Newark's Giant weekend of panto!

If you need evidence that the festive season is almost upon us then you needed to look no further than Newark two weekends ago when the Palace Theatre held both the panto launch and the auditions for the Junior Chorus.

 The town was taken over by the panto cast on Saturday, including former Grange Hill and EastEnders star Todd Carty, and there were flashbacks to Todd’s EastEnders days when he got behind a fruit and veg stall in the market – although we don’t remember him being dressed quite like that in EastEnders!

 Todd says “This is the first time I have ever been to Newark and it seems a really lovely town, well – apart from it raining all day! I am very interested in history so can’t wait to have a proper look around the Civil War Centre when I am here over Christmas.”

 On Sunday it was time to hold auditions for the youngest members of the panto cast with the Junior Chorus auditions for 9-16 year olds.

 Graeme Pickering, who choreographed the auditions said “The standard of the all of the children who auditioned for us was very high and it was exceptionally difficult to select the 16 children for the two main teams as we would have loved to have everyone in the show.”

 Sarah Boden from Imagine Theatre who produce the panto at the Palace Theatre said “We have been auditioning children for panto here for many years now and it was great to see some familiar faces amongst the auditionees as well as some brand new ones.”

 “One of the most important things we look at is of course their dancing, however, it is really important that the children have a little something extra as well that makes them stand out from the crowd.”

 “The children will have a lot of hard work ahead of them but it is also a lot of fun and a great opportunity for them to be part of a professional production.”

 Come and join us for a ‘gigantic’ festive treat with Jack and the Beanstalk which runs at the Palace Theatre from Wednesday 7th until Saturday 31st December 2016. 

Spa Centre Leamington have a Beauty of a Cast!

The Royal Spa Centre are delighted to announce that they are now fully cast for their spectacular family pantomime Beauty and the Beast and recently they saw the panto mayhem begin when the cast got together for the photo shoot.

 As previously announced JP McCue will be playing Dame Dolly Do It, Sean Dodds is Willy Do It and Jamie Sheerman is Pimple. They will be joined by Carly Burns as Beauty, David Gilbrook as Beauty’s father, Emma Jane Wylde as the Enchantress, Daniel Tawse as Eugene and Matt Lee Steer as Beast.

 Last year Carly played Cinderella at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax and is delighted to be taking on the role of Beauty at the Spa Centre this year. “I am looking forward to playing Beauty as although she is kind and gentle she is also quite tough. She isn’t afraid to stand up to the Beast, but at the same time her character allows her to see past appearances.”

 David Gilbrook is a very experienced panto performer but this will be his first year at the Spa Centre and he can’t wait.

 “I am looking forward to appearing in panto at the Spa Centre as I have been to the venue but never performed there. Last year I played Baron Hardup at the Queen’s Theatre in Barnstaple and they let me loose with my tap shoes in the finale so I may try and sneak a little tap routine in again this year!”

 David’s Cinderella co-star from Barnstaple last year, Emma Jane Wylde, will once again play alongside him as she takes on the role of Enchantress. Emma, who is from Coventry can’t wait to cast some more panto spells.

 “Last year I played the Fairy Godmother and this year I get to be the Enchantress so hopefully some of this magical ability will rub off on me soon! I am delighted to be at the Spa Centre this year as it means I get to be at home for Christmas which is wonderful, and I have friends who have appeared in the Spa Centre pantos so I know how great they are.”

 Both Daniel Tawse and Matt Lee Steer appeared in Jack and the Beanstalk last year where Daniel was in the ensemble and Matt was probably unrecognisable as he played the King and was also operating the terrifying Giant Blunderbore.

Don’t miss out on seeing this fabulous cast. Beauty and the Beast runs from Saturday 3 to Saturday 31 December 2016 and with some performances already sold out we recommend booking quickly for this magical festive treat.

Newark Palace's Panto Jack and the Beanstalk is Fully Cast

The Palace Theatre, Newark are delighted to announce that they are fully cast for their giant pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk this Christmas.

Alongside the previously announced television star Todd Carty and the hilarious Kevin McGreevy the Palace are delighted to welcome Tim Freeman as Dame Trot, Felicity Skiera as Jack, Ann Micklethwaite as the Queen of the Flower Fairies, Kate Eaves as Princess Tamara and Niki Burne as the Queen of Merrydale.

Tim is a highly experienced theatrical performer and has appeared in numerous productions throughout the country as well as fifteen pantomimes. Recently Tim has been touring in the children’s show Not Now Bernard for Colchester’s Mercury Theatre.

Tim also played Mr Wopsle in the film Great Expectations alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and David Walliams.

Both Felicity and Kate played the roles of Jack and Princess in last year’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk in Leamington whilst Ann previously played the role of Fairy at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax in 2014.

Ann says “The last time I played this role I fell over on some ice on opening night and broke my arm and spent the rest of the run with my arm in a cast so I am hoping for better luck this time!” 

Jack and the Beanstalk is an action packed pantomime as the hero Jack has to climb the beanstalk to the giant’s liar, fight him and rescue his beloved Princess Tamara but Felicity Skiera is not daunted by taking on the challenge once again. She says “Jack is a really fun character to play as he is quite feisty and the giant used in the show is brilliant and always produced big gasps from the audience when he appears, so being in the scene where I get to fight him is excellent.”

Kate adds “I am really pleased to be working with Felicity again as we had a great time last year and I have heard wonderful things about both Newark and the Palace Theatre.”

Niki Burne will be playing the Queen of Merrydale and says “I absolutely love panto season and this will be my first year back since having my little boy and I can’t wait to play royalty – I hope it means I get to boss everyone else around!

Jason Looking Forward to Panto Fun in Southport This Christmas

Southport Theatre and Convention Centre are delighted to announce that Jason Marc Williams will be donning a dress to play Dame Dolly Mixture in their spectacular family pantomime Snow White this Christmas.

This will be Welsh born Jason’s first year as Dame in Southport, however, as he explains, he is no stranger to the role. “I have been at the Courtyard Theatre in Hereford for the last three years, and for the last two I have played Dame in Beauty and the Beast and Jack and the Beanstalk, having played the very different role of Baron Hardup my first year. I have also played idle Jack in Dick Whittington and Muddles in Snow White for other companies across the UK so I have almost covered the whole spectrum of panto characters apart from Princess!”

“I really love panto and growing up in Swansea I was always taken to see the panto at the Grand Theatre each Christmas. I think it is very important for children to have family traditions like that. As a child I really loved all the silly slapstick, and to be honest, I still love that! It is great that Southport is by the sea as I live on the coast so it will feel a bit like home.”

“I absolutely love playing dame as I get to wear some amazing costumes and wigs and I get to have a lot of fun on stage being silly – what a wonderful job! And of course, being panto there is always the risk that things will go wrong and a couple of times last year my dame costumes came undone when on stage which Imanaged to turn in to a huge comedy moment and it became part of the panto fun.”

In typical panto tradition Jason’s dame character does have rather a silly name to go with her outrageous costume and hilarious panto antics. “I love the fact my character is called Dame Dolly Mixture but I think it is going to give me sweet cravings for the whole panto season. I am very partial to Skittles and fruit gums so will have to get a stash of those for the dressing room!”

Away from the craziness of panto Jason also plays more serious roles. “Aside from panto I have also been lucky enough to play some other brilliant roles too, for example Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Dan In Night Must Fall. I am a massive Harold Pinter fan I would love to play Stanley in The Birthday Party.”

Jason will be starring alongside Home and Away legend Lynne McGranger in the panto which opens on Friday 9 December and runs until Saturday 31 December 2016.

Demontfort Hall, Leicester's Junior Chorus is Full of Beans!

This weekend saw the Jack and the Beanstalk Junior Chorus auditions take place at De Montfort Hall Leicester.

More than 150 children turned up to audition for the panto and Louise Redmond, who choreographed the auditions says “It was a brilliant, but tough day. The standard of the children was really high so we had a challenge on our hands to select just 16 children for the two main teams, Baked Beans and Runner Beans, as well as a team of reserves.”

“The children have a fabulous panto season ahead of them, Jack and the Beanstalk is a really fun show to do with some spectacular dance routines that the kids will love.”

“I would like to say a big thank you to all the children who came to the auditions, and the parents who waited around patiently all day. Massive congratulations to those of you who were chosen to take part in the panto, but to those children that didn’t make it in to the show this year, we hope you come and audition again for us next year.”

A Magical Line-Up Coming Together For the Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple Panto

We have reached the half way point in the year and casting is coming along nicely for The Queen’s Theatre spectacular family pantomime Aladdin.

 Alongside the previously announced Ian Hallard and Matthew Baldwin the Queen’s Theatre are delighted to have both Jenny Perry and Sophie Ayers returning.

 Jenny, who played Dandini at the Queen’s Theatre last Christmas, is currently touring in The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West. For panto she will be going from villain to hero as she takes on the title role of Aladdin – the poor Chinese boy seeking both riches and the hand of the Princess.

 The Princess will be played by Sophie Ayers who performed the title role of Cinderella last year. Currently Sophie, who has appeared in the West End Productions of We Will Rock You and Loserville, is starring in the sell-out production of West Side Story at Kilworth House.

 Also joining the cast will be Aaron Gibson as the larger than life Genie of Lamp. Aaron played the role in Southport Theatre last year for which the Liverpool Echo compared him to Charles Hawtry with the Southport Visitor calling “fun, fun, fun” while The Stage described him as “splendid”.

 Steve Boden from Imagine Theatre who co-produce the panto says “Jenny was an excellent Dandini last year and has the perfect personality for the bright and cheeky character of Aladdin, whilst Sophie’s beautiful voice makes her ideal for the princess. Aaron had everyone in stitches as the Genie in Southport last year so we are delighted he has agreed to reprise the role in Barnstaple as the audience will love him.”

Still Game Stars Set For Panto Fun at the Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock This Christmas

The Beacon Arts Centre is delighted to announce that television stars Jane McCarry and Mark Cox will be appearing in its spectacular family panto Beauty and the Beast this Christmas.

 The duo are instantly recognisable for the hugely popular sit-com Still Game which ran for six series followed by a stage version which played to over two hundred thousand people at the SSE Hydro, Glasgow. It was recently announced that the show will return for six more episodes this autumn and will be shown UK wide by the BBC.

 Jane McCarry is a BAFTA Award winning actress, most famous for her role as Isa Drennan in Still Game and she will be a familiar face to many children across Scotland as Granny McMurray in CBeebies’ Me Too. Recently Jane has been touring in the hugely popular stage show Mum’s the Word 2. Her role of the wicked fairy Nightshade is a far cry from her television persona. The jealous fairy Nightshade curses the prince to spend eternity as a Beast when he rejects her and throughout the panto attempts to prevent Beauty from falling in love with him and breaking the curse.

 Her Still Game co-star Mark Cox returns for his second consecutive year to play the role of Angus, having played Abanazar in last year’s production of Aladdin. Mark has recently been seen in the popular BBC prime time show Shetland in a more serious role as the detective Tommy Monro.

 The Stage said of Mark’s performance as Abanazar “Cox also relishes his role as villain, winding up the audience with wry humour.”  This year Mark plays Angus, the loyal and dedicated servant of the Beast who plots to bring Beauty and the Beast together as well as taking a little bit of a shine to Dame Betty!

 Jane and Mark who have known each other since drama school also run the company Pipe Up and are delighted to be appearing in panto together.

 “We’ve known each other for years and get on so well that we will definitely have a blast this Christmas,” says Mark.

 Jane adds “I appeared as Fairy Godmother at the Beacon two years ago and I am delighted to have been asked back and can’t wait to play a baddie!” 

Coronation Street's Nigel Pivaro to Star in the Grimsby Auditorium Panto

The Grimsby Auditorium are delighted to announce that one of Weatherfield’s most famous bad boys will be appearing at the venue this Christmas in their spectacular family panto Aladdin.

Nigel Pivaro, AKA Terry Duckworth, will be playing the wicked and powerful magician Abanazar in the show which opens on Friday 9 December.

Nigel has appeared in more than 400 episodes of Coronation Street since he first joined the show back in 1983 as the son of the legendary Jack and Vera Duckworth and is one of soapland’s most popular baddies. In fact the character of Terry Duckworth was depicted as the second best TV baddie of all time in the programme The Ones We Love to Hate.

Nigel says “I think the key to any baddie is to have a certain amount of charm. The character of Terry, despite everything, has a lot of charm and I think that it is important than Abanazar has charm as well - after all he has to persuade Aladdin to go in to the magical cave to retrieve the lamp for him. I have also heard that Widow Twankey takes a bit of a ‘shine’ to my character as well.”

“I love panto as I have many fond memories of panto from my childhood and I think the message you take away from the show is that of good triumphing over evil. It is a universal and timeless message and one kids can identify with. I also love the way audiences drive the show  as there are few types of performance which have so much audience participation, and that is something you can feed off and respond to as a performer.”

Nigel trained at the prestigious RADA and has appeared in numerous stage plays including The Tempest, A Taste of Honey, What the Butler Saw, Funny Peculiar, Bouncers and A View From the Bridge and won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival with No Further Cause for Concern, and has appeared in over twelve pantomimes.

As well as acting Nigel is also a highly respected journalist with a passion for current and foreign affairs and has reported from the Ukraine, Turkey and Syria.

Steve Boden, Managing Director of Imagine Theatre who produce the pantomime says “we are delighted to have Nigel on board for Aladdin this year. Abanazar is probably the most famous panto baddie and who better to play the role than one of television’s best known baddies.”