PANTO STARS LAUNCH COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS AT
THE CUSTOMS HOUSE
The Lambton Worm
South Shields Customs House
Tuesday 28th November 2017 - Saturday 6th January 2018
Whisht lads
- there’s only three months to go until Christmas!
The stars of
this year’s panto at The Customs House - The Lambton Worm - have officially
launched the theatre’s countdown to Christmas. There’s
something for all the family to enjoy, not least the hilarious re-telling of
one of the region’s most famous pieces of folklore. The Lambton
Worm, sponsored by Hays Travel, runs from Tuesday 28th
November 2017
until Saturday 6th January 2018.
Penned by
Ray Spencer, executive director of The Customs House, and Graeme Thompson, a
former broadcaster and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, it has been written in celebration
of the 150th anniversary of the folk song The Lambton Worm.
The song,
written in 1867, tells the legend of the brave Sir John Lambton, who returns
home from war to slay a ferocious beast who has been terrorising the villages
around the Lambton estate, gobbling up livestock and small children.
The beast,
said to have wrapped itself around Penshaw Hill when full, is slain after Sir
John seeks the guidance of a local witch, but he fails to follow her
instructions to the letter, leaving the family cursed for nine generations. There will
be a twist in the tale –and a much happier ending - in The Customs House
version of the story, however, as well as a love triangle and a battle between
good and evil.
Mr Spencer,
who also directs the show and stars as Dame Bella Ballcock, said: “I think it
is really important that some of our traditional folk tales are passed on to
new generations. At a time
when so much is changing, being able to tell this story and have children
interested in places like Penshaw Monument and Penshaw Hill, and getting them
to go out and about and see these places, is something we should celebrate. Of course,
we should recognise that the original song was written for pantomime, so we
will celebrate that 150th anniversary.”
Dame Bella,
the castle cook, is joined in the kitchen by her hapless son Arbuthnot, played
by David John Hopper, who returns to the panto for a second year, having made
his debut in last year’s Jack and the Beanstalk.
Steven Lee
Hamilton also returns as The Brave and Bold Sir John, taking on the role of
principal boy once again after three years of playing the villain in Little Red
Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Jack and the Beanstalk.
Eleanor
Chaganis takes on the principal girl role as the princess, while Natasha Haws
is moving away from principal girl for the first time to play Susie Soothsayer
from Southwick. Georgia Nicholson plays her sister, Poison Pen from Penshaw.
Gareth
Hunter also returns to the pantomime as The Sultan, while comedian and one half
of Britain’s Got Talent’s The Mimic Men, Cal
Halbert, and Lewis Jobson make their debuts as Lord Larry Lambton and Puddles
the Dog respectively.
Designers
Paul Shriek and Max Fox have once again worked their magic on the costumes and
sets and South Tyneside Dance Workshop are back to provide the dancers.
But it’s not
just ‘The Little Panto with the Big Heart’ that draws in the crowds over the
festive period at The Customs House.Santa’s
Naughty Elf, starring Wayne Miller as the mischievous Elfluent, is also back in
A Christmas Carol, a new 60-minute show aimed at the under-sevens, from
Saturday, December 2, until Christmas Eve. Inspired by
the Charles Dickens classic, families will be transported back in time to find
out how Elfluent earned his title – and whether he can mend his ways and become
the elf that Santa knows he can be.
Other events
include a Christmas Murder Mystery on Monday, December 11, which includes a
three-course meal and festive whodunit, and A Christmas Carol: A Folk Opera, on
Wednesday, December 13, both in Daltons Suite from 7.30pm.
Christmas
Swing with Danny Reed takes place on Thursday, December 14, at 7pm, with the swing singer entertaining
diners during a three-course meal, all for £18.95.
Angela’s
Festiva Frolics returns on Monday, December 18, at 2pm, for an afternoon of Christmas fun
and tasty turkey broth, mince pie and a cuppa, all for £9.95.
There will
be special screenings of Miracle on 34th Street and Elf in the cinema, from December
4 to 7 and Deecmber 20 to 24 respectively.
And for New
Year’s Eve entertainment, look no further than Jason Cook’s New Year’s Eve
Comedy Club on Sunday, December 31, at 7.30pm.
Tickets:
Tickets for
The Lambton Worm are priced from £9.99 and the Christmas Eve performances are
already sold out. Tickets for Santa’s Naughty Elf: A Christmas Carol start at
£10.
Tickets for
the Christmas Murder Mystery are priced from £21.95 and A Christmas Carol: A
Folk Opera, a re-telling of the story set to traditional English folk tunes, is
priced from £12.50.
Jason Cook’s
New Year’s Eve Comedy Club is a two-hour show recommended for those aged 16 and
over. Tickets are from £25.
For more
information, contact the box office on (0191) 454 1234 or visit www.customshouse.co.uk.
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