Dick Whittington, at the New Theatre, Hull. Cannon and Ball starred as Captain and Mate.
Also starred Amy Black as The Fairy, Steve Arnott as King Rat and Paul Burnham as Sarah the Cook.
Dates and Times
|
December Thursday 15 – 7.00pm |
January Sunday 1 – No Performances |
Cast
Tommy the Captain – Tommy Cannon
Bobby the Mate – Bobby Ball
Fairy Bowbells – Amy Black
King Rat – Steve Arnott
Dick Whittington – Kieran Jae
Alice Fitzwarren – Kiri Frost
Sarah the Cook – Paul Burnham
Tommy the Cat – Benjamin Timothy
Sultan of Morocco – Richard Linford
The Ensemble – Ben Hardwick, Claire Jordan, Ryan Richardson, Emma Slater, Anna Watson, Lauren Widdowson
The Babes – Pamela Gray Dancing Academy
For the Dick Whittington Company
Executive Producer – Paul Elliott
Director/Choreographer – Alan Harding
Assistant Choreographer – Many Hearnden
Musical Director – Simon Coles
Lighting Director – Adam Bassett
Company Stage Manager – Richard Linford
Deputy Stage Manager – Claire Butler
Assistant Stage Managers – Tom Biglin, Oliver Wiser
Wardrobe Supervisor – Jane Dixon
Wardrobe Assistants – Catherine Davis, Victoria Shields
Act One
Scene 1 – Fairyland
Scene 2 – Highgate Hill
Scene 3 – Outside Fitzwarren’s Stores
Scene 4 – Inside Fitzwarren’s Stores
Scene 5 – The Same – The Following Morning
Scene 6 – A London Street
Scene 7 – The Haunted Bedroom
Scene 8 – Outside The Mansion House
Scene 9 – On Highgate Hill
Scene 10 – The Land of Dreams
Act Two
Scene 1 – Aboard The Ship At Tilbury
Scene 2 – In The Drink!
Scene 3 – The Shores of Morocco
Scene 4 – The Sultan’s Palace
Scene 5 – Home in London
Scene 6 – The Wedding of Dick and Alice
Musicians
Musical Director/Keyboards – Simon Coles
Bass Guitar – Nathan Dawes
Drums – Alex Yates
Guitar – Paul Brown
Production Acknowledgements
Lighting Equipment supplied by HLS Lighting
Sound Equipment supplied by Wigwam
Dry Ice supplied by Ice Cooling
Transport supplied by Paul Mathew Transport Ltd
Flying by Foy
Devised and Written by Keith Simmons and Paul Elliott
Programme
Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Bobby Ball are one of Britain’s funniest and most successful double acts. In a career spanning 40 years they have achieved a string of honours that includes them among the all-time greats of showbusiness. On television they have starred in their own series practically every year since 1979. They have also ‘guested’ on all the major shows including Wogan, Parkinson, Des O’Connor, Sunday Night at the Palladium and several Royal Variety Shows. They featured in a BBC documentary Funny Business, based on double acts, which also included footage of comedy legends Martin and Lewis, Laurel and Hardy and Morecambe and Wise.
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, has gone on to become a video best seller. The boys have also been the subject of This Is Your Life!
During the 1970s they built a strong reputation around the UK cabaret club circuit for being a great live act. They also toured extensively on the hotel circuits of Australia and South Africa.
Tom and Bob have broken 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. After an extensive autumn tour and a trip to Israel, the boys played The Chinese Policemen in Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle and again at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton.
They have appeared on many major TV shows including The Des O’Connor Show, Noel Edmonds’ House Party, Talking Telephone Numbers and The Generation Game.
In the spring of 1999 the boys appeared at various theatres across the country starring in An Evening at the Music Hall whilst continuing their tour of An Audience With.
The boys played full houses at their summer season in 1999 at the Blackpool Grand Theatre, the season was one of the most successful summers Blackpool has ever had!
The 1999/2000 pantomime season saw the boys play the Regent Theatre, Stoke on Trent for the production Cinderella, co-starring Melinda Messenger and Britt Ekland.
The early part of 2000 saw the boys starring and touring in various shows throughout the UK’s theatres. Summer season 2000 features the successful Comedy Bonanza show (which broke box office records last year) at the Blackpool Grand Theatre and the Princess Theatre, Torquay for 10 weeks from the 23rd July and later included Sundays at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth.
Pantomime 2000/2001 the boys starred at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford. 2001/02 pantomime season saw them starring in Aladdin with Tricia Penrose at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham.
Tommy and Bobby appeared at the Comedy Bonanza, Blackpool Grand Theatre throughout the summer of 2002 and went on to star in Dick Whittington as Captain and Captain’s Mate at the New Theatre Cardiff, followed by them starring in summer season at the Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth and Weymouth Pavilion Theatre. The box office hit a new record breaking high at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton with Peter Pan for one for the longest running seasons in the UK 2003/2004. The boys played Starkey and Smee, two bumbling pirates, much to the annoyance of the evil Captain Hook.
Tommy and Bobby returned to our television screens early in 2004 with the BBC1 series Revolver, a comedy sketch show that brought together a whole host of talent that we all know and love, such as John Inman, Leslie Phillips and Honor Blackman. The summer of 2004 the boys teamed up with the Grumbleweeds as they performed at the Blackpool Grand Theatre with the hugely popular Comedy Bonanza, they also appeared at the Britannia Pier Great Yarmouth, Futurist Theatre Scarborough and the Embassy Skegness.
They went on to feature in an episode of the new series of Last of the Summer Wine, which was transmitted in March 2005.
The boys starred in Peter Pan at the Civic Theatre, Darlington in the 2004/2005 panto season playing Smee and Yoo and returned to Blackpool in the summer of 2005 with their show, Legends of Comedy alongside The Grumbleweeds and Ray Allen and Lord Charles.
Tommy and Bobby, fresh from the jungle after surviving ITV’s I’m a Celebrity..Get Me Out of Here, are delighted to be starring in Dick Whittington in Hull. Even after 40 years of making people laugh, Tommy and Bobby are still enjoying every minute and are looking forward to entertaining for many years to come.
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Amy Black
Amy was born in Hedon in the East Riding of Yorkshire. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and now studies with Paul Farrington in London.
Since leaving the RAM, she has sung for Glyndebourne Opera, English touring Opera, The European Union Opera, Wexford Festival Opera and English National Opera. She studied Rossini opera with Marta Lantieri at the European Opera Centre and then toured in Switzerland and Germany, singing Lucilla in Rossini’s La Scala di Seta for the European Opera. Whilst in Switzerland she also performed Bach Cantatas and gave a rare performance of D’un Desastre Obsur for mezzo and clarinet, by the modern French composer Gilbert Amy as part of the Sierre Festival. After having performed La Scala di Seta as guests of the European Union at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Amy returned to Hanover to give a solo recital for the Foreign Office.
Amy gives many concerts and recitals across the British Isles. These include recitals at Manchester Town Hall, Hull City Hall, Burton Constable Hall and a performance of Britten’s A Charm of Lullabies at the Hungarian Cultural Institute in London. As well as solo recitals and opera galas she often performs in oratorio, these include Messiah, Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Rossini’s Petite Mass Solenelle and Poulenc’s Gloria.
As part of her work with the European Union Opera in Germany, Amy took part in Brahms Lieder master classes with Gundula Janowitz. These were recorded for the BBC. She is lucky enough to have worked with Sena Jurinac in a Mozart Opera master class at the Finnish Opera House in Helsinki. Whilst in Finland Amy also worked on the songs of Sibelius with the renowned piano accompanist Ilmo Ranta. Amy gave a solo recital in Asuncion, Paraguay in 2002 for the British Embassy, to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and made a return visit to Paraguay in summer 2003, to perform as the guest of the Asuncion Symphony Orchestra.
She also became a Samling Foundation Scholar in 2003 and worked with Sarah Walker on a week’s master class course in the Lake District. She has just given a gala concert at St John’s, Smith Square, London with Sir Thomas Allen and performed in the Brighton Festival singing as soloist in Mozart’s Requiem.
She took part in the Theatre du Chatelet’s production of Les Troy ens under Sir John Eliot Gardiner in Paris then returned to perform the same opera this time for English National Opera at the London Coliseum.
Amy has just completed a tour of the UK singing the title role in Bizet’s opera Carmen with Opera Box. She recently performed in An Evening With Black and Levy at Hull’s Guildhall with BBC Look North Anchorman, Peter Levy and performed in English National Opera’s production of Eugene Onegin in London’s West End.
As well as singing classical music, Amy also sings regularly with the Frank Cleveland Big Band Orchestra and with her accompanist Robert Markham she has a tour of the music of Gershwin, Porter, Weill and Berlin planned for later this year. Other future engagements include: A recital in Lanercost Priory, Carlisle, a recital at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, Classics Unplugged in Highbarn, Essex, A Night at the Opera at Bridlington’s Spa Theatre and Classics in the Park, Brantingham for BBC North.
Paul Burnham
Paul trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Paul’s theatre credits include the role of Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine in Grease (UK tour); Henri in Viva VCarnival (Sadler’s Wells Theatre); The Beast in Beauty and the Beast (UK tour); Big Bird in the live stage version of Sesame Street’s Big Bird and the ABC’s-, Levi and the Butler in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK tour); Muddles in Snow White and Idle Jack in Dick Whittington (Richmond Theatre); Wishee-Washee in Aladdin (Churchill Theatre, Bromley); Aladdin (Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock); national touring credits include Pack Up Your Troubles, The Magical Musicals, West End to Broadway and Irving Berlin’s Everybody’s Doing It.
Paul’s classical and opera credits include: Facade with the London Symphony Orchestra and various roles for the prestigious Opera West Company in their productions of Carmen, Eugene Onegin and Nabucco.
His television and film credits include: the role of Hex Mortimer opposite John Malkovich in the forthcoming Colour Me Kubrick (feature film, directed by Brian W Cook); The Second Hand (feature, directed by Rob Levene); A Dance to the Music of Time (C4); Down Among the Big Boys (BBC); Taggart (STV); Rab CNesbitt (BBC); City Lights (BBC); Take the High Road (STV) and The High Life (BBC). Paul’s creation Tommy Toon and a host of other characters were seen in the series Toonatics which he wrote and presented. Toonatics was transmitted every weekday morning on Children’s BBC during the summers of 1997/98.
Kieran Jae
Kieran trained professionally at the Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts in London. Whilst undergoing his musical theatre training he was a lead member of the Bird Theatre Company and had the opportunity to travel and sing throughout the UK and Europe.
After graduating (with Distinction) from college, Kieran made his West End debut in The Witches of Eastwick (Prince of Wales Theatre) playing the parts of Toby Bergman and Michael Spoffard. He then moved on to join the cast of Fame (UK national tour) playing Goody and Nick Piazza. He reprised his role of Goody in Edinburgh, Christmas 2003.
This was followed most recently by Mamma Mia (West End), where Kieran played Pepper. Kieran is currently working in the studio recording new pop material.
Steve Arnott
Steve started his professional career as a voiceover artist for radio and television and appeared as the original Dairy Crest Milkman on television nationally.
He toured extensively with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra and for twenty-five years has worked with Scotland’s international entertainers The Alexander Brothers in their annual Burns Night Show.
On stage Steve appears regularly as master of ceremonies in Music Hall and Variety. He chaired North East comedian Bobby Pattinson’s 50th anniversary Music Hall, Billy Fane’s Magic of the Music Hall and countless productions of The Good Old Days.
He played the title role in Big Heck, a play commissioned by Newcastle University, about the famous North East fundraiser, and as Frosh the drunken jailor in Die Fledermaus for Northern Opera, both to huge critical acclaim.
Steve loves panto and through his company Grimaldi he supplies pantomime scripts to companies across the world. During Christmas seasons 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 Steve toured in pantomimes across the North East. Panto season 2004/2005 was spent playing the dual role of Mr Darling and Captain Hook in Peter Pan at Darlington Civic Theatre with Cannon and Ball. He is delighted to be appearing with them again in Dick Whittington here at the New Theatre Hull.
Kiri Frost
Kiri graduated from a three year national diploma performing arts course at Performer’s College in Essex.
This is not her first appearance for Qdos or with Cannon and Ball. She was lead vocalist in Comedy Bonanza 2002 with Cannon and Ball in Blackpool which she loved every minute of.
Kiri then went on to travel the world in the show company on P&O’s cruise liner MV Oriana where she had the role of Dance Captain. Also Kiri has had the opportunity to dance with Kylie Minogue on LWT’s An Audience With Kylie Minogue and more recently with Fat Boy Slim at Glastonbury Festival 2005 in front of 60,000 people.
Kiri is looking forward to spending her Christmas in Humberside, working with Tommy and Bobby for Qdos once again.
Benjamin Timothy
Benjamin Timothy began dancing at the age of four and launched into his stage career a few years later when he appeared in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Millfield Theatre, London. Parts in Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood followed. However, his training as a dancer began in earnest when he joined the Junior Associates of the Royal Ballet School. During his time there he appeared with the Birmingham Royal Ballet in their production of The Nutcracker at the Coliseum.
Benjamin has also turned his hand to acting, playing one of the ill-fated princes in Shakespeare’s Richard III with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican. After a five-year break from the stage to pursue his academic studies, Ben continued his studies at Millennium Dance 2000. During his time there he worked with such choreographers as Stephen Mear, Kenneth Tharp (OBE), Alexandra Worrall and Rafael Bonachela. After graduating he went on to appear in il Forza Del Destino at the Royal Opera House and appeared as Tommy the Cat in last year’s production of Dick Whittington at the Opera House Manchester.
He has just finished appearing in the David McVicar’s acclaimed production of Giulio Cesare with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, which was not only performed at Glyndebourne itself but also the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. He also appears in the DVD of the production due for release in early 2006.
Richard Linford
Richard most recently played the leading role of John Smith in Caught in the Net at the Mill at Sonning directed by the author and master of farce Ray Cooney in a return to the role he played in a Middle and Far East tour in 2004. Richard’s wide-ranging career in the entertainment industry began with work as a film trailer scriptwriter and then he trained as an actor in New York and London before moving on to a spell as a Max Miller type stand-up comic and running Marainne Theatre Company appearing in Butterflies Are Free, The Private Ear and Tomfoolery ahead of visits to the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton for The Selfish Shellfish and Windsor Theatre Royal for Not Now Darling. Since then favourite theatre moments include playing the leading roles in the Peter Shaffer double bill White liars, Black Comedy, Jim in The Glass Menagerie, Felix in The Normal Heart, Keefer in Charlton Heston’s West End production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, Jack Absolute in The Rivals, Dan Clancy in Here Come the Clowns at the King’s Head, writing and playing Detective Banter in many Murder Mystery Evenings and lastly even a few performances as John Smith in Run for Your Wife. TV work numbers Tender Is the Night, Constant Hot Water, A Quiet Conspiracy, Minder, Fortunes of War, Murder on the Orient Express and a 2003 Poirot. Directing credits include Broadway Genius (and wrote), the workshop premiere of Jeremy Lloyd and John Chapman’s musical Wimbledon, Plaza Suite, Tonight at 730, his own play The Hideaway, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Music Man and many corporate videos. As a presenter Richard has appeared in Side by Side by Sondheim, written and narrated five Gilbert and Sullivan platform performances, fronted and written many corporate stage shows and videos and has made regular TV and radio appearances as an arts interviewer on Channel 5’s Exclusive!, Radio 5’s Entertainment News, Radio 3’s Music Matters and BBC GIR.
Dancers
Ben Hardwick
Claire Jordan
Ryan Richardson
Emma Slater
Anna Watson
Lauren Widdowson
Pamela Gray Dancing Academy
Pamela Gray Dancing Academy has been established for over 30 years and has excellent results in both competitions and examinations. Many pupils have gone on to further training at professional dance colleges or the Royal Ballet School ending up in West End shows, ballet companies, appearing on liners or becoming dance teachers themselves. We have news from ex pupils all over the world! Existing pupils have recently appeared in professional productions of Annie, Scrooge and last year’s pantomime Aladdin. They are looking forward to appearing in Dick Whittington this year.
Alan Harding
Alan’s experience covers all aspects of the industry from commercials and videos to trade, fashion, television and theatre. He has in the region of 30 theatre shows and in excess of 40 television series and specials to his credit. The shows range from children’s television to household favourites like Live at the Palladium; Summertime Special, six series of Barrymore and no less than 10 Royal Galas including VE Day Live for Peace; the Queen Mother’s 90th Birthday Show and Prince Charles’ 50th Birthday Celebration, which was recorded live at the Lyceum Theatre in London with appearances by Robbie Williams, Geri Haliwell and Peter Ustinov to name just a few.
Theatre credits include the highly successful Spirit of the Dance-, Boogie Nights-, Happy Days the Musical, working closely with the star of the television series, Henry Winkler; One World, the new show, directed and choreographed by Alan, produced by the Spirit of the Dance company.
Alan directed Rhythm of the Night at Conrad Jupiters in Brisbane, Australia’s Gold Coast; he directed and choreographed Spirit of Broadway at the Chichester Festival Theatre; Boogie Nights in South Africa and The Wizard ofOz at the Cambridge Corn Exchange. He choreographed the Billy Pearce Laughter Show in Blackpool; directed and choreographed Boogie Nights, also in Blackpool, with Billy Pearce and Jimmy Osmond and Boogie Nights 2 starring David Essex. Last Christmas he was the director/choreographer of Peter Pan at the Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon.
Paul Elliott
Paul Elliott is happy to have survived 40 years as a producer!
He has produced or co-produced over 60 West End Productions including Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story which played for 13 years in the West End; Jolson (Olivier Award – Best Musical 1997) Victoria Palace Theatre; Kat and the Kings – (Olivier Award – Best Musical 1999) the Vaudeville Theatre: The Goodbye Girl – Albery Theatre; Run for your Wife at various theatres in London and Stones in his Pockets (Olivier and Evening Standard Award 2001).
With Duncan C. Weldon he produced Private Lives at the Albery Theatre, with Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan, also on Broadway (Tony Award Best Revival). The Royal Shakespeare production of The Hollow Crown with Dame Diana Rigg, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Donald Sinden and Ian Richardson in Australia and with Vanessa Redgrave in Toronto, Sir Derek Jacobi in The Tempest at the Old Vic, Patrick Stewart in The Master Builder at the Albery Theatre, Amanda Holden in Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Shaftesbury Theatre (and on tour with Lesley Joseph), Suddenly Last Summer at the Albery starring Dame Diana Rigg and Victoria Hamilton. More recent productions include The Birthday Party with Dame Eileen Atkins and Henry Goodman at the Duchess Theatre, The Philadelphia Story with Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic and Kristin Scott Thomas and Bob Hoskins in As You Desire Me currently at the Playhouse Theatre London.
Paul has produced over 350 pantomimes in the UK and abroad.
Mandy Hearnden
Mandy trained at the Morgan Aslanoff Dance School.
Mandy’s career has spanned from mainstream musicals and choreography to pantomime, summer seasons, television and trade shows.
Her West End debut was in Singing In The Rain at the London Palladium, where she also appeared in a Royal Variety Show and in A Tribute To Eric Morecambe.
Mandy was assistant choreographer for P&O Cruises Stadium Theatre Company for 14 years.
In television, she has worked with Mike Yarwood, French And Saunders, and Benny Hill and has also appeared in numerous commercials.
Mandy is thrilled to be working with Cannon and Ball again after 20 years!
Simon Coles
At the age of five a brief meeting with Sooty in Loughborough Town Hall was surely the spark that set Simon on the road to his glittering showbusiness career. A performance as an Oompa-Loompa in a primary school production at the age of seven was the first realisation of this dream and, with the smell of green body paint fresh in his nostrils, Simon embarked upon a career which has taken him to the diz2y heights of such venues as the Stardust bingo hall, Corby and the Golden Ball public house, Scarborough.
Simon has also been the musical director for many Qdos pantomimes and both Boogie Nights and Boogie Nights 2, as well as playing keyboards in some other musicals and tons of dodgy function band gigs.
Simon’s ambition is to have a day off.
Adam Bassett
Adam Bassett’s career as a lighting designer began after he graduated with honours from the Central of Speech and Drama. His work since leaving Central has embraced a wide variety of applications including theatre, dance, music, special events and architectural projects based in the UK, Europe, United States, Canada, Middle East and East Asia. Over the past five years he has practiced extensively alongside the well acclaimed designer Patrick Woodroffe and has worked in the role of Associate/Executive Lighting Designer on a range of projects including Sarah Brightman’s Harem world tour, Romeo and Juliet for the Vienna State Opera, the Simon and Garfunkel Old Friends tour, The Rolling Stones world tour, the Queen Mary 2 launch at Southampton, the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas to name only a few. More recently Adam worked as associate designer on the show Ducktastic! which showed at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal and London’s Albery Theatre.
A selection of some of Adam’s other credits include the Holiday On Ice world tour 2005, Romanza, which is currently touring mainland Europe, the dance showcases for the Italia Conti Academy of Performing Arts (Wimbledon Theatre), Snow White (His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen and the New Ambassadors Theatre Woking), First Light, a show for the Bahrain National Day celebrations, Peter Pan (Camberley Theatre and Millfield Theatre), the Kingdom Centre Inauguration in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, A Grand Night of Singing (Ashcroft Theatre), the world premiere of The Slipper and the Rose (ELOC), Fame – The Musical (GTC), the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and the Bob the Builder and Barney (world tours). Finally, a more recent project to add to the list is the Grand Opening for Disneyland Hong Kong for which Adam designed the lighting for the televised concert along with the pre and after show receptions in the park. Adam is delighted once again to be working with Qdos this year lighting their productions of Aladdin in Wolverhampton and Dick Whittington in Hull; both enchanting stories which we endeavour to bring to life once again.
Show pictures
These photos were kindly supplied by Steve Arnott, who appeared as King Rat with Cannon and Ball this year, and also in Darlington in 2004.
Newspaper article – Cannon and Ball break panto record
Yorkshire Post, 15th December 2005
When it comes to pantomime, the streets of Hull are paved with gold!
Hull New Theatre’s Christmas pantomime has smashed every record in the venue’s history. Dick Whittington, starring jungle celebrities Cannon & Ball, has taken more cash at the Box Office for the Hull New Theatre than any previous production.
Hull New Theatre manager Michael Lister said: “It’s amazing to have taken this many sales before the opening night. We normally look at breaking records on the last few days of the run, but to do that this early with another five weeks to sell tickets is quite unprecedented.”
The last pantomime to rival this year’s ticket sales was, ironically, Dick Whittington starring Cannon and Ball in 1991. That year the Box Office record was broken but the production ran for six-and-a-half weeks – two weeks longer than this year’s production with 25 more shows.
And in a reference to his reliance on his wife’s kitchen skills, revealed on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, Bobby Ball said: “It’s great ticket sales are going so well, maybe I’ll be able to splash out and take Vonne out for a meal instead of her cooking for me!
“It’s great to be back in Hull after we did so well here last time. It’s a great city and the people are so warm and friendly.
“A lot of the staff at the theatre were here 13 years ago which is fantastic, friendly staff are what makes a theatre and Hull certainly has one of the best theatres in the country.”
Tommy Cannon added: “It’s certainly tight to have to learn all the script in only five days but we can’t wait for the show to open, and with all these people coming to see it we’re rehearsing harder than ever.”
By the time the curtain lifts on the first performance tonight at 7pm it is expected over £400,000 worth of bookings will have been made with over 65 per cent of the tickets already sold. On its best day the Box Office took over £15,000 worth of bookings in just one day.
Mr Lister said: “To achieve these figures with 25 less shows than the last time Cannon and Ball were here is fantastic. Tommy and Bobby are certainly a draw, and their appearance in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has benefited us a great deal.
“There are very few tickets left for the first week but there are still tickets available beyond that. Tickets are still selling very quickly so anyone interested should book now or they may be disappointed.
“It’s great that we’re receiving such big bookings and I can guarantee that the audiences won’t be disappointed, just watching the rehearsals has confirmed that this will be the biggest and most spectacular pantomime Hull has ever seen so it’s great that we’re getting bookings from all around the region.”
Dick Whittington at the Hull New Theatre runs until January 14. Tickets range from £11.50 to £17.50.