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Days Out: Panto
Conrad Astley23/12/2005
Panto season is well underway, and Conrad Astley looks at some of the productions which will run until well into the new year.
'TIS the season to be jolly - especially if you're a soap star
or former TV presenter.
This year's big draw is Peter Pan at
The Opera
House, in which Eastender Steve McFadden appears opposite
Sophie Lawrence.
Read our interview with the star elsewhere on the site, or go to
see him until January 8. Tickets for the show cost £8.50-£22.50 and
are available from the box office on 0870 401 9000.
Over in Salford,
The Lowry is putting on the
ultimate Christmas show - Cinderella.
The well-loved story, in which Cinderella is helped to the ball
with a bit of magic from the fairy godmother, has been given a
modern makeover with a new pop musical score, breathtaking special
effects and lavish costumes.
The show also features the talents of Lucy-Jo Hudson - Coronation
Street's Katy - and Faith Brown.
The show is on until January 8 and tickets cost £14-£22. Assisted
performances - sign language interpreted and stagetext captioned -
are also available. Call the box office on 0870 787 5780.
Ken Morley, who played Reg Holdsworth in Coronation Street, is
appearing in
Stockport Plaza's production of Dick
Whittington, along with Steven Cartait, who played Steven Murray in
Brookside and Callum in Hollyoaks.
Tickets for the show, on until January 8, cost £9-£13. Call the box
office on 477 7779.
Of course, there are also pantomime treats in store for those who
are prepared to travel a few miles out of town.
Buxton Opera House is putting on a production of
Jack and the Beanstalk, which they describe as "a Christmas feast
of comedy, excitement, toe-tapping pop songs and colourful dance
routines."
The show features Kathryn George - Helen Cunningham from Emmerdale
- as the fairy, Keith Drinkel - Bob from Coronation Street - as
Fleshcreep the henchman and Matthew Booth - Paul Marsden from
Emmerdale - as Simple Simon soap stars, along with Kelle Bryan from
nineties girl group Eternal as Jill.
Tickets cost £12-£16 and the show is on until January 2. Call the
box office on 0845 127 2190 or contact
www.buxton-opera.co.uk.
Middleton Civic Centre is putting on Aladdin,
starring Georgina Mellor from Footballers' Wives and Natasha Seale
who appeared in Les Miserables.
The show runs until tomorrow (Christmas Eve) but the centre is also
putting on a version of Cinderella later in the New Year. Call the
box office on 643 2389.
Aladdin is also being put on by Rocian Productions at
Bury
Met. Tickets cost £6.50-£9, or £29 for a family of four,
and the show runs until December 31. Call 761 2216.
Kids' TV presenter Stu Francis is back in his home town of Bolton
for a romp through Cinderella at the
Albert
Halls.
The former Crackerjack presenter stars as Buttons in the panto,
which is on until January 8. Contact 01204 334 400 or
ticketsales@alberthalls.co.uk
The
Oldham Coliseum is showing Dick
Whittington.
The traditional show, in which Dick and his loyal cat head to
London in search of adventure and streets paved with gold, has been
adapted by Mark Chatterton and Sarah Nixon, and was directed by
Kevin Shaw. The show runs until January 14 and tickets cost
£5.50-£14. Call the box office on 624 2829.
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