From Christmas elves to the Seven Dwarfs, there is no shortage of seasonal work for pantomime dwarf actors. But the season to be jolly has become a season of miserliness for some pantomime companies who are casting non-dwarf actors to save money.
One such company is Qdos Entertainment, which has admitted to casting non-dwarf actors on the basis of their “physical and performance skills” in productions of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This means that non-dwarf actors have to wear a special body suit or knee-pads in order to play the dwarf roles.
Peter Burrows, 69, who co-runs Willow Management Dwarf Acting Agency with Extras star Warwick Davis, says it is “awful” that pantomime companies are favouring non-dwarf actors for these roles. “If there is a shortage of little people, and they want to put on the pantomime, they’ve got to use tall actors. But when they [dwarf actors] are available and they’re still using tall people, I think they’re putting short people out of work.”
Dwarf actors are, on average, paid twice as much as non-dwarf actors. However, according to Burrows, pantomime is their “bread and butter” and the roles are only available for four to seven weeks of the year. Out of 80 clients on Willow’s books, only 30 are full-time actors, says Burrows. He adds that many part-time pantomime dwarf actors have other jobs and act only when the seasonal work period during Christmas comes around.
But Burrows can still see the funny side to companies without the budget to pay for dwarf actors muddling through with a non-dwarf cast. “I get a smile out of it because it shows that they want to be like us for once.”
