Tinsel Town - AD Introduction

The film follows an aging washed up Hollywood actor, Bradley Mack who is played by Kiefer Sutherland. He stars in a run of action movies, but his career is dwindling, and his agent suggests he should go to England to be the star in a theatre show. His daughter also lives in London with his ex-wife.

He comes around to the idea but when he arrives, he quickly realises that instead of the lead role in a Shakespearean play at The Globe, he is instead to be taken to a small northern village called Stoneford where he has been signed up to play Buttons in their local Panto, Cinderella. With no idea or knowledge of what Panto is, we follow his journey which changes both him and those around him. From initially wanting to leave and head back to Hollywood, then losing his agent and being forced to stay in the contract she created for him, we see him grow as both an actor, person and Father. 

It is a charming feel-good Christmas comedy, and I enjoyed doing the AD from start to finish. The cleverly timed jokes and pace of the film reflect the structure of pantomime, and it celebrates the tradition and magic of this English theatre tradition.

I tried to include AD to bring as many of the slapstick jokes to life as I could as I felt that was an important part of the film, and panto! 

Its laughs a plenty when Brad meets and is initially very confused by the two ugly sisters’ characters played by Asim Chaudhry and Jason Manford and they continue to provide many laughs (and cream pies) throughout the film.

As we follow Bradley we see how this English village, its people and the pantomime itself bring so much heart and depth to the actor’s life, even helping him to reconnect with his daughter. We also see how he builds relationships with the other members of the cast and crew, especially the choreographer Jill who is played by Rebel Wilson.

Danny Dyer also makes an appearance as Jills ex Husband, Kieran along with Derek Jacobi who plays Albert, a retired actor who now works at the stage door due to his love of the theatre. 

It is a real collision of worlds when all these actors come together, and it provides some lovely festive cheer and escapism. 

It displays a completely different side to Kiefer Sutherland in this wonderful light-hearted, uplifting comedy which keeps you singing and dancing along with them, shouting lines like ‘It’s behind you’ and remembering your own first trip to the ‘panto’ at Christmas time.

You can watch Tinsel Town on Sky Cinema from 5^th December 2025 and available On Demand with AD. 

Introduction and Audio Description by Francesca Brown