'Panto offers a moment to escape from the troubles and stresses of life'

Indigo Jones speaks to Owain Wyn Evans as he takes to the stage in Sleeping Beauty over the Christmas period

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PANTO season is in full swing, with dames, princes and wicked stepmothers taking to stages across Wales.

Among the shows to have launched this month is Sleeping Beauty at Cardiff's New Theatre, starring BBC Morning Live's Gethin Jones, Radio 2's Owain Wyn Evans and panto legend Mike Doyle.

Following a successful run of Cinderella last year with the three presenters, the theatre has asked them to return.

For Ammanford-born Owain, who gets up at 3am to present his radio show, sleep will be much-needed as he juggles that with the panto run.

He's playing the Spirit of Pantomime, which he's promised is "high camp" as he "brings all of my loves together" in this year's show.

The 41-year-old said: "It's so lush to be back in the New Theatre. The building has so much history and the history of panto here is also incredible.

"One of the things that I feel quite honoured and quite proud about really is that Cinderella last year - which had many members of the same cast returning this year for Sleeping Beauty - was the bestselling panto in the history of the New Theatre, which I just think is incredible.

"So many people came to see it and there's something so magical about being on stage and seeing people react to the magical moments of panto."

The radio presenter also highlighted how important panto can be for people of the LGBTQIA+ community thanks to its queer roots.

He said: "I think that for many years us queer people have had to reach to escapism to escape the kind of realities of life in many ways.

"We've seen that through the decades, through the centuries, you know, the history of languages like Polari, which was a secret language used to communicate, and elements of that came from theatre.

"Then as we move on through the years, you know, having a moment to just escape from the troubles or the kind of stresses of life is amazing, and panto definitely brings that.