A York-based influencer with more than 550,000 followers has released a deeply personal documentary celebrating one of the city’s most treasured theatre traditions — the Berwick Kaler pantomimes at York Theatre Royal.
Henry Calvert has produced a 40-minute documentary reflecting on the legendary pantomime run that spanned more than 40 years, starring Berwick Kaler alongside familiar faces including Martin Barrass, Suzy Cooper, A.J. Powell and David Leonard.
The pantomimes became a festive cornerstone for generations of York families, earning widespread acclaim and countless awards, particularly for Kaler’s role as writer, director and dame.
The documentary marks the first time since the pantomime ended two years ago that the cast have come together to look back on their time on stage and reflect on what the show meant to the city.
Speaking about the project, Calvert described the pantomime as a huge part of his childhood. He said he grew up idolising the cast and wanted to reunite them to celebrate a show that meant so much to him and to so many others across York.
The film has been created entirely independently, with no funding, production company or external backing. Calvert has emphasised that the documentary is a personal passion project, made using his own resources and driven purely by a love of the Theatre Royal pantomimes and their legacy.
He hopes the documentary offers audiences the chance to reconnect with memories of festive trips to the theatre and the joy the pantomimes brought to the city. “This is for everyone who loved this panto as much as I did,” he said, adding that he hopes viewers can spend 40 minutes reflecting on those shared experiences and feel like “Babbies & Bairns once again.”
The documentary has already resonated with York audiences online, with many praising the project as a fitting tribute to one of the city’s most iconic cultural institutions.
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