It’s Thetford Players Panto time! Get ready for The Little Mermaid

It gets harder and harder each year to decide what panto to put on – we are running out of scripts! ‘The Little Mermaid’, by Alex Jackson, then popped into our inbox and imagination took flight. A popular tale, made famous by Disney and morphed into a pantomime, what could possibly go wrong?!

The story of Ariel, princess of Atlantis, is full of twists and laughter. Granted legs to meet a dashing prince, she embarks on an unforgettable journey. Along the way, she is joined by her flamboyant moustache wearing sister, and a lobster called Thermidor, played by Thetford Players veteran Phil Pearson!

We have an amazing cast, some of whom have never done the like before, some regular faces, and some returning favourites from pantos gone by. Ray Kurn, who has previously been our Dame and more recently played Ray in ‘Blue Remembered Hills’, returns as The Admiral – the love interest of this year’s Dame, Persil. Persil is played by George Cooke, whose most memorable role was as the Tinman in ‘The Wizard of Oz’. George has been performing with Thetford Players since he was nine years old! The chemistry between Ray and George is both sizzling and hilarious at the same time.

Rehearsals are full of fun and laughter (and some line learning, honest!). Costumes are nearly finished, set pieces and props are being made, and the show is choreographed for the first time by Charley Holt. Panto again features a live band led by Maddie Stebbings. We cannot wait to see it all come together on stage as another fabulous show for our audiences.

This year’s panto has the usual six-show run, across two weekends with dates on the 17th, 18th, 24th, and 25th of January. Don’t wait too long to get tickets, they’re selling like hot cakes!