Jack and the Beanstalk, at the Crewe Lyceum Theatre. Cannon and Ball starred as Tommy and Bobby Trot.
Photos
Cast
Tommy Trot – Tommy Cannon
Bobby Trot – Bobby Ball
Jack – George Sampson
Dame Trot – Malcolm Lord
Fleshcreep – Stefan Pejic
The Spirit of the Beans – Leah Godbold
Princess Apricot – Kitty Harris
Ensemble – Frankie Armitage, Ruth Cass, Michael Carroll, Denise Goff, Ashley Munn, Lizzie Ruggier Babes – YSD Theatre School
The Lyceum Band
Musical Director/Keyboards – Philip Shute
Bass Guitar – Alex Moore
Drums/Percussion – David Waller
Act One
Scene 1 – Prologue
Scene 2 – The Village of Widdling on The Weaver
Scene 3 – A Pathway in the Village
Scene 4 – The Village Fair
Scene 5 – The Road to Market
Scene 6 – The Trots’ Cottage
Scene 7 – The Magic Beans
Scene 8 – Up the Beanstalk
Act Two
Scene 1 – Cloudland
Scene 2 – Outside the Giant’s Castle
Scene 3 – The Giant’s Kitchen
Scene 4 – Outside the Giant’s Castle
Scene 5 – The Bottom of the Beanstalk
Scene 6 – Preparing for the Wedding
Scene 7 – The Wedding of Jack and Apricot
Creative Team
Director – David Fleeshman
Choreographer – Thomas Spratt
Musical Supervisor – Olly Ashmore
Set Designer – Ian Westbrook, 3D Creations
Lighting & Sound Designer/ Production Manager – Carl Knapper
Speciality Costumes – Mike Coltman
Company Stage Manager – Helen Gaynor
Deputy Stage Manager – Lisa Lewis
Technical ASM – Linnea Gronning
Assistant Stage Manager/ Book Cover – Katy Taylor
Sound Operator No 1 – Adam Thompson
Sound Operator No 2 – Sarah Harrison
Wardrobe Supervisor – Brooke Bowden
Wardrobe Assistant – Gina Warnes
Dresser – Liz Randle
Production Credits
Pyrotechnics – Le Maitre
Lighting Suppliers – HSL Group Holdings
Projection and Video – Blue-i Technologies
Sound Suppliers – Stage Sound Services
Technical Consumables – AC Entertainment Technologies
Transport – KB Event
Programme
Cannon and Ball
Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball are one of Britain’s runniest and most successful double acts. In their long career, they have achieved a string of honours that puts them among the all-time greats of show business.
They starred in their own series and also ‘guested’ on all major shows, including Wogan, Parkinson, Des O’Connor Tonight, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, Noel’s House Party, Talking Telephone Numbers, The Generation Game and several Royal Variety Performances. To add to their pedigree, they remain the only act to have won three separate National Club Awards and be named as the Variety Club Personalities of the Year. Their feature film The Boys in Blue, in addition to its cinema success, went on to become a video best-seller. The boys were even the subject of This Is Your Life.
Tom and Bob have broken box-office records in theatres all over the UK, including London. In 1981, they played a six-week season at the Dominion Theatre. Every seat was sold before the show opened, and in 1988 their pantomime Babes in the Wood broke all previous pantomime records at the world-famous London Palladium, where Cannon and Ball created the record for the largest box office amount taken in one week in British theatre history. Rock with Laughter 96 fulfilled Tommy and Bobby’s ambition to star in their own rock ‘n’ roll spectacular, their first summer season for producers Qdos Entertainment.
Since then, they have continued to break box office records, and have enjoyed continued success with summer seasons. They came back from the jungle in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and went on to tour in the comedy play Big Bad Mouse. Once finished, they embarked on another tour, The Best of British Variety, which due to public demand they appeared in again the following year. 2010 saw them complete their sell-out tour Rock , With Laughter. In 2013, Tommy and Bobby then went on to star in a national tour of Ha Ha Hood! and the Prince of Leaves.
Tommy filmed a guest role in BBC’s Hank Zipzer, written by Henry Winkler, and featured in BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef 2016. Bobby filmed his regular role playing Lee Mack’s dad for BBC1 s Not Going Out and Not Going Out Christmas special. Bobby continued to feature as the part of Barry in Sky One’s Mount Pleasant.
In 2016/17, Cannon and Ball starred in the pantomime Aladdin at Crewe, after which they went back on tour performing in their comedy play The Dressing Rooms. After the great response and reviews from the show, they decided to tour the show again throughout 2017 and 2018.
Tommy and Bobby have continued to be a consistent presence on our television screens, starring in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! for ITV1, Celebrity Coach Trip and Last of the Summer Wine for BBC. As well as taking on solo roles, Bobby played guest role Mr Turner in ITV’s Heartbeat, The Fattest Man in Britain and The Security Men (ITV comedy dramas), while Tommy played guest role Reg Lawson in Doctors.
During 2018, Bobby filmed his special guest role in Benidorm as Ron Pickford and continued to film for the BBC Not Going Out, during which Tommy toured his play Seriously Dead, playing the role of Albert Blunderstone.
Whilst they both have their individual successes on television, they continue as the hilarious comic legends Cannon & Ball. In 2018, they both jetted off to Vegas and had a brilliant time filming Last Laugh in Las Vegas for ITV. They later filmed Harry Hill’s Alien Fun Capsule and The Comedy Years documentary. As Crewe Lyceum pantomime had such a successful run last year, they are delighted to return again this Christmas to star in Jack and the Beanstalk.
George Sampson
George found his passion for performing on the streets of Manchester, Market Street, at the age of 12, where he would busk three times a week. He was spotted as an exceptional talent and encouraged to audition for Britain’s Got Talent. At the age of 14, he rose to fame in 2008 after winning Britain’s Got Talent with his interpretation of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’. Following the success of the show, he went on to star in the West End in Into the Hoods and two national arena tours.
George also starred as Eddie in the feature films StreetDance 3D and StreetDance 2, where he found his love for acting. He then went on to shoot three series of the BBC drama Waterloo Road, playing bad boy Kyle Stack, in which one series won an National Television Award for Best Drama.
Having found a desire for screen work, George began working on Mount Pleasant, playing the role of Gary, and appeared on Emmerdale, as troublemaker Ryan.
In 2016, he starred on Britain’s Got Talents ten-year anniversary show and performed alongside Diversity. George played the main character Daniel in the short film Daniel Thomas, produced by East Heads Films in 2017. Throughout his career, George has featured on television, film and in numerous pantomimes and Easter theatre tours.
After the success of his musical theatre debut in Our House, combining his love for both acting and performing arts, George enjoyed playing the lead role of Jack Trot in Jack and the Beanstalk at Ipswich Regent last Christmas. He also performed as Prince George in Rapunzel at Bolton Albert Hall.
Malcolm Lord
Malcolm trained at Mountview Theatre School, in London, and he has worked extensively in theatre and television.
With nearly 40 years’ experience, in all aspects of theatre and television, he has played a wide range of interesting roles, ranging from Hansel in the opera Hansel and Gretel to a parrot at a Royal Variety Performance for HRH The Prince of Wales. His main claim to fame though is appearing for 13 years in the classic children’s programme Rainbow for Thames TV, initially playing George the pink hippo and then taking on the role of Bungle the bear. Forty years after their conception, Bungle, George and Zippy are still in demand.
Malcolm is no stranger to pantomime: this is his 27th consecutive year, appearing in several versions of Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Dick Whittington. Many of these were with the legendary John Inman.
Malcolm took a few years’ break from being dame, one year playing Santa in Santa Claus – the Musical and the next year playing Friar Tuck in Robin Hood. He was thrilled to return to playing the dame, with the role of Sarah the Cook, for Qdos Entertainment at Wycombe Swan and Orchard Theatre, Dartford, both starring Shane Richie. Malcolm then brought back his well-known character Bungle the bear to star in Pizza Hut’s television commercial in 2017. He is delighted to be here once again in Crewe after a successful run of Aladdin two years ago and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs last year
Stefan Pejic
Stefan recently played the lead in the nationwide tour of The Invisible Man and as Al Jolson in the one-man play The Other Jolson. Other recent roles include Kyle in A Sleight of Mind and Roy Brown in The Bard of Margate.
Stefan is writer and consultant for various comedians for the BBC, Comedy Central, Channel 4 and BBC Sesh online. He is also a writer to Britain’s Got Talent’s Matt Edwards and directed his recent live show Fourth. He co-wrote and played the lead in the interactive award-winning musical The Musician and the new comedy Townhill.
Stefan began his career at the age of seven, appearing in a string of TV adverts and children’s TV shows, which include WH Smith, McDonald’s, Nickelodeon, Kellogg’s, Mad for It and Jungle Run. There followed minor roles, including About a Boy and as a student in the Harry Potter films.
At 13, Stefan became the youngest ever Butlin’s redcoat at Minehead thanks to Stephen Mulhern. He stayed for three summer seasons. As a teenager, he was invited to perform comedy and magic in the West End, at the Criterion and Polish Theatre. He was also hired by brands such as Disney, Sony, Coke, Hamleys and Harrods.
He played Spikey in the HTV soap Nuts and Bolts, Simon in the BAFTA Award-winning Con Passionate, Davey Campbell in Doctors, Casualty, Sherlock, Kamikaze, Da Vinci’s Demons, Re:Run, BFI shorts, Owen in ELAWG, So What’s Next? (Dotty Films), Tyler in Internal Bleeding and Tate in The Rezort (Netflix). His adverts include 188BET.com, Penderyn Whiskey and Captain Jack Sparrow for Barti Ddu Rum. He played Dan in Closer and Ethan in The Full Monty (stage), Alfie in Swansea Women, Slender in The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Cliff Richard in Bachelor Boy.
His panto roles include Buttons and Simple Simon for Imagine Theatre, and he has played both Abanazar and Fleshcreep for Qdos Entertainment.
Leah Godbold
Leah trained professionally at the London College of Music. Her professional credits include lead vocalist on Cunard’s ocean liner Queen Mary 2; Spirit of the Beans in Jack and the Beanstalk (Wycombe Swan); featured singer with the National Symphony Orchestra in Cunard’s Last Night of the Proms; Christmas at Kew (Kew Gardens); Risen! – the Musical (New Theatre Royal); lead vocalist for TUI, and Fright Nights (Thorpe Park).
Kitty Harris
Kitty has just graduated from Blackpool Sixth Form College, where she studied a Triple Music BTEC. During her time at college, she played Roxie Hart in Chicago, which received rave reviews.
Kitty trained at Langley Dance Centre and she has performed with them in many productions, often playing the lead. Kitty was an exceptional student, receiving two major awards for her skills as a performer and dancer. Kitty was the first student to receive both awards.
Last year, Kitty performed in the West End in David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny. She has also performed in many other venues, including the Blackpool Tower Circus, the Winter Gardens, the Grand Theatre and the Preston Guildhall, to name a few. Kitty has also just finished a summer season singing at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Kitty loves being on the stage and performing to huge audiences; she says that she takes after her dad, ventriloquist Keith Harris. After watching her dad perform in many Qdos Entertainment productions, she is thrilled to be able to perform in one herself.
Frankie Armitage
Frankie graduated from Laine Theatre Arts and has had the pleasure to perform in China at the Venetian Macao, as well as performing at the Wimbledon Tennis Olympics, featuring in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, taking part in TV work for Netflix in Been So Long and the television series The Spanish Princess.
Ruth Cass
Ruth trained at Renaissance Arts. Her theatre credits include a dancer for Costa Cruises and ensemble and understudy to the Slave of the Ring in Aladdin (Qdos Entertainment). Her television and film credits include a featured dancer in Victoria and a featured dancer in the music video ‘Retrograde’.
Michael Carroll
Michael started his journey in dance at the Beverly Marks Stage School and from there went on to finish his training at Bird College of Dance and Theatre Performance where he graduated with a National Diploma in Dance and Musical Theatre.
His recent credits include Mary Poppins Returns; Tango Moderno (UK tour); Aladdin (dance captain); P&O Australia cruise (dancer and dance captain); Royal Variety Performance (a dancer for Take That); The National Television Awards (dancer) and a Charlotte Tilbury commercial (dancer).
Denise Goff
Denise studied musical theatre, gaining a BA (hons). Denise has also trained as a competitive gymnast and cheerleader. Her television and film appearances include dancing for The 2018Xpose Benefit Award Show (TV3, Dublin); Gareth Pugh SSI8 – a Fashion Film, directed by Nick Knight and choreographed by Wayne McGregor (LFW); Penny Dreadful (Showtime); The Tudors (BBC, TV3 and Showtime); Laochra (RTE) and Little Women (BBC). Her stage appearances include Cheer Dance Fever (Ocean Park, Hong Kong); Film Fatale’s Closing Night (Dublin Fringe Festival); Robin Hood (Gaiety, Dublin); RTE’s Dancing With the Stars (Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin); Sleeping Beauty (UCH Limerick); Jack and the Beanstalk (UCH, Limerick); West End Medley (UK); Rain Man for Hinged Dance Co (Place, UK); Superman for Hinged Dance Co (UK); Gap Year – the Musical (UK tour) and performances as a cheerleader for West Ham FC in Upton Park, London, and Leinster Rugby in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
Denise also performed for a summer on the Oscar Wilde ship for Irish Ferries, where she also acted as dance captain.
Ashley Munn
Ashley graduated from Tiffany Theatre College in 2016. Since graduating, he has appeared in Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?!, Children in Need, as well as commercials for Braun and O2. He has worked in Sweden with the company King and been a member of UnTitled.
Lizzie Ruggier
Lizzie is delighted to be back performing at the Lyceum Theatre. Most recently, she has appeared in Saturday Night Fever, playing the part of Linda Manero, and the musical We Will Rock You.
Lizzie trained at the Centre – Performing Arts College. During her training, she performed in the pantomimes Aladdin and Dick Whittington, as well as being a part of the Dance Proms at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall. After her training, she went on to join the Potters Theatre Company in Norfolk. Her TV credits include BBC’s Poldark, Casualty, Doctors and ABC’s Galavant, as well as being a presenter for the brand Mattel.
YSD Theatre School
YSD Theatre School (formerly Yvonne School of Dancing) was founded by Yvonne Nevitt in 1951 and is now owned by her sister, Gail Montague. The school trains and supplies students for both amateur and professional productions. Yvonne and the school have a long association with the Crewe Lyceum Theatre, spanning 78 years. The school enjoys a 100 per cent pass rate in exams in all disciplines, with many students gaining platinum awards. The school has a vocational status, meaning that students are taken through exams to teaching diplomas, GCSE and A-level exams. The school is an approved examination centre of the BTDA Vocational School in all disciplines, including AAD American tap and singing exams by London College of Music. Students past and present have gained places at drama colleges such as GSA, Mountview, Laine Theatre Arts, Arts Educational Schools London, MTA, Trinity and PPA. Many students have gone on to work in London’s West End, in television, film and for the Walt Disney Company. The school prides itself on theatrical training, performing musicals and concerts throughout the year at the Lyceum Theatre. Students performed at Walt Disney World in Florida in August 2017. They run two musical theatre companies, one for adults and a youth company called Curtain Call Productions, and performed Bugsy Malone at the Lyceum Theatre in March this year and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in November. They are currently rehearsing for the musical Grease, which will be at the Lyceum Theatre in March 2019, and they will again be performing at Walt Disney World Florida in August 2019.
Giant’s Team
Max Bainbridge
Daisy Cullen
Olivia Edwards
Sophie Gardener
Lucy Howe
Ellie Morris Davies
Evie Morris Davies
Isabelle Saunders
Jack’s Team
Maya Czarnecka
Edward Danby
Sophie Hulme
Daisy Jones
Lauren Jones
Alice Lewsley
Yazmin O’Connor
Ellie-May Shenton
Alan McHugh
Alan is a Scottish-based actor and writer, who trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. As an actor, he has worked and toured with all the country’s major theatre companies and has featured extensively in television, including Outlander, Taggart, Still Game, Rab C Nesbitt, High Road, River City, Scot Squad, Single Father, Sea of Souls, Dear Green Place and double BAFTA-winner Limmy’s Show. In addition to his television and feature/short film credits, he has featured in many BBC Radio 4 drama productions.
As a writer for Qdos Entertainment, he has also been involved in writing this year’s pantomimes for Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Bromley, Cardiff, Darlington, Dartford, Edinburgh, King’s Theatre, Glasgow, High Wycombe, Hull, Liverpool, Llandudno, the London Palladium, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Northampton, Nottingham, Plymouth, Richmond, Southampton, Southend, Stoke, Swansea, Wimbledon, Woking and Wolverhampton.
Other writing credits include / Dreamed a Dream (the Susan Boyle musical); River City (BBC Scotland); Week Ending, Saturday Live (BBC Radio 4); Chewin’ the Fat, The Wide Nation and Velvet Cabaret (BBC Radio Scotland); Pulp Video and Know Your Onions (BBC Scotland TV) and It’s Behind You’. (Oran Mor, Glasgow).
Over the years, he has also been commissioned to write the Christmas shows for many other theatres, including the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow; Perth Theatre; Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline; Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy; Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock; Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock; Falkirk, Rutherglen and Hamilton Town Hall theatres.
For Qdos Entertainment, Alan has played panto dame at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, since 2004, and as you read this, he will be up there playing Nurse Nellie MacDuff in Snow White and the Seven Dwarf, which he has also written.
Jonathan Kiley
Jonathan trained at the Arts Educational Schools London and made an early start to his career on Yorkshire TV children’s programmes. Jonathan made his West End debut in Peter Pan at the London Coliseum, playing Tootles opposite Dorothy Tutin in the title role and Ron Moody as Captain Hook. He went on to play the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s hit musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in no less than six productions, and also directed a tour of the show. He played Jesus in two productions of Godspell, Danny Zuko in Grease and Dick Deadeye in HMS Pinafore at Nottingham Playhouse, where he appeared in numerous other productions, including The Boy Friend, Mack and Mabel, The Matchmaker, Hamlet, Coriolanus, Mother Courage and Her Children and The Gondoliers. His additional stage credits include the role of Pistol in Henry V, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bergetto in ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore and Witwould in The Way of the World.
Swapping repertory theatre for the world of rock and roll, Jonathan continued his career touring the United Kingdom and North America in Elvis – the Musical. He then spent two years donning the infamous fishnets of Dr Frank-N-Furter in Richard O’Brien’s iconic cult musical The Rocky Horror Show, which toured extensively across the United Kingdom, Europe and made its theatrical debut in the Middle East. He then went on to direct, choreograph and appear in a national tour of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s Little Shop of Horrors.
Jonathan has appeared in and directed pantomimes in London and across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, starring alongside Norman Wisdom, Les Dawson, Cannon and Ball, Bonnie Langford and John Nettles. In addition to appearing on stage, Jonathan has also produced and directed productions starring some of the UK’s biggest stars, including Brian Conley, Danny La Rue, Joe Pasquale, Julian Clary, Nigel Havers, John Barrowman, David Hasselhoff, Robert Lindsay and Joan Collins.
Jonathan has worked extensively in the world of pantomime for over three decades, and has been a director of Qdos Entertainment, the world’s biggest pantomime producer, since the company was set up in 2000. He is delighted to be celebrating his 44th year working in show business.
David Fleeshman
David has worked as an actor, director and broadcaster for over 40 years. He has worked in theatre, television, film, radio, commercials and lectures in drama. As a director, David has worked at Leeds Playhouse, Theatre Royal York and spent two years as associate director of the Coliseum Theatre, Oldham. At the Library Theatre, Manchester, amongst other productions, he directed the European premiere of Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues and the regional premiere of My Night With Reg, which won the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Production. David directed Robin Hood and Peter Pan at the Lowry, Salford, as well as The Wizard of Oz, both at the Lowry and the New Theatre, Oxford.
As an actor, David has worked in theatres across the country. Recent work includes Romeo and Juliet and Richard III (Shakespeare Rose Theatre, York); Uncle Vanya (HOME Theatre, Manchester); Darkness, Darkness (Nottingham Playhouse); UK, Ireland and South African tour of War Horse (National Theatre); As You Like It and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester); A View From the Bridge, Death of a Salesman and Of Mice and Men (Octagon Theatre, Bolton); Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (Haymarket Theatre, Leicester) and Herbie in Gypsy (Leicester Curve).
He has spent many years working both as an actor and director at the Library Theatre, Manchester, having played the leading roles in the European premieres of Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor and. Jake’s Women, as well as Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and The Price, for which he won the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor. On the London stage, David was last seen in Justifying War, a dramatization of the Hutton Inquiry. Dozens of television appearances include major roles in TV classics such as Boys From the Blackstuff and Edge of Darkness; comedy classics such as Only Fools and Horses and A Bit of a Do; short stints in Coronation Street, EastEnders and Brookside, and a three-year stint in Emmerdale. His recent television includes Love, Lies and Records, National Treasure, Silent Witness, All the Small Things, Heartbeat, Trial & Retribution, At Home With the Braithwaites, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Royal, The Last Detective, Donovan with Tom Conti, Bad Girls, Spooks, The Royal Today and Doctors.
David has appeared in several films, including a Hollywood movie with Wesley Snipes called Unstoppable and Disobedience with Rachel Weisz. He has recorded over 200 radio plays for BBC Radio Drama. David’s previous productions for Qdos Entertainment include Peter Pan and Dick Whittington (Venue Cymru, Llandudno); Aladdin (Darlington Hippodrome) and the last two year’s successful productions of Aladdin and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs here at Crewe Lyceum. David is delighted to be back working with the legends that are Cannon & Ball for the third year running.
Thomas Spratt
Thomas trained in Dublin at the Billie Barry Stage School and began his career performing in the West End production of Fame (Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh). Thomas has worked in the UK as assistant choreographer on the West End hit shows Dancing in the Streets and Dreamboats and Petticoats; the Any Dream Will Do concert for the BBC (London Palladium); Women Freemasons’ 100th anniversary concert (Royal Albert Hall); You Don’t Bring Me Flowers (UK tour); 42nd Street gala (London Palladium) and Carnaby Street (Hackney Empire/UK tour).
Thomas has worked extensively in Ireland over the past years, performing in Taylors Irish dance show; he choreographed the Irish premiere of Jerry Springer – the Opera (Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin) and choreographed and performed in Mad About Musicals (National Concert Hall). His other Irish choreography credits include Jack and the Beanstalk, Mother Goose, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella (Gaiety Theatre). Thomas has danced for artists such as Alex Party, Happy Clappers and Gina G. When living in Sydney, Thomas choreographed for the Australian Dance and Music Company, and choreographed for the music artist Sam Obernik and Australian DJ Helena for their debut single together, ‘Democratic Dance Floor’.
His touring and international credits include Daniel O’Donnell {Rock V Roll UK and Ireland tour); Red Hurley show (USA); Irish dance show Celtic Rhythms (Holland tour); dance captain on Belle etFou (Berlin); Tony Kenny’s Irish Celebration (USA) and associate choreographer and created his own character in A Tribute to Glee (Dubai). He has choreographed and danced in many fashion and hairdressing shows and corporate events in the UK and Ireland. He has appeared in the films An Awfully Big Adventure and Disney’s movie Ella Enchanted, where he was assistant to the choreographer Bruno Tonioli (Strictly Come Dancing). He choreographed the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat boys’ performance on The Alan Titchmarch Show (ITV) and appeared as a dancer on television shows such as Reign & Raw and Penny Dreadful and, most recently, was one of the male dancers in Centenary 1916.
His television appearances include advertisements for Vodafone, Lee jeans, Nitelink and Calor Gas and, recently, a UPC flash mob. Thomas can be heard on the radio doing voice-overs for McDonald’s, Kellogg’s, Mr Kipling and Levi’s. For Qdos Entertainment, his choreography credits include Peter Pan, starring Joe Pasquale (Birmingham Hippodrome); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, starring Craig Revel Horwood (Llandudno); Peter Pan, starring Joe Pasquale (Dartford); Cinderella, starring Brian Conley (Cardiff); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, starring Sid Owen (Hastings); Aladdin, starring Les Dennis and Noel Sullivan (Crawley); Peter Pan, starring Adam Woodyatt; Jack and the Beanstalk, starring Lisa Riley and Brendan Sheerin; Cinderella, starring Gareth Gates; and Aladdin and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, starring Cannon & Ball (all Crewe). Thomas runs a performance company, Fatale Events, and recently has choreographed and performed the song ‘High Water’ onstage with the legendary Bob Dylan when he came to Ireland on his world tour. He recently choreographed, performed and was the host of the Kit Kat Club Cabaret. Thomas is also the choreographer to Irish pop artist and actress Samantha Mumba. He performed in Copenhagen as part of the Irish entry Can-Linn with ‘Heartbeat’ for Eurovision. Thomas is the owner and creative director of the Dance Act Sing Academy, Ireland.
Olly Ashmore
Olly is one of the most prolific songwriters and composers of his generation. With over 400 songs to his name, he has contributed to dozens of shows and musicals. He studied composition and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with honours. As a musical director, supervisor and orchestrator, Olly has worked on West End, UK and European productions of Fame, Grease, All the Fun of the Fair, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Rocky Horror Show, The Golden Musicals of Broadway, Hair, Boogie Nights, Eternal Flame and Happy Days. He produced music for Covergirls in Las Vegas, and his original score for Aladdin toured China before transferring to Reno in the USA. Olly recorded and produced the soundtrack to David Hasselhoff’s stage show Last Night a D] Saved My life.
Regional theatre credits include Love Forever True, Who Killed Cock Robin?, Lovely Lady, Thames TV’s Rainbow and The Wizard of Oz. Original scores for Robin Hood, Aladdin and The Big Bash were commissioned by the BBC and produced at Birmingham’s NEC. New play scores include Measure for Measure, The Mysteries, The Suicide and Great Expectations. Original musicals by Oily include Forever Eve, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Love God, Girl Talk and Look Back, commissioned for the opening of the Millennium Dome. For Qdos Entertainment, Oily has composed scores for Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, Aladdin and Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates. His menopause musical Hot Flush!, starring Lesley Joseph, Marti Webb and Rula Lenska, toured the UK for six years, and earned Olly the Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Award in 2009.
Olly has three new albums of original songs currently available on iTunes: Magic & Mermaids, Princesses & Pirates and Peter Pan.
Olly worked for the BBC on Going Live, On Your Marks, The Friday Zone, The Poops and The Demon Headmaster. He has arranged music for This Morning (ITV) and has written scores for a number of short films, including The Time Tangle (LWT) and Gorilla in the Roses (BBC and Riverdance Film Festival). He has been a guest musical director for RTE and UTV; conducted sessions for Talking Telephone Numbers, The Generation Game and This Morning, and was the musical associate on The Royal Variety Performance for ITV.
Ian Westbrook 3D Creations
With over 35 years’ experience, Ian has recently won the Arts Entrepreneur Award. For the Lord Delfont Group he designed the Lenny Henry; Cannon & Ball, The Nolan Sisters and Dick Emery Shows. After seasons at Nottingham Playhouse, Leicester and Theatre Royal Plymouth, Ian became resident set designer and scenic artist with the Theatre Royal Norwich and since 1986, Cromer Pavilion’s iconic Seaside Special summer shows. Since 1985 his Scenery and prop construction company 3D Creations in Norfolk has created operas, musicals, plays, pantomimes and world events that include Sir Peter Hall’s Blithe Spirit (Savoy Theatre); Michael Flatley’s Feet of Flames world tour; Evita and Chicago in Lebanon’s amphitheatre and Broadway’s musical See Saw by Cy Colman. He has created scenic special effects for the Chichester Festival and English National Opera.
Ian’s set builds include: Horrible Histories and Treasure Island for Birmingham Stage Company. His UK tours and London’s West End productions include: Proof (Arts); All the Fun of the Fair (Garrick Theatre); Truth Lies Diana (Charing Cross); Santa Clause and the Christmas Adventure (Ambassadors); Aladdin (Coventry Belgrade) and Sangre (Riverside Studios).
Ian’s rock and pop music arena tours have included: Iron Maiden (five world tours); Robbie Williams, Pete Waterman, Westlife, Blur, The Spice Girls, Peter Gabriel, Ellie Goulding, The X-Factor and Thomas the Tank Engine. For the Disney Corporation he worked on Pirates in the Caribbean and worked with Sony Media for the illusionist David Blaine. He has designed and built for Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), the Peace Train world arena tour and created special effect props for TVs Misfits 3.
He has five royal commissions for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Diamond Jubilee). Since 2006 Ian has been designing and building pantomime sets for Qdos Entertainment including Cinderella (awarded the Best Set Design at the British Pantomime Awards) and Dick Whittington for The London Palladium. He and his team are proud to have created the set for this year’s Snow White at The London Palladium.
Carl Knapper
Carl is thrilled to be working on this year’s pantomime, with 15 backstage members, 2 artic lorries of set and costumes, 64 hours of production time, 300 lighting cues and 250 sound cues. He has had a very busy year working at the Crewe Lyceum and Beyond the Barricade. Carl and his team have injected all their professionalism to the local dance and amateur companies around Cheshire; this year, they have provided full technical support to 12 shows, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The team have welcomed over 1200 local company members in this time and created many dreams for all the youngsters who have performed and danced on the stage, including YSD, who are back this year as the pantomime babes. Carl is pleased to welcome back and work alongside the legends of Cannon & Ball for another season. Rock on, Tommy.
Mike Coltman
Mike Coltman and the team at Costume Construction have 30 years’ experience designing and making specialty costumes, props and puppets for theatre, film, TV, ballet and opera.
Despite working on many exciting projects, it’s pantomime that the team particularly love. The possibilities with panto are limitless – you can never go too big or too glittery… and it doesn’t get more glittery than a Qdos Entertainment panto.
Costume Construction has a long association with Qdos Entertainment, and they currently have giants, dwarfs, dogs, crocodiles, dames and farm animals in productions across the country, from Plymouth to Aberdeen and everywhere in between.
Previous credits for television include EastEnders, Coronation Street, The Royal Variety Show, The Harry Hill Show, French & Saunders, Victoria Wood, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, 2point4 Children, five series of My Parents Are Aliens, Waking the Dead, Psychoville and three series and the national tour of The League of Gentlemen.
They have also worked on The Little and Large Show, The Paul Daniels Magic Show and The Russ Abbot Show. Film work includes Love Actually, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, Alien Autopsy with Ant and Dec, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Four Lions.
Work on this year’s pantomime began back in March and although a few days’ break at Christmas are appreciated, the team are always eager to start work on die new season of shows and are already itching to see what Qdos Entertainment have in store for them.
Although Mike has little time for anything other than costumes and puppets, he is pleased to have just achieved a lifelong ambition, having gained a BA (hons) in classical ballet.. .he got a tutu!
Phil Shute
Philip trained at the University of Surrey (BA) and Middlesex University (MA).
His credits as musical director include Annie, The Wizard of Oz, The Magic of the Musicals, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Pirates of Penzance, South Pacific, The Producers, Jesus Christ Superstar (Bermuda); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Aladdin (Lyceum, Crewe); In the Heights (Stockwell Playhouse); The Adventures of Pinocchio (Ambassadors, London); Merrily We Roll Along (PPA); The Sound of Music, Annie, The Wizard of Oz, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Oliver!, They’re Playing Our Song (Madinat Theatre, Dubai); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty (Hull New); A Tale of Two Cities (Charing Cross Theatre); Dick Whittington, Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarf (Derby Assembly Rooms); The Sound of Music (First Group Theatre, Dubai); Menopause the Musical (Shaw Theatre, London; Tivoli Theatre, Dublin; UK and Irish tours); Motherhood the Musical (Kings Theatre, Glasgow and UK tour); The Wiz (Milton Keynes); High School Musical 2, The Blues Brothers Unlimited (Centre Point, Dubai); Hair (LIPA); The Cheeky Chappie (Union Theatre and Arts Theatre, London); Spirit of the Musicals (UK tour); Footloose (Little Theatre, Chicago); Annie, Fame and The Wizard of Oz (Theatre Royal Windsor); Summer Spectacular (Princess Theatre, Hunstanton); Sins the Musical (Canal Cafe, London) and Cinderella and Snow White (Camberley Theatre).
For Stagedoor Manor New York he has been a musical director on over 50 shows, including Carrie the Musical, Evita, Sideshow, Nine, Tommy, Chicago, Cabaret, Hair, Oklahoma!, Les Miserables, Grand Hotel, Follies, Godspell, Smile, Annie, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along, Sweeney Todd, Urinetown, Jekyll and Hyde, Footloose, The Producers, Me and My Girl, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Boy Friend, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Hello, Dolly!, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Haifa Sixpence, Pippin, Mamma Mia! and Bright Star.
Philip also works as an audition/rehearsal pianist and contemporary dance accompanist in London, he is the musical director for the British Theatre Academy and a musical director at Headliners Theatre Company providing production shows for Carnival UK.