Kevin Tillett is familiar to Hereford audiences, though whether you would recognise his face is another matter. JULIE HARRIES reveals the man underneath the wig.

Having played Dame in Aladdin and an ugly sister in Cinderella during the past three years at The Courtyard, he is an old hand when it comes to 'slapping on the powder and fixing on the falsies' (as he so fondly calls them).

You may wonder what goes through the head of a Dame when he's enthralling an audience of children and adults alike and the short answer is, with Kevin, a lot.

A Londoner by birth, Kevin ended up in Hereford more by chance than anything. While on tour in Birmingham he saw a house advertised in the local paper which sang out to him. Eight years on, he is happily living in the same house.

A 'jobbing' actor by trade, he goes where work takes him and although he needs to travel up to London for auditions and some rehearsals, he finds Herefordshire as convenient a base as any. He happily admits to having been bitten by the Hereford 'bug' and says that he has been made to feel very welcome here.

Taking the part of Dame Flora Bunda in this year's Courtyard production of Jack and the Beanstalk, it's a show he's more than a little familiar with.

He has taken the part of both Jack and the villain, Demon Thunderbolt, which did not suit his character at all. He describes the sensation as, "watching rows of children retreating like the tide going out".

"It's my natural niche to play Dame - it suits my personality and talents," he continues.

Kevin loves comedy but enjoys more serious work, too!

Having made the decision to leave his former profession of teaching and become a professional actor in 1988, Kevin had it in his sights to take on the mantle of Dame by the time he was forty years old and met his goal.

He'd always performed and sung during his spare time and had been heavily involved with school productions in Ilford, Essex. It was just a case of making that leap of faith.

"I always knew that acting would be a part of my life," he says, 2and I'd got to the point where my teaching commitments were conflicting with my stage work."

Kevin initially took a less demanding job that involved more flexible hours and enabled him to take the risk.

His years in theatre kicked off with five years touring with the D'Oyly Carte Opera company, which stood him in good stead and which he thoroughly enjoyed.

"It was a great baptism to life on tour. You literally turn up in a town, find digs, find the stage and start the week. Seven performances later, you're off and onto the next place."

"The tour I remember went from Hull, to Southsea, Liverpool and Aberdeen.

"It's a gruelling schedule, yet no-one goes into this business for the money - you just hope to keep afloat."

This year, two of Kevin's main projects have been They Shoot Horses Don't They at The Courtyard and two, one-act plays with The Ramshackle Theatre Company. He has worked with Jonathan Stone, Courtyard director, on several productions and enjoys the challenges that he comes up with.

When we met, Kevin was in the throws of preparing to go on tour with the two one-act plays which he is particularly excited about it. He describes both plays as looking at the sacrifices that people make for their art, one about the life of Flemish painter, Breugel; the other about a couple of elderly thespians who awake in bed to find themselves dead.

After the tour finishes he'll be working on Jack. A professional pantomime is a slick business and the cast will rehearse for just two weeks prior to the opening, sometimes less.

How well a cast gel is a lot to do with casting, Kevin told me, and it was a director's responsibility to ensure the cast was chosen with that in mind.

The script will be adapted during the fortnight's rehearsals and there's the entire choreography to be learnt and memorised so it's an intensive process, with little space for egos.

Lyndsay Maple's script for this year's Jack leans heavily on the Dame and Kevin will have his work cut out for him.

"Every Dame is individual, it's not just a case of banging a face on and rolling it out. Each night is different," he explained.

The Courtyard has a relationship with a theatre in Kirkaldy, Scotland, which involves them 'sharing' a pantomime over two Christmases. This means that the costs of putting on a production are halved and any glitches ironed out from one year to the next. The costumes have come down from Scotland already, and Kevin has had his first fitting.

I wonder if Kevin finds Christmas all a bit of a stress, but he admits that panto is what his Christmas is all about these days. His time off will be precious, and there will not be much chance for socialising, but a lot of friends and family will come and see him in performance.

Kevin tells me to expect some spectacularly different effects in this year's production of Jack.

"There's some pretty clever stuff," he said. But obviously he couldn't let me in on any secrets.

He'll be involved in the Hereford Christmas Lights 'switch on' on November 14 along with Jack and the Princess from this year's show and they'll be making the most of the additional space they'll have in High Town to add some extra tricks.

Aside from Dame, Kevin obviously has a whole other side to his life. He's heavily involved in conservation and animal welfare issues, and has five dogs of his own that take some looking after.

Already planned for 2002 is taking the Breugel to Belgium with The Ramshackle Theatre Company, and after that who knows?

But one thing's for sure - when this Dame's in town we all know about it.

Kevin is appearing in 'Jack and the Beanstalk' at The Courtyard from Thursday, December 13 to Saturday, January 12. - Tickets available on 01432 359252