Entertainment For Lively Minds
The Fonz, Stacey Shipman, Olive Butler from "On The Buses": which TV stars are in panto round your way?
A theatre boss told me recently that without the panto season none of Britain's regional theatres could survive. It's the only time of the year the general public pay good money to go to the theatre. That's why well-known names from TV do it. Because they can get paid for performing in front of full houses. It's fame that puts bums on those seats. In the world of panto a name made on TV is worth a lot. That's obviously why Joanna Page from "Gavin and Stacey" is doing Cinderella at Wimbledon. But does she have the legs to stay on the boards for decades to come? Top billing on my local production of Cinderella goes to Anna Karen, who was Olive in "On The Buses" somewhere back in the jurassic era. In Milton Keynes Henry "The Fonz" Winkler is appearing as Captain Hook. Their names can't mean much to the mothers who buy the tickets, let alone the toddlers themselves.
These performers and lots of others are not being cute or ironic. They're putting shoes on the kids feet. Panto is an honourable professional pursuit and has been ever since bands of strolling players roamed the land. There's no reason for us to sneer as if we've happened upon old heroes in reduced circumstances. These people's willingness to submit their legs to a preposterous pair of tights, their pipes to a corny rewrite of a pop favourite and their carefully cultivated public image to the humiliation of the bit on the poster that says "best known as" should be embraced and celebrated.
In this spirit I am anxious to to know, who's doing panto round your way? Has Barry from "EastEnders" via "Extras" popped up in a bellhop's uniform? Are Rula Lenska's legs still stirring something in the loins of grandfathers at the Floral Hall, Scarborough? Where the hell's Aneka Rice in all this? Got any "X-Factor" contestants belting out kids songs at your local Library Theatre? We want to know.
File your local panto report right here right now.
Beauty, Beast, Broxbourne
My son's school trip this Thursday is to go and see Linda Robson, of TV's Birds Of A Feather, in Beauty And The Beast in Broxbourne (playing a character called - wait for it - Witch Hazel). I'll have to wait until afterwards to find out which children's TV presenter will be supporting her. Last year I went with him and we got one of the Nolan sisters.
"Chuck in a Nolan sister if you have to"
Marina Hyde dixit (ooh, does she really? Behind you!) in her recipe for the perfect panto in the Guardian the other day.
Not local for me
but definitely worthy of the Massive's attention all the same, is Peter Pan in Wolverhampton (from the review in The Stage):
Krankies+Amy=NonemoreWordblog! We want clips!
Ron Moody...
...is my neighbour.
you gotta
Is he keeping well ? I do hope so .
A couple of years ago his one man show was brutally reviewed in the Jewish Chronicle .
I see him around
Young family keeps him busy, I think.
When I were a youngster
All I recall about panto is it always seemed to feature Anita Harris playing a man. Not a displeasing recollection. On the contrary. I wonder if there is anyone who has been in more pantos?
The Anita Harris effect....
....is not to be underestimated when it comes to writing the story of awakening sexuality in our times.
Anita Harris and Lenny Kravitz
I was thinking about Anita Harris the other day while watching one of those Woolies ads from 25 years ago. The strange thing about her was that everything is in the right place, as it were, but she seemed strangely unsexy for some reason. Whereas Amanda Barrie was in the same arena but oozed sexiness.
In the same way that Lenny Kravitz has all the trappings of a rock star, even some quite good songs - yet somehow he doesn't quite cut it convincingly, no matter what he does.
As for Panto - last year I was in Southsea and saw Aiden J Harvey, a comedian from my childhood in the 1970s, and Lorraine Chase as a wicked witch. Yes, she said "Luton Airport" and we laughed like drains. It was a packed house and I reiterate that this was Christmas 2007.
Afghan Hounds
I always associate them With Anita Harris. she had a TV show(early 70's) when she drove an open-top Sports car with two Afghan hounds in it. She sang "I've been everywhere man". Don't remember the name of the show. Ever since if i see an Afghan hound I think of Anita
No stars...
in my local one, but I am playing bass for the show tonight! I'm only a dep for their regular bassist, who is already bored and it's only been running a week!
the 2 I keep an eye on are
Lewisham:
Seven dwarves
Antonio "Huggy Bear" Vargas
Nikki Kelly from hi-di-hi as the witch
"Eurovision favourites Scooch"
Russle spencer (as the prince?)
Olivia Sonya snow white
following that is this unedited selection showing the variety at local theatres.
"WILL WE EVER GET MARRIED Starring Felicity Ethnic (surely this is from the day to day) and Wayne 'Dibbi" Rollins.
CEASAR (sic)
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
ALL STAR SUPERSLAM WRESTING (sic)"
Meanwhile in Barnsley.
It's jack and Beanstalk
with Hi-di-hi's Paul Shane
And Claire Evans from Corrie.
John Altman
is at Reading in Dick Whittington. I think he is King Rat. Is he being typecast?
The Southend-on-Sea Cliff's Pavilion...
...has added another spatial dimension to their rendition of Aladdin, which is billed as "The 3D adventure of a lifetime."
It stars the under-fives' answer to Morecambe & Wise - The Chuckle Brothers. Also appearing is Chris Crosby - one of the rejected Josephs from Any Dream Will Do - a show whose title is becoming increasingly appropriate as the runners-up seek alternative acting jobs. I wonder how many aborted Josephs and Marias are treading the boards this festive season.
A 3D genie completes the main cast.
Went to a Chuckle Brothers Show
with our son when he was about 5. Based on Star Wars. It was great.
You missed one
I see - yes, I've investigated - that Robin "Confessions Of A Nadir In British Cinema" Askwith is in it too, making it a Proper Panto bill (in the orthodox Hydean sense).
Isn't all theatre 3D?
It's part of the USP.
Robin Asquith!
The films of Lindsay Anderson and the Confessions series. Has any actor gone from the sublime to the ridiculous so severely?
Don't live in Glasgow anymore but as a kid one of the great joys of the year was seeing whatever Pantomine the late, great and much loved (if you are Scottish) comedian Rikki Fulton was in. He was wonderful, a genuine local talent. You may remember him in Local Hero as the scientist demonstrating on a model map of the Scottish Coast how the new oil station will look once the beech has been removed.
Can I be serious? If I was an actor I'd do panto every year. Getting well paid to hear the laughter of hundreds of children? It must be fabulous and it pays well.
Jack & The Beanstalk...
... in Darlington has: (drum roll, please)
Ian Reddington (Vernon from Corrie)
Pete Hillier (Boogie Pete from Cbeebies)
Steve Arnott (?)
and
Charlie Cairoli
Won't be going, I'll be at home eating a large jar of humbugs instead.
Charlie Cairoli?
I saw him in the 60s and he was a hundred then.
He's been dead for 28 years
Must have a good agent though.
To be fair,
... this is Darlington we are talking about.
Fair dos...
...at least they haven't dragged local heroine Zoe Birkett out for her annual 'remember me?' airing...
Not interested in the panto anyway but we do pretty well for the arts in Darlo...good theatre, great comedy at the arts centre, twice yearly beer festival (yes, that IS arts!).
Having read some more Wikipedia
It's probably Charlie Cairoli Jnr.
Tis true
A succeseful six or seven week panto run is able to subsidise an awful lot of theatre productions (new, experimental or traditional) throughout the rest of the year.
The tradition deserves our respect.
It makes me wonder how theatre in the USA manages without it? I'm not an expert on the matter, but outside of Broadway, theatre doesn't seem to have the role that it does in the UK.
Different US traditions
Was over in the States in the run up to Christmas a few years ago. Perusing the local versions of Time Out it seemed that every theatre had a different production of The Nutcracker playing.
In Southampton
http://www.mayflower.org.uk/event.asp?show=CINDER08
We have Christopher Biggins in Cinderella with Matthew Kelly, Stephanie Powers and Craig McLachlan (who apparently used to be in Neighbours). Craig was very good last year in the same theatre when they eschewed the traditional pantomime in favour of a stage version of White Christmas (with Lorna Luft).
Anyway the local critics like Cinderella:
"Look no further than your own doorstep for everything that embodies the magic of Christmas. Cinderella is not only by far the most spectacular panto I have ever seen, but is also up there with the best musical theatre on offer anywhere"
- Southern Daily Echo
"A classic piece of feelgood escapism"
- Bournemouth Daily Echo
"This is highly-polished nuttiness delivered with the highest possible production values... Just as you'd expect from the Mayflower at Christmas, this is lavish and spectacular"
- Chichester Observer
Personally I'll be going to the star-less Aladdin at Southampton's other theatre.
High production values + low cringe factor = poor panto
Biggins is only mildly annoying. Kelly even less so. And Stefanie Powers may have made a few iffy career choices but has never, to my knowledge, made a complete fool of herself (added to which she used to stir my loins something rotten way back in her pre-Wagnerian days, so she gets a lifetime pass for that alone).
Wrongity-wrong! Where's the creepy ventriloquist? Where's the "former member of top pop group Showaddywaddy"? Where's the who-they comedy double act invariably billed "The hilarious..."? Where's the menacing rictus grin of the cellulitis-slapping principal boy? Where's the once-eminent theatrical, the scent of whose Eau de Glenvlivet is perceptible from the sixth row of the stalls?
I'm with Tony. That's not panto; it's just Hello Dolly! without even the benefit of Danny La Rue.
Post of the week
The rest of us can turn in now.
Liverpool Empire..
...features Cilla, amid much controversy. Apparently it is such a coup to get her that the management have given in to her outrageous demands. The professional scouser's love of her home town is so great that she cannot bear to be in the place for two weeks to rehearse, which means other cast members must commute or rehearse without her. See here for details, bitch fans:
http://www.clickliverpool.com/news/local-news/121704-cilla-in-liverpool-...
I hope this does not rub off too much of the rose tint from Mr Hepworths vision of panto-land.
Ho ho ho
According to "a Liverpool Empire insider",* the production "calls for Cilla, as Fairy Godmother, to fly through the air and that is famously the kind of thing that can go badly wrong if it has not been properly rehearsed."
If you wish upon a star....
(*Every hack should have one.)
"Krankie hurt in beanstalk tumble"
I don't want to spook Cilla (well, maybe I do), but she should learn from the fate of Wee Jimmy Krankie in 2004:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4099391.stm
Wee Jimmy. . .
is currently doing Amy Winehouse impressions, I learned this morning. Nothing can possibly go wrong there, surely, unless....
Hit the stage, Jack
I'm directing a panto at the special needs primary school at which I work. It's a musical version of Roald Dahl's Jack and the Beanstalk, one of his revolting rhymes.
Daisy the cow does a dance to "Tuba Smarties" by Herbie Flowers.
Rehearsals are going as well as can be expected. When they discover gold up the beanstalk, Jack's mother (played by a boy with Autism) has a line to say to Jack (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder): "I'll sell the Mini, buy a Rolls". Unfortunately he keeps saying "I'll sell the Mini, buy some rolls". Not the same.
We're following it up with a carols sing-along, in case anyone's itching to phone a tabloid for one of their "PC gone mad" stories.
"Buy some rolls"
I think there's a great future in Nursery Rhymes Misheard.
The Hairy Godmother, the Free Bears, Jack and the B-Side etc etc.
Washed their socks
The children are confused as it is. A couple of years ago, during a nativity play we were doing, a boy dressed in a sheet with a tea towel on his head was just about to go on stage. He turned to me and whispered, "Nick... am I a shepherd... or a leopard?"
And you presumably said...
..."how do you *feel*?"
Well...
...I didn't want him to go on and savage the "sheep".
Jasper Fforde
anyoune else read The Fourth Bear, particularly the "right to arm bears" part
Rock on Tommy!!!
Cannon and Ball in St Albans, and the kids are really looking foward to it.
Poor Showing
Sadly the Floral Hall in Scarborough is long gone,there's now a bowling centre in its place. I saw a few shows at the former as a nipper;Little And Large and Ken Dodd if I remember rightly,the latter over ran in time honoured fashion.
Very poor showing from Scarborough re pantomine this year, the only pantomine is at The Spa Theatre; "Robin Hood & The Babes In The Wood" featuring Becci Pearson as Fairy, with Mark Baylin as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Pictured below, never heard of them. No leg tremblers for the pensioners attending this year.The summer season is generally better in Scarborough, in recent times we've had The Krankies, who my sister informed me were "lovely to work with" and The Chuckle Brothers, less so I've been informed. There are more than two Chuckle Brothers alive.
There is also a village pantomine in our local village hall, tickets ususally go fast, it's all a bit too showbusiness for me, features the local vicar, postman etc, so I tend to avoid it.
That photo leaves me distinctly uncomfortable.....
I'm off to call Childline
Debra Stephenson - "Frankie from Corrie" - plays Ipswich
As does Basil Brush. In case we're not quite sure who he is or what he does there's a picture of him on the poster above the legend "Boom Boom!"
Actually, on current form, Debra Stephenson probably *could* play Ipswich and would most likely come away with a creditable two-one victory.
"Oh...
...THAT Basil Brush? Until you mentioned the 'Boom Boom' I was thinking of the OTHER Basil Brush"
York Theatre Royal - we don't need no "stars"
I'd never heard of Berwick Kaler until I came to live in York 12 years ago. He was, I think it's fair to say, a bit part TV actor.
He has the freedom of the city mainly due to this panto (of which he's done about 30 in a row).People come back year after year for the "usual rubbish" from all over the country (actually sometimes the world).
Other actors in it are on their 20th year (Martin Barras, David Leonard anyone?)
It's a work of genius - I have my ticket and will,as usual, be going with a large group of adults to watch a show that is still, at the end of the day, aimed at the kiddies.
Grand stuff
Aberdeen....
On Christmas Eve I am taking my 6 year old daughter to Peter Pan in Aberdeen. This year we have somebody who was 4th runner up in the BBC's search for a Joseph in Any Dream Will Do. Captain Hook is being played by Dr Karl Kennedy from Neighbours who is giving up a hot Oz summer for Christmas in the North East of Scotland....Weird!
Knickers Knutty!
We'll be taking the little one to her first panto in Sheffield, where Phil Daniels will be scaring her as Abannazer and local comedy legend Bobby Knutt will be appearing in his 732nd panto in Sheffield.
In fact, I think it's the law that Knutty is involved. If dear old Larry Olivier rose from the grave and turned MacBeth into the Sheffield panto, Knutty would pop up as Banquo's ghost.
takes a deep breath...
...Sunderland has: Paul Michael Glaser, as baddie Abanazar, and The Three Degrees’ Sheila Ferguson as the Genie.For the kids: Grease Is the Word's Anthony Kavanagh.
Torquay has Sinbad-from-brookie as one of the 7 dwarfs.
Keith Allen's doing Long John Silver in the West End
Cilla Black a fairy godmother in native Liverpool
Mickey Rooney, Michelle Collins and Bobby Davro in Bristol(Cinderella)
and John Barrowman is - perhaps most bizarrely - Robin Hood in Brum. Dave Hill is not, I repeat not, appearing as an elf. Though Slade-sans-Nod are touring.
I remember going to see Dick
I remember going to see Dick Whittington at Hull New Theatre in 1974. Ronnie Hilton was the star - to paraphrase Alan Bennett, entertainment was scarce in 1970s Hull, but even as a seven-year-old, I knew life had better to offer.
Never been to one...
...so excuse me if I've picked it up wrongly, but the idea of going to a theatre to laugh at double entendres that go over the heads of your children (and said entendres are there presumably because, otherwise, sharing time with your offspring is a bit of a chore) seems to encapsulate something uniquely wretched about the British.
My abiding memory of panto
Is discomfort.It was the New Theatre, Cardiff in 1968. I was trussed up in my Sunday best, which involved a lot of Harris tweed. On entry I was given a goodie bag that contained a proper Jaffa orange, a fruit so juicy it was only safe to eat naked in the shower - my hands became sticky magnets for the theatre's accumulated detritus. A broken spring in my grubby velvet seat wormed its way into my backside throughout the show. The thrill of seeing Ray Alan and Lord Charles, 'Two Ton Tessie' O'Shea and the Morton Fraser Harmonica Gang wore off more quickly than the desire never to go back. This year's stellar Alladin line-up of Anthony Costa from Blue, Peter Barlow from Corrie and the normally fantastically potty-mouthed drag act Ceri Dupree won't be getting me out of retirement. Especially as they don't throw sweets anymore.
Eastbourne
A good example of panto staple 'the hilarious..' pops up in this grammatical car crash of an advertisement for Snow White:
"With Eastbourne favourites; Martyn Knight as Dame Dolly (Dad’s if you are sitting in row C be prepared to be picked on!) the hilarious Carl Patrick and Shona White is returns as the magical Good Fairy. Proudly Sponsored by Blind Design."
Blind Design, you'll be relieved to know, design blinds.
Down Dartford way
We've got Joe Pasquale. I can't even remember which pantomime it is. Anyway, the missus has banned us from going, because she doesn't like him.
Last year it was Cilla from Corrie as the wicked queen in Snow White. She was tremendous.
(My daughter's three; I have an excuse to go to these)
Barry from Eastenders
Since you ask...
http://www.swindonaladdin.com/
Likewise Rula
http://www.worthingtheatres.co.uk/JackTheBeanstalkPanto/
Not sure about Anneka Rice though.
I don't know
who looks the most menacing, Bazza or the quivering Genie?
You're Behind Us!
Wake up at the back
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/mickey-rooney-in-panto-shock
worth it for the seasonal message from Steve Guttenburg
Manchester - Peter Pan
John Thompson as captain Hook, Gemma Atkinson as Pan.
Britains Least Successful "Rock" City.....
As most of you with a passing familiarity with Topical Times football annuals will know, Hull was(until this season) the biggest urban conurbation in England never to have a footy team in Englands top flight.
This got me thinking: what is the least successful large city in the UK for producing pop/rock stars? My vote is for my own home city (Glasgow) and Leeds. Neither is in the same league as smaller places such as Sheffield or Newcastle.
Any advance?
Usually if a panto 'star' is
Usually if a panto 'star' is relatively unknown there will be some clue as to who they are on the promotional literature; "Radio Dull FM's own", "from schools televisions 'Learn To Read'", "appeared on some crappy talent show" (but not the finals), etc.
However there was one that totally baffled me, taken from an advert in one of the Yorkshire regional newspapers for the panto taking place at one of the main theatres. The main panto star was billed as Kenny "Ooh, you are kind!" Cantor, underneath a photo of who I assume to be the Kenster, a middle-aged bloke with a bad perm and 1970s glasses. Now I've no idea who the heck this Cantor wassock was, or what the heck "Ooh, you are kind!" was supposed to be. Was it the name of his failed TV show which never got past the pilot stage? Did he have a minor hit with a single of that title 30 years ago? Was it a lame catchphrase he used when he appeared on New Faces, coming last? Was it his only line in one of the later Carry On films? Was it the name of the show he presented on BBC Radio Leeds? Or was it simply what he said when offered the part? Whatever, I'm not likely to find out now!
Oh yes he is!
I think you may inadvertently have hit on a new Wordblog Icon of a stature to rival even Wee Jimmy Krankie (who's a midget, but you know what I mean).
And it's not "Ooh, you are kind!" - it's "Oh, you are kind!"; important to get these things right, eh.
Where's me washboard?
Err...
Is it me, or is he cross-eyed?
Oh
You are kind.
The man for The Word panto
Well Archie, frustrated theatre-manager you, Kenny's website is a rich seam of entertainment and much, much more. Perfect for The Word panto, probably taking place sometime in July at this rate.
Excuse capitals - that is all Kenny (& Caron) seem to have on their website...
KENNY IS MARRIED TO CARON ~ THEY HAVE TWO CHILDREN SHANI & TOMMY ~ THEY ALL LIVE IN KESSINGLAND AT SUFFOLK BY THE SEA ~ KENNY HAS TWO CHILDREN BY HIS PREVIOUS MARRIAGE ~ LISA & JASON ~ BOTH GROWN UP & HAVE THEIR OWN LIVES.
WAS THE GREAT ‘CLAUDE LESTER’ THAT TAUGHT HIM TO USE THE WALKING STICK
CANTORS THEATRE SCHOOL HAS NOW MOVED INTO BIGGER AND BETTER PREMISES WITH THEIR OWN STUDIO IN THE NIRVANA FITNESS COMPLEX ON SOUTH LOWESTOFT ESTATE. THEY HAVE ALSO GOT A CANTOR’S THEATRE SCHOOL IN BECCLES AS THEY GET BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BETTER AND BETTER.
IT WAS A ‘ROYAL GALA PERFORMANCE’ AT THE THEATRE ROYAL WINDSOR IN THE PRESENCE OF HRH PRINCESS MARGARET THAT KENNY ‘MADE’ HIS MARK ~ KENNY WAS THE COMPERE ~ THE MAIN POWER CABLE FOR WINDSOR WAS SEVERED, THEY WERE PUTTING UP THE BUNTING ETC., FOR QUEEN JULIANA & HRH PRINCE BERNHART OF THE NETHERLANDS ~ KENNY STAYED ONSTAGE FOR CLOSE TO AN HOUR IN THE DARK, NO MICROPHONE, HE GAGGED & ADLIBBED TO A CELEBRITY PACKED AUDIENCE UNTIL THE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON AGAIN, WHEN THERE WAS A STANDING OVATION FOR HIM ~ LED BY THE ROYAL PARTY.
Are you sure this is not a Danny Baker spoof?
Stop press: a signed photo for auction here...starting at £5
http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=811487
And that's not all!
Under "Achievements":
Some family...
CARONS sister JULIE is still with the English National Ballet Company she has the most amazing executive position with them as “Shoe Master”
So much sadness amidst the mirth....
"Lisa & Jason - previous marriage - both grown up and have their own lives."
Lisa. Jason. Time is a great healer, believe me.
Go on. It's Christmas. Give your old dad a call.
He's here, he's there...
"IN GREAT DEMAND, KENNY IS NORMALLY INVOLVED IN WHATEVER IS GOING ON"
A cruel injustice
His Wikipedia entry:
No article title matches
No page with that title exists
Can't someone with the necessary know-how put this shameful situation to rights? Someone with experience of helpfully editing Mr Ellen's entry, for example?
Separated at birth
On no
You've lost Mark Ellen's in-depth interview with Kenny during the rush to move to the new server before The Word Christmas Shindig. Well I hope your sprouts have the same effect on you as they do on me. That's why I'm not allowed any...pardon?
Oh bugger!
What have I started!
Goof grief!
KENNY HAS TWO CHILDREN BY HIS PREVIOUS MARRIAGE ~ LISA & JASON ~ BOTH GROWN UP & "HAVE THEIR OWN LIVES".
Shut up, Shani, wait until you are autonomous.
(Oh, you are a twat.)
Middlesbrough Theatre
Aladdin - Not for us those superstars of stage and screen - we currently have all 'round Scouser - Craig Phillips (First ever winner of 'Big Brother'and DIY show host/presenter)Playing Wishy Washy - little brother to Aladdin, Diane Youdale or Dad's may know her as 'Jet' from Gladiators! woohoo. Ms Youdale still looks stunning and Craig admits he can sing any song in 'all four keys' 10/10 for effort tho!
Chatham in Kent, home town of my formative years...
..has the excitement of Joe Swash, which didn't seem overly impressive when he was just Mickey Miller from EastEnders but didn't half help flog tickets when he became King of the Jungle!
Panto
Now, I know its meant to be a treat for Grannie & the grandkids, & to be anti panto would be seen as being needlessly churlish.
But can I say, even as a nipper (well over 50 years ago) I have always hated panto.
My late wifw took our sons when they were whippersnappers, once I became a single Dad, the word was never again mentioned.
I would rather feast on my own shite than watch panto.
We have two pantos
a 'traditional' one - no smut and jolly good fun. This year it has a Nolan and a Hollyoaks in Snow White.
The other is usually a bit more racy - for 2010, we have Aladdin with a Whole Host of Stars. Jim Carver off the Bill is giving his Abanazar, supported by a Corrie, an 'Enders, a CBeebies and a Gladiator.
Apparently we have to 'expect the unexpected', so no stuck scenery this year then.
You will be needing this website
http://www.bigpantoguide.co.uk/
Put me down for Aladdin at the Liverpool Empire with Pamela Anderson as the Genie and Les Dennis as Wishee Washee.
No forget that. Look at the cast in Birmingham Hippodromes's Dick Whittington http://www.dickwhittingtonpanto.co.uk/homepage.php
Well as we've resurrected this topic
Here's the line-up for the Mayflower, Southampton this year (taken from the theatre's website):
For this Christmas only Paul O’Grady has generously granted Ms Lily Savage a final, rare and unique stage appearance in this new spectacular version of our pantomime, ALADDIN – A Wish Come True.
Lily plays one of the greatest dames in pantomime and creates a new and updated version of the story of Widow Twankey and her son Aladdin – who inherit a laundry in old Peking which quickly leads them towards a tale of adventure, mishap, love, comedy and magic carpet rides.
Joining Paul O’Grady will be Jon Lee (S Club 7, Les Misérables) as Aladdin, Darren Bennett (Singing in the Rain, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as Abanazar and Marissa Dunlop (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Shout! The musical) as Princess Jasmine along with local radio journalist Shireen Jordan from Wave105FMs breakfast show as Slave of the Ring.
Jon Lee (S Club 7, Les Misérables)
I love these mini career reviews. That one's a doozy.
They missed out the last one - "Local radio journalist Shireen Jordan (Travel News, Parish Council Meetings) as Slave of the Ring".
'Slave Of The Ring'?
Sounds like some sort of gentleman's relaxation film
Terry Scott
In 1974 Terry Scott was playing in panto at the legendary Billingham Forum. He drove straight off the front of the platform of the Teeside Transporter Bridge thinking it was a solid bridge. He and his Jaguar ended up in the safety net underneath. http://icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk/101greatreasons/top10greatreasons/tm_h...