenwich for Mother Goose as Squire Porgie.

Greenwich Theatre, to Jan 3, various times and prices, 020 8858 7755