Oh yes it is! -- 'immersive' Louth panto is bigger and better than ever before
Oh yes it is!…….a pantomime by a group based in Louth is going to be “bigger and better than ever before” this season.
So says the Louth Community Panto Club, which has a new venue and a new staging set-up, which means it can “offer a more immersive experience for the audience”.
The club’s production this winter is ‘Beauty And The Beast’, which will be showing at The Pavilion performing arts theatre on London Road on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of January 8 (7 pm), January 9 (7 pm) and January 10 (2 pm and 7 pm).
And tickets are on sale now for “a great show sure to lift those January blues” and “offer the perfect blend of mayhem and magic”.
An excited Serina Smith, who is directing the panto, said: “Our cast will be acting, singing and dancing among the audience, so everyone will feel as if they are joining us in our make-believe town of Eau de Toilette!
"We’ve taken a script by the award-winning company, Limelight Scripts, and adapted it, turning it on its head by adding in every single local business that has sponsored us and also local places and names etc that give it a real ‘personal-to-Louth’ touch.”
The panto club is a non-profit organisation, run solely by volunteers. It relies on donations and sponsorships to fund its panto each year.
Everything it does is for charity, with all proceeds from its shows going to a different charity each year.
This time round, ‘Beauty And The Beast’ will be raising money for Livali, a Louth-based social care group that is dedicated to providing high-quality support for vulnerable adults.
Serina continued: “The show is set in France and follows Belle's journey with her best friend Pepe, dodging Danton's advances, saving her beloved father from the ferocious beast, breaking the curse of the ghastly witch, making new friends and finding true love.
"Our dame, Madame Teabag, will be on hand with double entendres aplenty and lots of slapstick comedy.
"With recognisable dance routines, songs and even a custard-pie gag, there's something for everyone of every age, and it will a great show to lift those January blues.”
A large cast features Becky Clark as Belle, Paul Staines as Pepe, Jasper Cowley as Danton and James McDonnell as Madame Teabag, as well as Beve Tooze, Ruth Nickolson, Vonnie Stainton, Serina herself (as Winnifred Witch), Lou White, Katrina Knox, Laura Bence, Sally Smith, Sue and Eden Powell-Howard, Neil McPhee, Rosie Lane and Belinda Baumber as the narrator.
The club gives a big thankyou to its sponsors for the production. These include local businesses Lincolnshire Event Planners, GRS Signs, Lincolnshire Co-op, The Boars Head pub, Off The Beaten Tracks, Freddie’s Foods, Stella Arden osteopath, Parkinson’s fish and chips, JM Safety, Optimum Safety and Spar (Fairfield Industrial Estate).
Tickets, priced £10 for adults ad £5 for children, are available by calling Binny at the box office between 9 am and 7 pm on 07817 838765 or by visiting the Off The Beaten Tracks record shop on Aswell Street, Louth.