Sam Kane to Star in Cinderella at Southport Theatre this Christmas

The Southport Theatre and Convention Centre are delighted to announce that television star Sam Kane will be playing Buttons in their spectacular family pantomime Cinderella this Christmas.

Sam is well known to soap fans throughout the country for playing Peter Phelan in Brookside. He has also appeared in both Coronation Street and Emmerdale and appeared alongside Danny Dyer in the movie Vendetta.

Sam is an experienced theatre performer having starred in the musicals Boogie Nights, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Carousel and South Pacific. Sam previously appeared at the theatre in 2009 with the UK tour of Hot Flush. “I played the part of ‘The Man’ which was a great part for me as I got the chance to play 27 different roles in the musical. I was the only man playing all of the male roles. It was so much fun and a really challenging gig but I loved every minute of it. There were two different casts; Rula Lenska, Marti Webb, Sheila Ferguson and the second cast was led by Lesley Joseph.”

Sam has also appeared in many pantomimes throughout his career playing everything from Prince to Ugly Sister and this year as well as playing Buttons he is also going to direct the pantomime.

“I’ve been directing pantomimes since the Millennium but have appeared in them since the age of 17, missing just two years since. I started as a dancer, moving onto smaller roles like Little John then onto Prince, Ugly Sister, Wicked Henchman and Baddie. I’ve been headlining since 1995. I love panto as it has to be as equally entertaining for three year olds as it is for grannies and grandads. I love the challenge that it brings when I’m directing but even more so when I’m up there in the spotlight. I’ve been doing both; performing and directing for so long now that it doesn’t feel like it’s ever been any other way. Although, I have to say it’s exhausting for me on opening night but that’s all part of the joy of it.”

“The list of what I love about pantomime is as long a list as you’ll ever see. It’s such a joy to have an audience with every generation sat watching you with great expectation. Delivering that expectation is the biggest joy. Seeing people laugh, even rock in their seats with laughter, is the best feeling an entertainer can have. If we can keep the integrity of panto as it should be and tell the story and we’ve got in as much comedy as we can, with beautiful production values, great songs, great dancers, great routines that make for a full night’s entertainment, then we’ve cracked it. A kid came up to me one day in Cardiff. I was playing Abanazar in Aladdin. The kid said. “I loved hating you. You made me love you and hate you at the same time’. That was one of my happiest moments in panto. My job was done!”

When not appearing panto Sam spends much of the year performing on some of the biggest cruise ships in the world and he is currently in the process of becoming an agent as well as fronting his own show on www.2ndcityradio.net. Sam says “I’ve always fancied having a go on radio but the opportunity never lent itself until recently. I love it now. I’ve been on there for over a year. The interaction is great. And I don’t have to sing all the songs in-between, so that’s even better.”

Steve Boden from Imagine Theatre who produce the pantomime says “we are really excited to work with Sam for the first time this year. He is a wonderful performer and has such an invaluable wealth of experience in the panto industry that we are confident he is going to be a great asset to our new production in Southport this year.”

Don’t miss out on Southport Theatre’s stunning production of Cinderella. The show runs from Friday 15 December 2017 until Saturday 6 January 2018.