LUCY Hunter-James is the new principal boy in the York Theatre Royal pantomime. Welcome to the northern madhouse, Lucy, from Banbury in the south.

"I'd been writing to Damian Cruden the artistic director for various productions since leaving Rose Bruford College many years ago, but this is the first time I've auditioned successfully," she says.

"I've done three other pantos, two of them commercial pantos, and the other time was playing Alice Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington in 2001-2002 in a music-hall pantomime written by Roy Hudd for the Palace Theatre, Watford.

"He was insistent on music-hall songs all the way through, and like the York Theatre Royal pantomime, it's famous for money being spent on the set and costumes."

Lucy, 27, will be playing not one but two roles: Sleepy Jean and Watson. "This will be my first principal boy and fairy: Act One fairy, then principal boy. So that's a first for me, which is great, because variety is the spice of life. You can't get much more different from principal boy than fairy."

Lucy's first professional engagement post drama school was in panto in the winter of 1999-2000. "The very first job I had was at the Stafford Gatehouse, playing Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, and that was the most commercial panto you could do. There was Ted Rogers and Dusty Bin; a Chippendale; and Owen Aaronovitch, who had been Deidre's bad-boy lover of the year in Coronation Street, John Lindsay!"

Now her career has come full circle. "It's a strange world! Nigel Hook, who is designing the Theatre Royal pantomime, had designed my last show at Rose Bruford. I was standing for my panto costume fitting and he was saying, 'I know you, you had a beehive in Bonjour La Bonjour'.

"That was quite a role: I was playing a 40-year-old mother who was having an affair with her son, and she was an alcoholic and she smoked! I'd been playing sweet roles throughout drama school, and I was so pleased to be given something meatier for my last part."

Nothing, however, can prepare you for the experience of working with Berwick Kaler, Martin Barrass, David Leonard and Suzy Cooper, who between them have 73 years of service to the Theatre Royal pantomime. "The first day of rehearsals was very nerve-wracking to say the least. Obviously I've never seen the York panto but I did my research and when you see they've been working together for so many years, you know they have a history and you wonder if you'll fit in," says Lucy. "But after five minutes, you fit in and feel at home. A few outings to the pub, and I feel I've known them for ages!"

Lucy has been forewarned of panto dame Berwick Kaler's love of an ad-lib. "Principal boy is a straight role and he wants me to play it straight rather than for laughs but he says he will start throwing 'things' at me...."

As soon as she leaves York at the end of January, Lucy will begin rehearsals for her role as Woman 1 in the new London production of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change! at the Jermyn Street Theatre.

"We'll each have 15 characters to play, so that's why it's easier to call the role Woman 1. It's a very American piece, like a sketch show, a revue about love, dating, marriage, children, divorce, death, so we go from being eight to 80 in the show. We'll be doing it in March in a 75-seater, absolutely perfect for a piece that needs an intimate space, like cabaret."

Two roles in York, then 15 roles in one play in London... "and I'm producing that show too!".

Sleeping Beauty, York Theatre Royal, until January 29. Box office: 01904 623568.

Updated: 10:12 Friday, December 10, 2004