THE FAMOUS professional Saddleworth panto is back – oh yes it is!
This year’s show is Aladdin at the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph from Saturday, December 10-31.
Over the past five years, the Millgate panto has become a big part of the Saddleworth Christmas. Many look forward to it almost as much as December 25 itself.
Chock full of “spectacular set and costumes” (Saddleworth Independent) and “jaw dropping special effects” (Shropshire Star) it’s no wonder 5,000 people are going to see the show this month.
The show is produced by the Big Tiny – runner-up for best panto under 500 seats in the UK Pantomime Association’s Pantomime Awards for 2021.
It is also written, built and performed especially for the Saddleworth audience, with a number of actors familiar to audiences.
Sarah-Louise Young, who can be seen in her superb one-woman shows Julie Madly Deeply and An Evening Without Kate Bush, plays the Genie of the Lamp and PC World.
Tessa Vale plays Empress and Sergeant Pepper while it would not be a Saddleworth panto without the sensationally funny Dominic McCheskey.
He was such a hit with last year’s audiences, he is back as Widow Twankey
Michael Pellman appears as Aladdin himself, while Eleanor Guerin is Princess Jasmine and New York’s David Herzog will bring the boos as Abanazar, maybe the first from across the Atlantic in the UK.
“We produced our very first panto at the Millgate,” say Will Cousins and Ben Richards, the brains behind the shows and the company known as one of the most dynamic and exciting theatre producers in the North-West.
Will is a familiar face as he appears a Wishee Washee.
“Five years later, we have been nominated for four national awards, received five stars in the Yorkshire Post and even been recommended by the Guardian.
“We’re super proud of the relationship we’ve built with our audiences and the electric atmosphere they bring with them to the Millgate.”
If the Millgate panto isn’t already part of your Saddleworth Christmas tradition, there is still time to get your tickets and see for yourself why it is described as, ‘the best little panto in the country.”
Tickets, which are priced at £17 for adults and £14 for under-16s, are available at: www.millgateartscentre.co.uk
We went to The Millgate Arts Center for the first time a couple of week ago to see Ben Hur.
After weeks of stomping past the posters for it and wondering just what on earth was going on we bit the bullet and went to see it.
It was the best night out we’ve had in a long time.