Hawth Panto star Lucy Kane looks back at early life in showbiz

It was in panto that her parents Linda Lusardi and Sam Kane first met.

“I am nearly 19 now, so it must have been 20 years or so ago,” says Lucy who will play the Princess in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Hawth, Crawley (December 11-January 3), opposite East Enders star Steve McFadden as the villainous Fleshcreep.

“My parents met in Darlington, and whenever they were doing panto, I would always be one of the children wanting to go up on stage. I was always the first one to get up!

“The first time I did panto was when I was 12. That was with my parents. My mum was the Wicked Queen, and I think my dad was the Prince.”

And no, it’s not disconcerting to share a stage with your parents.

“When you are on stage, you are so in character that you forget you are related to them.”

But it definitely helped that Lucy was very much from the showbiz background: “I know how it works!”

Alongside the panto, Lucy is also hoping to forge her own musical career: “At the moment I am in the studio working on my own album. It is still quite early on in the development process. I would guess it is going to take a couple of years. Who knows what it depends on. You have got to have that lucky break. But it is also about finding the right style of music for me, finding the thing that suits me best. I think I am now actually getting quite close to my own musical style. I have listened to so much different music all my life. I have always found it hard to pinpoint exactly which style I love, but I think I am getting there.”

Lucy’s singing voice first got her noticed at the age of seven when she recorded the song ‘Make a Wish’ with American artist Bob Carlisle. The track was featured on the DVD release of Charlotte’s Web.

And then acting entered her life. After playing the title role in an amateur production of Annie at Harlow Theatre, Lucy was asked to appear in the Qdos Pantomime, playing Forest Fairy in Snow White. She was asked to appear the following year at The Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and in 2009 she played Fairy Godmother’s assistant alongside her parents.

But then it was back to the music. In 2011 Lucy sang solo at the O2 Arena and also at The Liverpool Echo Arena. This led to her recording the song she performed, ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’, on the album Smile for the charity Voice in a Million.

She has gone on to appear at numerous charity functions, performing to raise money for the victims of the London riots, the Haiti Earthquake, the Rhys Daniels Trust, the Willow Foundation, Rays of Sunshine, Dare to Dream and solo in a tribute show for the Amy Winehouse Trust.

For the moment, she says acting and singing are equally important to her.

“This is the first time I have done Jack and the Beanstalk. I am very excited! I think a lot of princesses are quite sweet and innocent, but (panto producer) Paul likes quite strong and independent princesses. It is going to be great to add colour to the role.”

Tickets for the Hawth panto are available at The Hawth’s website.

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