It’s panto time – oh yes it is – and in Chorley the stars are waiting in the wings for a return to tradition
It’s as much a part of Christmas as the tree and the grandparent who snores through the Queen’s speech. For many people the festive season wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the panto and this year in Chorley they’re returning to tradition.
Last year’s show – where these pictures were taken – was Santa the Panto, a specially written piece for Chorley Amateur Dramatics and Operatic Society. But this time the group, who perform at the town’s Little Theatre, will be telling a more familiar story.
Chairman Ian Robinson, produced last year’s show and is taking the role of director for Snow White which opens on December 13.
He said: ‘The panto is the important show of the year, partly in terms of finances for the group, but also because for many people it’s the only live show they see in a year and we want to make sure it’s a good experience.
‘Last year was great. It was an original story written for us so we were a bit worried about how it would go down but it was a complete sell out and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.
‘Staging a panto is a very exciting, time-consuming, stressful, worrying thing to do. It’s quite a big production and a lot of hard work goes into it. On opening night I’m usually running around tidying up the theatre at the last minute and the butterflies are in the stomach and the heart is pounding. You see people coming in and just hope everything goes as it should.
‘It all went well last year and we have a lot of the same cast involved this time round. Rehearsals have been going well so I’m pretty confident we’re going to have another good year.’
Snow White will be on at Chorley Little Theatre from December 13-21. For tickets, call the box office on 01257 264362.
