Not very long to go now until Christmas – and the fun (as opposed to the hard work) begins for many with the annual panto visit.
At Boxmoor Playhouse, hard work started way back in September, when Cinderella, one of the most romantic of fairy stories, went into rehearsal.
“It’s going to be very colourful with lots of sparkles and twinkles,” says director Lynda Livsey-Randall. “There’s a lovely transformation scene with smoke and glitter”. Not only that, but there will be a newcomer to the regular Cinderella line-up because the magical coach, which whisks Cinderella off to the ball, will be pulled by a unicorn!
This year there are be two teams of children involved. “It’s very much a family panto this year,” says Lynda. ”At least two of the children have parents who are in the cast – and in one case two of the grandparents also performed with HHTC”.
The children, of course, play mice and rabbits, which are transformed into coachmen – but be warned: there are also tiny, man-eating spiders in the Deep, Dark Wood who threaten the Ugly Sisters!
We have a tall and a short Ugly Sister this year, in the capable hands of Matt Childs, who played Borachio in the recent production of Much Ado About Nothing and Ciaran Connors who played Don John. Cinderella is played by Katie Monnelly and her handsome Prince by Abi Giles.
Performance dates for the panto are Thursday to Sunday, December 5 – 8 and Thursday to Sunday, December 12 – 15. There are matinees on both Saturdays and Sundays with a relaxed performance on December 12 and British Sign Language assisted performances on December 8 and 12. But get booking straight away – the evening performance on Friday the 13th and the matinee on Saturday the 14th are already sold out!
“We’re very excited to be able to start Christmas for so many people.” Says Lynda.
