Celebrating pantomime dame, Donovan Christian Cary
A larger-than-life character, Donovan first appeared at the venue in Aladdin in 2004, but not as the dame character of Widow Twanky, but as the Genie of the Lamp.
After instantly becoming a hit with audiences and off-stage with his warm personality, Donovan was invited back the following year to appear in Sleeping Beauty, but this time to play the more central part of the pantomime; Nanny Biscuit – the dame.
Born is Harrow, Donovan harboured an early secret dream to perform, however since there were no other actors in his family circle, it wasn’t until the visiting the school drama block that Donovan for the first time said aloud “what I really want to be is an actor-director-writer-singer-presenter.”
After regularly busking in Convent Garden and performing stand-up gigs in nightclubs, Donovan applied to and attended the Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. After graduating, Donovan appeared in the number 1 tour of La cage aux folles, which has cross-dressing and multiple costumes, but Nanny Biscuit in 2005 was his first true Dame character.
2024 marked the 20th year that the award-winning pantomime dame, Donovan Christian Cary performed in a Princes Hall pantomime – where has the time and all the “jokes, jokes, jokes”, gone!?
