Tuesday 6th December 2022 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ah, Peter Pan, how shall creatives adapt thee? Let us count the ways… In Paul Hendy’s take on J. M. Barrie’s well-known characters, we jump forward a generation and follow Wendy Darling’s spirited daughter, Elizabeth, who is positively bursting with excitement at the very *idea* that... Continue Reading →
Review: Rock’n’Roll Dick Whittington at Leeds City Varieties
Thursday December 1st 2022 at Leeds City Varieties. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ London Town. Icky rat infestation eyeing the Alderman’s office. Silliness and mucky puns and Rock ‘n’ Roll. It’s Panto time at Leeds City Varieties! Okay, okay, so there’s a bit more to it, but fighting for the heart of the Alderman’s daughter is side-kick to the... Continue Reading →
Interview: Paul Hawkyard & Robin Simpson Talk Returning to York Theatre Royal for Panto Season
Panto time in York? Oh yes it is! Well, almost. York Theatre Royal’s “All New Adventures of Peter Pan” opens this week (oh yes it does…okay, I’ll stop) and some familiar faces will be returning. Paul Hawkyard and Robin Simpson were nominated as Best Uglys in the British Pantomime Awards for their performances in “Cinderella”... Continue Reading →
Review: Aladdin at Harrogate Theatre
Saturday 26th November 2022 at Harrogate Theatre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Aladdin, tricky to stage but irresistible to programmers come Christmas season, brings a whole lot of fun to Harrogate with this production. With its charming ruffian lead and wronged princess, its very bad Bad Guy and very good Good Guys - and not forgetting the lovable genie... Continue Reading →
Review: Dick Turpin Rides Again at York Grand Theatre & Opera House
Wednesday 15th December 2021 at The Grand Theatre and Opera House, York. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Berwick Kaler and all the gang are back together again - this time at the Grand Theatre and Opera House, York rather than the Theatre Royal. As with previous productions, the in-jokes are many and the reception of this returning panto family... Continue Reading →
Review: York Theatre Royal’s Cinderella
Wednesday 8th December 2021 at York Theatre Royal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Buoyant and basking in fairytale fixtures from the get-go, York Theatre Royal’s Panto from writer Paul Hendry and director Juliet Forster isn’t doing things be halves. This Cinderella has the all the comforting panto traditions paraded out in full force (who doesn’t love the Panto sing-along?),... Continue Reading →
Review: Rock’n’Roll Beauty & the Beast At Leeds City Varieties
Thursday 2nd December 2021 at Leeds City Varieties ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Panto season is back! Oooooh yes it is (sorry, but we all know it has to be done). There’s a reason the City Varieties panto has such a stellar word-of-mouth reputation: it’s just so much fun, and this year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll panto, Beauty and the... Continue Reading →
Interview: Benjamin Lafayette Talks Playing Prince Charming in York Theatre Royal’s “Cinderella”
Word on the panto grapevine is that rehearsals for York Theatre Royal’s Cinderella are officially underway… Playing Prince Charming this festive season is Benjamin Lafayette, who, since leaving Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, has appeared in the short film “Raheem” (The Second Summer of Love) and played the title role in Shakespeare’s “Othello” for Mill... Continue Reading →
Interview: Jonathan Ashby-Rock Talks Arts Centre Hounslow’s Red Riding Hood
Panto season may feel unrecognisable in 2020 but it is very much still happening, just a little differently! Such is the case with the Arts Centre Hounslow’s Red Riding Hood... After initially planning both live and streamed performances, it will now move forward with live streams until Sunday 20th December 2020 before remaining on demand... Continue Reading →
Interview: Robin Simpson Talks York Theatre Royal’s Travelling Pantomime – Oh yes he does!
When York Theatre Royal say ‘the show must go on’, they really do mean it. With the pandemic disrupting panto season, they’re improvising! From Dec 2nd - 23rd, they’re taking their Travelling Pantomime to venues across York, bringing festive cheer to locals in a year when the unfettered silliness of panto-land is needed more than... Continue Reading →