Arts Centre repeats Easter panto revival
Feb 4 2008
by Phil Key, Liverpool Daily Post
THE Easter pantomime became a tradition at Liverpool’s Neptune Theatre, now sadly closed. But it is a tradition that is being taken up by the Southport Arts Centre, thanks to Liverpool choreographer Lee Kelly.
Kelly had worked on some of those Neptune shows and last year decided to try out Aladdin at the arts centre. It went down a treat.
This year he will be staging Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Easter, and with a pretty big cast.
Rehearsals yesterday involved 32 youngsters, six dancing girls, two dancing males, and 10 principals.
“There will be only 16 youngsters on stage at any time but we have two teams of them,” Kelly explains.
“I am really pleased to have got some star talent in the show, too.
“Alison Crawford, who is playing Snow White, was in the television show Grease is the Word and James Edwards from the group Eton Road will play Prince Charming.”
Sylvie Gatrill will be the Wicked Queen.
“Michael Chapman played his first dame role for me last year and he was superb. So he is back as Dame Val.”
Kelly, 27, appeared in his first pantomime at the age of 10 opposite Mr T in Aladdin at the Liverpool Empire. Since then he has danced, choreographed, appeared in a Royal Variety Show and was a member of the boy band Young at Heart.
But he has now created his own production company LHK Productions (the “H” is a tribute to his sister Hayley, killed in a road accident) and plans to stage pantomimes around the country.
He is very much a fan of the genre and has written the script for Snow White.
“It’s the traditional story with slapstick and some of my own ideas,” he says.
SNOW WHITE and the Seven Dwarfs will go on stage at the Southport Arts Centre between March 19-22.
Source: Liverpool Daily Post
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