Jennifer Saunders rejoins Dawn French for Palladium panto after 17 years
jennifer saunders and Dawn French are going back onstage together this Christmas at the London Palladium. The pair will play the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella, their first joint stage appearance in 17 years.
“There’s something I have to tell you. Jennifer and I are going to be doing panto together this Christmas! At the London Palladium. We’re playing the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella!” French said. She added that it would be “naughtier than anything I’ve ever done,” with Julian Clary as the Fairy Godfather.
London Palladium return
French said the script for Cinderella is “genius” and described the production as “a kind of festive variety show.” That puts the reunion in the Palladium’s established panto frame rather than as a one-off nostalgia booking, and it gives the venue two comedians with long history in the format.
French has done the Palladium panto twice before, while Saunders has appeared there once. The new pairing also answers a request that goes back to the 1980s, when people used to ask them to do panto together. This time, French said, “It also means that Jennifer and I will be able to spend all that time together.”
Seventeen years apart
French said the West End reunion is the first time the pair have taken to the stage together in 17 years. That gap gives this booking more weight than a standard seasonal cast change, because it restores a working partnership that has been absent from live performance for nearly two decades.
French also said, “Everything is forgivable when you work with someone you love.” For the Christmas run, that is the practical selling point: two familiar names, a known venue, and a pantomime built around their reunion rather than around a single star turn.
French's new book
French’s fifth novel, Enough, is out now from Penguin Michael Joseph with an RRP of £22. The book introduces Etta, a mentally and physically fit grandmother who gathers her family to announce that it is her last day on Earth and that she has made the decision to commit suicide.
French said she is “girding my loins for the flak” she expects over the novel, and some friends have already pushed back on Etta’s choice. For readers deciding whether to spend on the panto or the book, French now has two very different items in circulation: a festive stage reunion at the London Palladium and a novel designed to provoke argument.
