Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, at the Hull New Theatre. Cannon and Ball starred as the Wicked Queen’s Henchmen.
The cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be led by comedy kings Cannon and Ball as the Wicked Queen’s henchmen and pop sensation Joe McElderry the Man in the Mirror.
Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball are one of Britain’s funniest and most successful double acts. They are best known for their comedy variety show The Cannon and Ball Show, which lasted for nine years on ITV. In a career spanning 50 plus years they have achieved a string of honours that includes them among the all-time greats of show business. They have never stopped working and are constantly touring with their own comedy shows, summer seasons, plays, and pantomimes and they are constantly making personal appearances and guesting on other television programmes. They have made guest appearances on shows such as Last of the Summer Wine, Heartbeat and also appeared on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here
Joe McElderry has been described as having a ‘24-carat voice’. Having auditioned for The X Factor at the age of just 18, he wowed audiences and quickly gained the number one slot in the UK charts with ‘The Climb’. Joe returned to television in 2011 to win Popstar to Opera Star with a landslide victory, achieving 80% of the vote and in 2014 Joe was crowned king of the slopes as winner of Channel 4’s The Jump. Aside celebrity status amassed from his TV appearances, Joe has released five albums, confirming him as a hugely important recording artist and talented songwriter. Joe has performed live for Her Majesty the Queen at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall and is currently touring the UK on his 60-date Evolution Tour. Joe has also announced he is set to star in the title role of rock musical Tommy in Blackpool this September.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be staged by Qdos Entertainment, the world’s largest pantomime producer. As tickets are selling quickly early booking is advised in order to secure the best seats to see this magical family pantomime adventure. This is pantomime at its very best!
Photos
Dates, times and prices
Prices £17.50 – £25.50
| Tuesday 8th Dec 2pm 7pm Wednesday 9th Dec 2pm 7pm Thursday 10th Dec 2pm 7pm Friday 11th Dec 2pm 7pm Saturday 12th Dec 2pm 7pm Sunday 13th Dec 1pm 5pm Monday 14th Dec No Performances Tuesday 15th Dec 2pm 7pm Wednesday 16th Dec 2pm 7pm Thursday 17th Dec 2pm 7pm Friday 18th Dec No Performances Saturday 19th Dec 2pm 7pm Sunday 20th Dec 1pm 5pm |
Monday 21st Dec 2pm 7pm Tuesday 22nd Dec 2pm 7pm Wednesday 23rd Dec 2pm 7pm Thursday 24th Dec 2pm Friday 25th Dec No Performances Saturday 26th Dec 1pm 5pm Sunday 27th Dec 1pm 5pm Monday 28th Dec 2pm 7pm Tuesday 29th Dec 2pm 7pm Wednesday 30th Dec 2pm 7pm Thursday 31st Dec 2pm Friday 1st Jan No Performances Saturday 2nd Jan 2pm 7pm Sunday 3rd Jan 1pm 5pm |
Cast in Order of Appearance
The Man in the Mirror – Joe McElderry
Prince Harry of Hull – Luke Newton
Snow White – Charlotte Haines
The Queen’s Henchmen – Cannon and Ball
Queen Sadista – Lucy Williamson
The Seven Dwarfs – Richard Johnston, Bex Roberts, George Knapper, Paul Toulson, Rhys Rice, Christian Wood, Adam Colbeck-Dunn
Ensemble – Michael Afemare, Pamela Blair, Emma Johnson, Jessica Oakman, Joseph McMurray, Katrina Ridley
Babes – LWHS School of Dance
Creative Team
Executive Producer – Michael Harrison
Writer – Alan McHugh
Director – Bob Tomson
Choreographer – Matt Flint
Lighting Designer – Joe Atkins
Sound Designer – Arran Culpan
Musical Supervisor – Gary Hind
Musical Director – Philip Shute
Visual Special Effects – The Twins FX
Production Manager – Pete Kramer
Company Stage Manager – Philippa Pickup
Deputy Stage Manager – Sammy McIntyre
Technical ASM – Ross Winter
Assistant Stage Manager – Cat Robson
Sound Operator – Mike Westland
Wardrobe Supervisor – Hilde Greenwood
Wardrobe Assistant – Amy Allan
Act One
Scene 1 – The Magic Mirror
Scene 2 – The Royal Palace Grounds
Scene 3 – A Palace Corridor
Scene 4 – The Royal Birthday Party
Scene 5 – The Road to The Forbidden Forest
Scene 6 – The Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs
Scene 7 – The Forbidden Forest
Scene 8 – The Night Sky
Act Two
Scene 1 – The Prince’s Search Party
Scene 2 – The Wicked Queen’s Lair
Scene 3 – The Forbidden Forest
Scene 4 – The Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs
Scene 5 – A Pathway in The Forbidden Forest
Scene 6 – The Wicked Queen’s Palace
Scene 7 – Preparing for the Wedding
Scene 8 – The Royal Wedding
Production Credits
Pyrotechnics – Le Maitre
Flying – Flying by Foy Ltd
Lighting Suppliers – Storm Lighting
Sound Suppliers – Arran Paul Audio Ltd
Technical Consumables – AC Entertainment Technologies Ltd
Transport – KB Event Ltd
Orchestra
Musical Director/Keyboards – Philip Shute
Bass Guitar – Nathan Dawe
Drums/Percussion – Sean McMonagle
Programme
Joe McElderry
Joe McElderry’s popularity has seen him croon effortlessly from one sell-out tour to the next and cut four albums in between and selling more than two million records.
Since storming to victory in The X Factor in 2009, Joe has been the hero and heart-throb of countless fans aged from 5 to 95. Genuine family entertainers with such a wide and diverse fan base come along once in a generation. At 18, he auditioned for The X Factor, bowling the judges over with his rendition of Luther Vandross’s ‘Dance With My Father’. Joe also impressed Whitney Houston (guest mentor) and, in one of TV’s most memorable moments of the year, he performed a brilliant duet with George Michael on the live semi-final. After wowing the audience with his dazzling vocals, modesty and charm, he soared straight to number one in the UK and Irish singles charts with a beautiful rendition of Miley Cyrus’s The Climb’. Soon after came his first album. Wide Awake was a mix of uptempo songs and powerful ballads, which Joe has become famous for. His second album, Classic, went gold within two weeks of release, reaching two in the UK album charts and selling over 250,000 copies. In 2011, Classic Christmas went gold in just one week. That year, Joe sold over 550,000 albums, a stunning achievement for any artist.
In between, Joe performed for Her Majesty The Queen at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, and a regional tour at 16 major venues, culminating at the Royal Festival Hall.
2011 was Popstar to Operastar. He mentored Rolando Villazon, performed classical arias such as ‘Nessun dorma’, and won the show, amassing 80 per cent of the votes. In 2014, he won Channel 4’s skiing programme The Jump.
In 2012, he released Here’s What I Believe – the first ever X Fact or winner to release four albums. The album marked a major advance in his development as an artist and showed what a talented songwriter he is. The album saw the collaboration with soprano Marcella Detroit, from Shakespears Sister; international pianist Ludovico Einaudi and Nashville NAMMY Songwriter of the Year, Beth Nielsen Chapman.
At Christmas 2013, he was Prince Charming in a sell-out pantomime, Cinderella, at the Beck Theatre in Hayes. In 2014, he was the Spirit of the Mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Bradford’s Alhambra. Also, in 2013, he was invited to perform as a special guest on Beth Nielsen Chapman’s show in Newcastle. He opened the show for Adam Lambert at Pittsburgh Pride in Pennsylvania, USA, in June, where he stunned the audience with his strong vocals and energetic stage presence.
In 2014, Joe toured the UK with his Set Your Soul Alive tour at 60 venues across the UK.
Just turned 24, he is currently writing his fifth album, which should be released soon. Joe also works hard at raising money for charity. Last year, he was presented with a Silver Heart Award on behalf of Variety, the Children’s Charity for his charity work. He also recorded the charity single One World, One Song’ with Dionne Warwick in aid of the Hunger Project UK, and a moving version of ‘Abide With Me’ with the Royal Mail Choir, in aid of Prostate Cancer UK. As a regional ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust, he completed the challenging 140-mile three-day bike ride coast-to-coast with friends and family this summer, raising more than £11,000 for the charity.
During 2015, he has been touring across the UK in the Evolution tour, performing in excess of 80 shows around the UK, and has appeared on The Wright Stuff and in Countdowns Dictionary Corner.
Joe appeared at the Blackpool Winter Gardens in September, playing Tommy in the well-known rock opera written by The Who and, immediately after, continued with his Evolution tour in October and November, including some Christmas shows too!
2016 will see Joe playing Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – this will be touring around the UK theatres from February to July 2016.
Cannon and Ball
Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball are one of Britain’s funniest 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.
During the 1970s, they built a strong reputation around the UK cabaret club circuit for being a great live act. On television, they starred in their own series and also guested’ on major shows including Wogan, Parkinson, Des O’Connor Tonight, Sunday Night at the 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 bestseller. The boys were even the subject of This Is Your Life.
Tommy and Bobby 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 & 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 enjoyed continued success with summer seasons at the Blackpool Grand in shows such as Legends of Comedy, which they also took to Great Yarmouth, Scarborough and Skegness, as well as the hugely popular Comedy Bonanza, for which the boys teamed up with The Grumbleweeds. They teamed up again for the show Back From the Jungle and then 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 along with Jake and Elwood from The Blues Brothers. In 2013, Tommy and Bobby then went on to star in a national tour of Ha Ha Hood! and the Prince of Leaves.
Tommy and Bobby have continued to be a consistent presence on our television screens, from the BBC1 series Revolver, a comedy sketch show that brought together a whole host of talent such as John Inman, Leslie Phillips and Honor Blackman, to I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here for ITV1. Further TV appearances include being judges on ITVl’s Show Me the Funny This Morning Daybreak, Britain s Favourite Double Acts for Channel 5 and even Celebrity Coach Trip for Channel 4.
The boys have also guested together in Last of the Summer Wine, as well as taking on solo roles, with Bobby playing the guest role as Mr Turner in Heartbeat and Tommy playing guest role Reg Lawson in Doctors.
This year, Tommy and Bobby have starred at the North Pier, Blackpool, in The Cannon & Ball Show.
Bobby has been filming his regular role playing Lee Mack’s Dad in Not Going Out (series eight) and reprising his role as Barry in Mount Pleasant (series five). He will also feature in the Not Going Out Christmas special on BBC1. Tommy has just completed filming a guest role in BBC’s Hank Zipzer, written by Henry Winkler.
Whilst they both have their individual successes on TV, they continue as the hilarious comic legends Cannon and Ball, and are delighted to be back at the Hull New Theatre in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Lucy Williamson
Lucy’s theatre credits include White Christmas (West Yorkshire Playhouse); the Wife/Mrs Mi Tzu in The Good Person of Sichaun (Mercury Theatre, Colchester); workshop for Arlene Phillips’ new musical; Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty with Joe Pasquale (New Theatre, Cardiff); Sally Adams in Call Me Madam (Union Theatre); Gussie Carnegie in Merrily We Roll Along (Clwyd Theatr Cymru); Rita La Porta in Lucky Stiff (The Landor Theatre); Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with Sid Owen (Hastings); Judy Garland in Judy and Liza (national tour); Judy Garland (alternate to Tracie Bennett) in the West End production of The Rainbow at Trafalgar Studios; Mavis in Stepping Out (25th anniversary tour) with Jessie Wallace, Brian Capron and Anita Harris; Joanne in Company (Union Theatre); cover Annette and Chanteuse in the original company of Marguerite (world premiere) at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London; Carmen Diaz in Fame (national tour and Victoria Palace Theatre); Fantine in Les Miserables (national tour); Penny/Shirl in A Slice of Saturday Night (Liverpool Empire); original cast teacher and cover Killer Queen in We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre); Angel in The Rink (Belgrade Theatre, Coventry); ensemble and cover Tanya and Donna in Mamma Mia! (international tour); Maureen and cover Mimi in Rent (national tour and Prince of Wales Theatre); NYC Woman/Cocktail Waitress in I Love You Because (award-winning British premiere at The Landor Theatre); original cast Josafina in Murderous Instincts (Savoy Theatre); ensemble in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Sondheim’s 70th birthday, Royal Festival Hall); Les Miserables concert (Cardiff Castle); Witch/Lady Macduff in Macbeth (national tour); Hermia in A Midsummer Nights Dream (Richmond Theatre) and Hecate in Macbeth (New Players Theatre, London).
Lucy was the original principal vocalist on the maiden voyage and inaugural season of the Queen Mary 2 She has also performed in three Dusty workshops for the upcoming musical based on the life of Dusty Springfield. Lucy was asked to perform solo for Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary and also for Her Majesty The Queen on her tour around the Queen Mary 2 and on Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night as a requested solo vocalist.
Lucy’s television credits include The Royal Variety Performance, This Morning, Children in Need, Songs of Praise and Channel 5’s Company
She has also appeared in feature films, including Cindy Saunders in Julie and the Cadillacs, Hecate in Macbeth and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Luke Newton
Luke started his career on the BBC Switch series The Cut where he played the regular character of Luke Atwood. Soon after, he appeared as Brad in CBBC’s Sadie J.
He then attended the London School of Musical Theatre and graduated in 2012. Later that year, he appeared as Richard Brakenbury in the ITV series Mr Selfridge
Luke’s West End debut was in the original London cast of The Book of Mormon, in which he covered Elder Price. During that year, he also played Dean Hyde in the workshop production of Love Me Tender He then appeared as Sam Hern in BBC s Doctors and Michael in Halloween Thriller by Twist and Pulse Productions.
This year, Luke played Michael Dork in Loserville at the Union Theatre and Warner Huntington III in Legally Blonde at Kilworth House Theatre.
This is Luke’s third pantomime with Qdos Entertainment, and he is delighted to be performing here in Hull for the first time.
Charlotte Haines
Charlotte trained at the Guildford School of Acting (GSA). Since graduating, Charlotte has played the role of Sleeping Beauty in Llandudno (2013) and Snow White at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford (2014) for Qdos Entertainment. Recently, Charlotte played the role of Linda for a workshop of the new rock musical Night of the Prom, which was performed in central London at the Hackney Empire.
Charlotte’s film credits include Female Blogger in an educational film for Helbling Languages; Annie in Before the Fire and Nightclub Girl in Shadows
Her credits whilst training include Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel Titania in A Midsummer Nights Dream, understudy Zandra in Jerry Springer – the Opera, Melissa in Footloose and TV Newswoman in Merrily We Roll Along
Charlotte is delighted to be playing the role of Snow White for Qdos Entertainment again this year.
Adam Colbeck-Dunn
Originally from West Yorkshire, Adam graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in 2012 having secured a full scholarship.
Whilst at Mountview he was cast as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along, Dido Martin in Carthaginians, Bert Barry in 42nd Street and Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden
Recent theatre includes the Soldier in Hello Again, Cole at the Yvonne Arnaud and Frinton where he also played the Baker in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Elegies for Punks and Raging Queens (Criterion) and Spend Spend Spend and Billy (both at the Union Theatre).
Other theatre includes Phillip Hepburn in Kinraid, a new musical by Eleanor Aguis and I Love You Because at Jermyn Street Theatre.
In panto he has appeared in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Theatre Royal Newcastle and as Jelly Legs Jake in Peter Pan (Buxton Opera House).
Richard Johnston
Richard is currently in his final year of professional training at Laine Theatre Arts.
His theatre credits include Curtains (LTA Studio Theatre); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Bradford); Laine Leaps Ahead and Plying in at 40 (Epsom Playhouse); The Flower Festival and The Nutcracker (Northern Ballet); Billy Elliot Youth Theatre (the Victoria Palace, London, and Leeds Grand Opera House) and David Copperfield (West Yorkshire Playhouse).
Television credits include Edward Hastings in The Royalr(ITV Yorkshire) and appearances in A Touch of Frost Emmerdale and Heartbeat (ITV).
George Knapper
George trained professionally in musical theatre at Performance Preparation Academy in Guild ford.
Since graduating in 2014, his theatre credits include Puck in Love Birds (Pleasance Theatre/ Edinburgh Festival 2015); Peter Pan in Peter Pan (Lyceum Theatre, Crewe/Qdos Entertainment) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Theatre Royal Newcastle/Qdos Entertainment).
His theatre credits whilst training include Meshak Gardner in Coram Boy (HoIy Trinity Church/PPA); The Fix (Electric Theatre/PPA); Curtis Hallerbread in The Witches of Eastwick (Electric Theatre/PPA) and Laurie in Little Women (Electric Theatre/PPA).
Rhys Rice
Rhys trained professionally at Sylvia Young Theatre School and Laine Theatre Arts.
His theatre credits include Tin Man in The Chuckles ofOz(UK tour); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Theatre Royal Newcastle); featured singer in Flying in at 40, A Stair(e) at a Time and Movin in Time (Epsom Playhouse Theatre); Dandini in Cinderella (Civic Theatre, Chelmsford); Peter Pan (White Rock Theatre, Hastings) and Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland, Michael in Peter Pan and Dick Whittington (Theatre Royal Plymouth).
During his training, he played King Kaiser in My Favorite Year and also appeared in The Royal Variety Performance with the West End cast of Singin’ in the Rain (Lowry Salford, and ITV).
His television credits include Dick & Dom and Blue Peter (BBC Television). His commercials include BT, PC World, Jetix, Fruit Shoot, 118 and Argos.
Bex Roberts
Bex is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. He also trained with the National Youth Music Theatre, where he performed at the Hull Truck Theatre, understudying and playing Jackson in The Hired Man (also Joseph Vanhrugh Theatre, RADA, London). Credits since graduating include Seymour in little Shop of Horrors and Leaf in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (both at the Broadway Theatre, Catford, London); ensemble in Verdi’s Il trovatore (the Gatehouse Theatre, London); Tweedle Dee in Alice in Wonderland (the Madinat, Duhai); John Darling in Peter Pan (Middlesbrough Theatre) and the lead female role Josephine in an all-male production of HMS Pinafore (the Union Theatre, London). This is Bex’s third Qdos Entertainment pantomime. He appeared as Harold the Herald in Snow White with Ann Widdecombe and Craig Revel Horwood (Orchard Theatre, Dartford) and understudy Robinson Crusoe in Robinson Crusoe & the Caribbean Pirates with Brian Conley and Lesley Joseph (Mayflower Theatre, Southampton). He is currently collaborating on a new play The Clutch, to be performed next year.
This year, Bex made his television debut, doing a ‘Morning Story’ segment for Sky News.
Paul Toulson
Paul graduated from Colchester Institute with a BA (hons) in Musical Theatre. He then continued his training at Mountview Academy of Performing Arts.
His professional credits so far include Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol(the Tabard Theatre, London) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Alhambra Theatre, Bradford) for Qdos Entertainment.
Christian Wood
Christian is currently in his second year of musical theatre training at Performance Preparation Academy, Guildford.
His theatre credits include Bernstein in Dogfight (Stage Door, Southampton); Sammy in Sunset Boulevard (Yvonne Arnaud); Tobias in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Lighthouse Theatre); Rod in Avenue Q (Regent Centre) and Hanschen in Spring Awakening (Sidings Theatre).
Concerts include: West End Voices (Actors’ Church) and Music 4 Meningitis (Pavilion Theatre/Bournemouth International Centre).
Ensemble
Michael Afemare
Pamela Blair
Emma Johnson
Jessica Oakman
Joseph McMurray
Katrina Ridley
LWHS School of Dance
LWHS is thrilled to be providing the juveniles for this year’s pantomime. Congratulations to all the girls.
The dance school was established 30 years ago, based at the Arts Garage on Hull Road. Pupils are taught to a professional level in all theatre subjects, achieving excellent results in both RAD and IDTA examinations, with many theatre nominations and awards.
Pupils perform annually in shows and in local festivals. Recent performances include dancing at the Royal Albert Hall in November for the 2014 and 2015 Dance Proms. Many former pupils have gone on to full-time vocational schools and colleges, progressing to professional engagements both at home and abroad.
The school has recently opened the Arts Garage 2 at Tokenspire Business Park, Woodmansey Beverley providing children and adult classes with full-time student courses in dance and performing arts in association with East Riding College.
Good luck to the LWHS juveniles and to the cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, lwhs-artsgarage.co.uk
Red Team
Matilda Smith
Emma Ashwell
Josie Walker
Halle Longhorn
Lehanna Smith
Harriet Menzies
Amelie Dass
Amelia Fishwick
Blue Team
Lydia Jones
Jessica Lowery
Hope Dodson
Ella Thompson
Ella Kirk
Olivia Kirk
Ellie Morton
Kaitlyn Shaw
Michael Harrison
Michael Harrison’s West End productions include Gypsy, starring Imelda Staunton, at the Savoy Theatre and The Bodyguard at the Adelphi Theatre. In the spring of 2016, he will open his next new musical, Mrs Henderson Presents, at the Noel Coward for a strictly limited season.
The Bodyguard is currently enjoying a sell-out UK tour and can also be seen in Holland and Germany
With Cameron Mackintosh, he produced the national tour of the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Barnum, starring Brian Conley
His other musicals include Aspects of Love, The Witches of Eastwick, I Dreamed a Dream, Chess, Jolson & Co, Titanic and a new production of Annie, which is currently touring the UK.
He has produced pantomimes for Qdos Entertainment for the past 11 years including 11 consecutive seasons at Newcastle Theatre Royal and six years at Birmingham Hippodrome. His production of Sleeping Beauty, starring Joe Pasquale, toured for six seasons, and his productions of Cinderella and Robinson Crusoe & the Caribbean Pirates, both of which starred Brian Conley, played Birmingham Hippodrome and the Mayflower, Southampton.
He worked with Gok Wan on his first ever pantomime, which became the subject of the Channel 4 documentary Gok Does Panto.
In Scotland, he directed Elaine C Smith and Gerard Kelly in Sleeping Beauty and Mother Goose at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow; he has produced three consecutive seasons at the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, and nine consecutive seasons at His Majesty’s, Aberdeen. He also created the first ever pantomime, Aladdin, in the 3000-seat SECC Clyde Auditorium for John Barrowman and The Krankies.
In 2012, he was awarded a companionship to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts by Sir Paul McCartney.
Alan McHugh
Alan is a Scottish-based actor and writer, who trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 1991.
As an actor, he has worked and toured with all the country’s major theatre companies, and featured extensively in television in Scotland, including the following shows: Taggart Stiff Game, Rab C Nesbitt Single Father, Sea of Souls, High Road, River City and the double BAFTA-winning Limmys Show.
For Qdos Entertainment, he has played dame at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, since 2004, and returns there for 2015/2016, playing dame in Peter Pan, which he has also written.
As a writer for Qdos Entertainment, he has also been involved in writing this year’s pantomimes for Glasgow, Bradford, Birmingham, Llandudno, Cardiff Southampton, Nottingham, Crewe, Wolverhampton, Plymouth, Darlington, Dartford, Edinburgh, Northampton, Newcastle, Swansea and Southend.
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; and Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock.
Bob Tomson
Bob has been an actor, stage and television writer, and a university and college lecturer in drama
He has been a resident director at Liverpool Everyman and Manchester Contact theatres, and artistic director of the Queen’s Theatre Company, Hornchurch, London. From this last position, he forged a long partnership with Bill Kenwright, and many of his productions have toured nationally to every leading commercial venue and repertory house in the UK, including Roald Dahl’s children’s opera James and the Giant Peach, Jesus Christ Superstar, Having a Ball Funny Peculiar, One Careful Owner and Oliver! Bob went freelance to take up offers of working in television and with the leading repertory theatre companies of the UK: Bristol Old Vic Company Liverpool Playhouse, Windsor Theatre Royal and Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Since this decision to go freelance, he has had major success in London’s West End, where his production of Blood Brothers has won every British Best Musical Award and been nominated for three Olivier Awards. He recently took his internationally acclaimed production of Scrooge to the London Palladium for a second season. His international productions include Evita (Europe) and Blood Brothers in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and, most significantly, in the United States, where the show was nominated on Broadway for no fewer than six Tony Awards. Leslie Bricusse’s Scrooge has also been a long-running success for Bob, having Anthony Newley in the title role for six years, culminating in a run at the Dominion Theatre, London. In recent years, the title role has been shared in the UK by Tommy Steele (London Palladium); Shane Richie (national tour) and Michael Barrymore (national tour). Bob directed Richard Chamberlain in the American premiere of Scrooge, while its Australian and Japanese premieres won Bob the Best Director awards. His recent Tokyo premiere of Patrick Stewart’s one-man version of A Christmas Carol won the prize for Best New Production.
His other West End productions include Dreamboats and Petticoats (Savoy and the Playhouse), which was nominated Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards; John Godber’s smash-hit skiing comedy On the Piste (Garrick), which was Olivier-nominated Comedy of the Year; Dennis Lumborg’s controversial One Fine Day (Albery), nominated Best Regional Play; and Karoline Leach’s The Mysterious Mr Love (Comedy), all for Bill Kenwright Ltd.
For television, his credits include BBC’s drama series Hero to Zero, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award, with the subsequent full-length film version being sold to 53 countries; Sky TVs series Is Harry on the Boat? and Dream Team, ITVs Night and Day The Bill, Family Affairs and Heartbeat and Channel 4’s Brookside. He was line producer for series three of Dream Team and helped the series win every indie award that year for Best Drama Series; and he is a regular guest director on BBC’s Doctors.
Recent theatre projects include the world premiere musical adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock (Chichester Festival Theatre); the new street-dance musical Dance Wars (Guildford); new treatments of the musicals Haifa Sixpence and Doctor Dolittle for Bill Kenwright, and the world premiere of musicals Carnaby Street and Jeannie Skye Most recently, in 2014, the critically acclaimed Evita opened in London to play a season at the Dominion Theatre.
Bob returns to the same venue in the new year to direct the world premiere theatrical re-imagining of Jeff Waynes The War of the Worlds.
bobtomson.com
Matt Flint
Matt is a choreographer and creative director for tbeatre, film and television.
His theatre credits include Sweet Charity (Cadogan Hall); Daytona (Theatre Royal Haymarket and national tour); West End Heroes (Dominion Theatre); Brass (Leeds City Varieties Music Hall); 42nd Street gala (London Palladium); Darling of the Day (Union Theatre); Lucky Stiff (Greenwich Theatre) and Big Fish, Catch Me if You Can, The Music Man, Legally Blonde and Singin in the Rain (ArtsEd).
Matt is soon to work on the following Tell Me on a Sunday (yVakermiSi Theatre and national tour) and West Side Story (Salzburg Festival).
His film and television includes Strictly Come Dancing series 9-13 and the Christmas special 2015, The Peoples Strictly, Sport Relief, Children in Need, Bollywood Carmen Live and Lets Dance for Comic Relief {winner of series three) (all BBC); Our Song (Sky 1); All Stars 3D (Vertigo Films); So You Think You Can Dance (USA, Fox) and Musion ‘Soho’ holographic installation (Macau, China).
In 2011, Matt won series two of So You Think You Can Dance (BBC) and was crowned Britain’s favourite dancer.
Matt is the creative director of Happy Feet Productions, co-creator of Can You Dance?, global ambassador for Capezio, patron of the Dance Proms and DanceAid, and recipient of the Carl Alan Award 2012 (Dance in Theatre).
Joe Atkins
For over 30 years, Joe has been designing shows all over the world. He is a scenic designer, as well as a lighting designer, musician, photographer, film director, lighting cameraman, writer, husband and father.
Joe has worked in the UK, where he has designed (amongst many others) Hamlet Separate Tables, She Stops to Conquer, An Ideal Husband and Lysistrata, all for the Peter Hall Company He lit An Ideal Husband on Broadway, as well as Blood Brothers, which he also lit in Australia and on several tours in the UK. He designed Annie on various UK tours, as well as Thoroughly Modern Millie on tour and in South Africa. He has over 40 West End lighting credits, as well as lighting seasons at Liverpool Playhouse and the Chichester Festival Theatre.
Joe has been responsible for the design on over 2,000 corporate events, conferences and product launches, as well as other live events. He has toured with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in their successful collaboration with Karl Jenkins. Joe recently designed the scenery for the enormous extravaganza Show Me at the Friedrichstadt-Palast, Berlin. He directed his first feature film in the summer of 2009, entitled If You Ever Get to Heaven – ifyouevergettoheaven.com for more details.
Joe is married to actress and producer Amanda Garwood, and they have four children, Luke, Harry, Bethany and Arthur. In 2007, Joe and his family left the UK and spent 15 months travelling all over Europe and Asia, home-schooling their children and making friends with untold numbers of wonderful people in many countries. In 2008, they decided to settle in the mountains of southern central France, where they still live.
Joe now runs an independent film company as well as a design and production agency in France.
43media.com @43media
Arran Cuplan
Arran Culpan, co-director of Arranpaul Audio Limited, has over 30 years’ experience as a sound engineer, touring tKe UK and around trie globe.
His work is diverse, ranging from corporate events, theatre, and rock and roll shows to designing the sound for over 50 pantomimes throughout the country, up to Russell Watson’s 28-piece orchestra in the Royal Albert Hall.
Arran’s sound design and engineering credits include theatre touring shows, such as Tommy – the Musical Boogie Nights (UK and South Africa productions); Elaine Paige (UK); Russell Watson (UK); Jack Jones, the Temptations with Dennis Edwards, Jody Watley/Shalamar, the Stylistics, the Three Degrees, Gwen Dickey/Rose Royce, Craig Charles, Heather Small and, from the comedy world, Roy Chubby Brown, the Chuckle Brothers, Bobby Davro, Jim Davidson, Brian Conley, Joe Pasquale, Cannon & Ball, Ross Noble and Jimmy Carr.
Gary Hind
Gary Hind is a freelance musical supervisor, conductor and composer, whose work has encompassed the following shows and projects: The Lion King, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sunset Boulevard, Peggy Sue Got Married, Annie, Starlight Express, High Society, Chicago, Tell Me on a Sunday, Spread a Little Happiness, Bye Bye Birdie, Hello, Dollyl Fiddler on the Roof, The Pirates of Penzance (UK tour); Jolson, The Goodbye C/r/(UK tour); Fame (UK tour); A Swell Party (plus the subsequent film version); Spread a Little Happiness (West End) and Lust- world premiere (Hornchurch).
He was also musical supervisor/co-arranger for the West End, UK tour and Broadway production of Kat and the Kings, which won the Best New Musical Award in the 1999 Olivier Awards. The Broadway production received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Orchestrations in the year 2000 Awards list.
Gary was musical supervisor/arranger for the 1998 West End production of Annie (nominated for Most Outstanding Production in the 1999 Olivier Awards), followed by three UK tours and orchestrations for the 2001 Australian tour.
He was musical supervisor/arranger for the world premiere of Peggy Sue Got Afe/riec/XShaftesbury Theatre, London) and musical supervisor in the UK for the 2004 West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie and also arranger for the 2005 UK tour of the same.
He orchestrated and conducted items for the 1997,1998 and 2004 Royal Variety Performances for BBC Television and LWT respectively. Gary is the musical supervisor/arranger for Qdos Entertainment and also co-ordinates his own music services company – GHMusic Ltd, which has been responsible for providing musicians, keyboard programming and equipment to nearly all of the shows above.
He recently returned from Venezuela, where he orchestrated and produced for CD a symphonic recording of Queen tracks featuring the classical guitarist Carlos Bonell, an 84-piece orchestra and an 80-piece choir. He is looking forward to the concept being developed into a live concert version.
Gary is also the musical supervisor/arranger of a brand-new musical called Lt Happened at Nixon Palls by Tony McHale. He wrote the music and lyrics for Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin (Newcastle Theatre Royal, 2010-2012). Gary is also the current children’s musical director for The Lion King
This year marks Gary’s 22nd year as musical supervisor and arranger for Qdos Entertainment – the world’s biggest pantomime company.
Philip Shute
Philip trained at University of Surrey (BA) and Middlesex University (MA).
His credits as musical director include The Drowsy Chaperone (Bermuda); Annie (Madinat Theatre, Dubai); Aladdin (Hull New Theatre); The Pirates of Penzance (Bermuda); The Wizard of Oz (Madinat Theatre, Dubai); Jack and the Beanstalk (Hull New Theatre); South Pacific (Bermuda); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Madinat Theatre, Dubai); Sleeping Beauty (Hull New Theatre): The Producers (Bermuda); Oliver! (Madinat Theatre, Dubai); A Tale of Two Cities (Charing Cross Theatre); Dick Whittington (Derby Assembly Rooms); Jesus Christ Superstar (Bermuda); The Sound of Music (First Group Theatre, Dubai); Menopause – the Musical (Shaw Theatre, London; Tivoli Theatre, Dublin; UK tours and Irish tours); Aladdin (Derby Assembly Rooms); Motherhood – the Musical(King’s Theatre, Glasgow, and UK tour); The Wiz (Milton Keynes Theatre); Cinderella (Derby Assembly Rooms); High SchoolMusical2(Centre Point Theatre, Dubai); Hair (LIPA); The Cheeky Chappie (Union Theatre and Arts Theatre, London); Spirit of the Musical(UK tour); Footloose (Little Theatre, Chicago); The Blues Brothers Unlimited (Centre Point Theatre, Dubai); Annie, Fame and The Wizard of Oz (Theatre Royal Windsor); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Derby Assembly Rooms); They’re Playing Our Song (Madinat Theatre, Dubai); 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 musical director on over 45 shows, including Carrie – the Musical, Evita, Sideshow, Nine, Tommy, Chicago, Cabaret, Hair, Oklahomal Les Miserahles, Grand Hotel, Follies, Godspell, Smile, Annie, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street Urinetown, Jekyll and Hyde, Footloose, The Producers, Me and My Girl, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Boy Friend, Nice Work if You Can Get It and Hello, DoIIyl
Philip also works as an audition/rehearsal pianist and contemporary dance accompanist in London; he is the musical supervisor for Act Now! Entertainment UK; and a musical director at Headliners Theatre Company, providing production shows for Carnival UK.
The Twins FX
The Twins FX are the leaders of theatrical visual special effects, illusions and animatronics. They make the impossible possible for theatre productions, film and television worldwide. Their portfolio includes soaring airborne flying dragons, the mighty seven-metre-tall gorilla, slithering sea monsters, a hovering helicopter, Santa’s levitating sleigh, the world’s largest pantomime giant Cinderella’s flying sparkling crystal coach, floating magic carpets, flying cars…you name it, they’ve done it!
The Twins FX is led by identical twins Gary and Paul Hardy-Brown, located in Wareham in Dorset: “Coming into work is never boring or a chore because we genuinely love what we do,” says Managing Director Gary They have a core team of eight staff but, at their busiest, there are as many as 30 model-makers, painters, engineers and others working away in their workshop, like a crack team of seasonal elves.
“We have pioneered flying in recent years with the bespoke system Trying Without Wires’: the audience sees a person or an object move around the stage and the auditorium with no visible means of support,” says Paul, Creative Director. “We are a one-stop shop and we do everything ourselves: designing, creating/building and delivering the wow factor,” Paul adds.
Starting out as holiday season Bluecoats, delivering captivating magic and illusion shows as part of Pontins’ entertainment programme, The Twins worked this up into a slick double act, which then proceeded to tour around the world for 15 years, becoming bigger and more ambitious as the years went by. In 2004, The Twins were commissioned to fly Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother over an audience, which steered them towards special effects and away from performing.
Since then, they have established themselves as the market leaders in large-scale theatrical effects, working on arena shows such as Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, Doctor Who Live and the 2014-2015 Uh tour of Barnum. 2015 also saw The Twins add effects into Thriller Live (West End and world tour) and the must-see production of the year – Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. The Guardian said of The Twins FX’s contribution to Hamlet: “The effects are striking.” Time Out said: “Visually and atmospherically stunning productions.”
The Twins FX have just won the highly coveted Technical Theatre Award for Outstanding Achievement in Automation.
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