Preview: Theatre Royal’s Rita Marks 30 Years As A Panto Dame

Theatre Royal’s Rita Marks

30 Years As A Panto Dame

Chris Hayward, A.K.A ‘Dame Rita’ – the opulently dressed star of the last eight record-breaking pantos at Newcastle Theatre Royal, is this year celebrating 30 glorious years as a panto dame.

Widely regarded as one of the leading lights in pantomime, Chris is renowned for his lavish outfits, wigs and multiple costume changes (14 in total for this year’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), all of which are designed by himself.

Aged 50, and from Newcastle, Chris starred as dame for the first time when he was just 19 years old, playing one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella at the Charter Theatre in Preston.  Not a year has gone by since when he hasn’t donned a wig and heels for the festive season in theatres the length and breadth of the UK and even around the world.

This year, playing ‘Dame Rita the Cook’ in Newcastle Theatre Royal’s record breaking Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, marks three decades as mistress of the boards for Chris.  In his career he has played one of Cinderella’s ugly sisters no less than 14 times and had multiple turns as Widow Twankey, The Queen , Nurse, Cook, Baroness, Empress and many more iconic dame characters.

Chris’s legions of fans also adore him for his family-friendly jokes and loveable on-stage persona.  Since his return to the region in 2006 when he starred in Aladdin at the Theatre Royal alongside Faye Tozer and panto favourites Clive Webb and Danny Adams for the first time, his local fan base has grown meteorically.  His entrance onstage is universally greeted with a chorus of “Hiya Hinney” from the audience and his finale hat and dress are always a source of much anticipation.

Chris's Nana

Rene Mills in 1937

Born and brought up in Byker, Chris comes from a long line of performers.  Infact, the Hayward clan is something of a theatrical dynasty.  Chris’s Great Auntie Helen Mills performed as a dancer in pantos Mother Goose and Robinson Crusoe at Newcastle Theatre Royal in the 1940s, but it was his beloved Nana Rene Mills who was his greatest inspiration, and whose photo is a permanent fixture on his dressing room table.  A renowned big band singer all over England in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, Rene oversaw Chris take his first steps onto the stage at Newcastle Tyne Theatre in Annie Get Your Gun and The King and I at the age of 13.

Chris has performed Dame in all the UK’s biggest Theatres from High Wycombe to Hull, Bradford to Woking.  His work has also taken him as far afield as Dubai where 17 years ago he played at the World Trade Centre there in front of a sheik and his huge entourage. 

Chris’s many other professional performances include summer season, cabaret and revue working with Danny La Rue, Jim Davidson, Barbara Windsor, Bobby Davroe to name but a few.  He also appeared in the West End’s Cockney Club and his TV credits include Bergerac, Super Gran, The Little and Large Show and many more. 

Chris said: “The last 30 years seems to have gone by in a flash – I simply love what I do.  There’s nothing like the buzz of being onstage, and no more so than in panto – the highlight of the theatrical year.  I’ve had so many amazing experiences and worked with so many incredible talents. There have been highs and lows of course – I was hospitalised with a splinter in my bottom after being dragged across the stage by a faulty prop during Cinderella at the New Theatre Hull in 2000, and my shoes even melted to the stage once after I put out a fire from a faulty Fairy Godmother pyro at Darlington Civic Theatre in 1989.  At the Theatre Royal I feel like I’ve found my spiritual home though and working alongside Clive and Danny is a dream – they are incredible performers and great friends.  Plus, we put on a pretty good show – 95,000 people a year can’t be wrong! This is my true calling and I hope I’ll still be doing it in 30 years time…”

Tickets:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal until Sunday 18 January 2015. Tickets are available from £12 (a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

News: UK Wide Debut For Theatre Royal Panto On Hospital Screens

UK Wide Debut For Theatre Royal

Panto On Hospital Screens

In a UK first, the Newcastle Theatre Royal panto Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be screened to hospital bedsides in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland this December.

The cast has filmed a special performance of the pantomime, which will be screened for free to 170,000 patients across 180 NHS hospitals on 23 December.

The screenings are the brainchild of local entrepreneur and Theatre Royal Trustee Howard Tait who said: “I have always been passionate about bringing children from hospital to see the panto and seeing their faces light up just made me want to extend this magic to those children who are too sick to leave their beds. With the help of the wonderful panto team at Newcastle Theatre Royal, this has been made possible and I am so proud to see the screenings go totally UK-wide for the first time ever this year; for many this will be a dream come true.”

And cast members of this year’s panto, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, are visiting The Great North Children’s Hospital today to meet some of their youngest and biggest fans, who will watch them perform on the 23 December. Dressed in full costume, the cast will spend time with poorly children and their families, bringing gifts and signing autographs ahead of the screening on the bedside tvs.

Emily Shaw, who plays Snow White, said: “It is a really humbling experience going to visit the children in the hospital because you can see how much it means to them. It’s lovely to think we can bring a bit of the Christmas joy we all experience at the Theatre, to them in their hospital beds both through this visit and by screening the panto to them.”

The hospital screening project is a unique collaboration between the NHS, Newcastle Theatre Royal and Hospedia – the national hospital broadcast network. Ben Packman, Hospedia’s Strategic Development Director, said: “We are delighted to be able to provide a platform for the Theatre Royal’s pantomime screening.  Our aim is to make the patient experience whilst in hospital as enjoyable as possible and we particularly welcome the opportunity to make the festive period special for all the children in hospital at this time.” The screening of the panto is free to everyone with a bedside tv and will be shown at 2pm on channel 34, with repeat screenings at 4pm and 6pm.

Chief Executive of Newcastle Theatre Royal, Philip Bernays, said: “To be able to screen the show to so many hospitals is absolutely fabulous – Howard has worked very hard planning this project and we are delighted to play our part. Our panto really is one of the best in the world and we are extremely proud of it – it makes sense that the Theatre Royal should lead the way and be the first theatre to achieve this kind of truly national coverage.”

Tickets:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is at Newcastle Theatre Royal until Sunday 18 January 2015. Tickets are available from £12 (a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

News: Panto Cast Bring Festive Cheer to Newcastle Children's Wards

Panto Cast Bring Festive Cheer to

Newcastle Children's Wards

The cast of the Newcastle Theatre Royal’s panto Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will visit four wards at the Great North Children’s Hospital tomorrow morning to bring festive cheer to poorly little ones.

The stars of the show will take time out of their busy schedules – 92 performances in 55 days! – to spend some time chatting to some of their youngest and biggest fans, giving out panto gifts and signing plenty of autographs.

The Theatre Royal panto is often cited as the fastest selling panto in the country and one of the most successful in the world. The show runs longer than every other panto in the region and now stands at a staggering 92 performances. Snow White has already broken all Box Office Records to become the Theatre’s biggest ever selling pantomime - over 83,000 tickets have already been sold and two additional performances added due to continuous growing demand - on Sunday 18 January at 1pm and 5pm.

As Clive Webb and Danny Adams’ Ten Year anniversary production, Snow White is the Theatre Royal’s most spectacular show yet - jam-packed full of more fun, adventure and comedy than ever before, as well as non-stop magic and surprises galore. As always, there is plenty of glitz and glamour along with sensational musical numbers and breath-taking fairytale sets and costumes, after all, this isn’t just panto – it’s Theatre Royal panto!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – ‘The Fairest Panto in all the Land’ is proudly supported by local Media Partner Heart FM.

Tickets:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is at Newcastle Theatre Royal until Sunday 18 January 2015. 

Tickets are available from £12 (a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Preview: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Ten Years At The Top For

North East Panto Duo

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Tuesday 25 November until Sunday 18 January

Clive Webb and Danny Adams, the incredible father and son act famously at the helm of the Newcastle Theatre Royal panto, are celebrating a decade entertaining the North East at Christmas.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be their 10^th panto at the Royal.

Since they made their debut on the North East panto scene back in 2005 (alongside Jill Halfpenny in Cinderella), Clive and Danny’s fanbase has grown at a meteoric rate. Their extraordinary slapstick routines, unparalleled charm and classic old-school comedy have secured them legendary status in the region.  Super-fans even travel hundreds of miles from the far corners of Britain to see them every year.    

The winning combination of Clive and Danny, West Endproducer Michael Harrison and extremely high production values has led the Theatre Royal panto to break sales records every year since 2005.  With over 90,000 people now seeing the show each year and with booking up to 90% capacity before opening night, it’s often cited as the fastest selling panto in the country and one of the most successful in the world.

The show runs longer than every other panto in the region and now stands at a staggering 91 performances. By the end of this pantomime season Clive and Danny will have performed a total of 845 shows - more than any other artist in the 177 years of the Theatre Royal.

Clive and Danny said: “We have made some great friends over the years here at the theatre.  Michael Harrison, Chris Hayward, Steve Arnott, Philip Bernays and all the staff and crew at the theatre, who make this pantomime and theatre one of the best in the country.  We would never have imagined in a million years that we’d still be here 10 years on!  We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to YOU the people of the North East, because without you none of this could have happened!   Some of you have sat in the stalls year after year: taking abuse, insults, water, foam, pies...well guess what? This year’s no different!!! Ha Ha. So sit back and relax - if you dare!  And enjoy our 10^thTheatre Royal Pantomime; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Newcastle born Producer Michael Harrison said: “I am thrilled to have assembled a first-class cast for this year’s pantomime.  West Endperformers, local talent, and of course our resident team of comedy stars.  Throw into the mix some terrific special effects and I hope we have a terrific show to celebrate the ten years Clive, Danny and I have spent at the Theatre Royal”.

Born in Sunderland, Clive started his show business career as a drummer in a pop group. He went on to perform in the Famous Robert Bros Circus where he stayed for seven years ending up as head clown. He was headhunted after auditioning for Opportunity Knocks and went on to appear in Crackerjack, The Sooty Show, Razzamatazz, How Dare You and Tiswas. In 1988 Clive became British Magical Champion – the first time a comedy magician has ever won the award.

Danny’s TV appearances include GMTV’s Mole in a Hole, Stars in Their Dressing Rooms, Angus Deaton’s It Shouldn’t Happen to a TV Presenter and The Tweenies. During 2008, Danny performed the very dangerous Houdini’s Milk Churn Escape and has also perfected the Human Cannonball.

The poster from the duo's first panto

 

The pair have toured extensively all over the UK and Europe and in 2007 they were awarded the CFA Best Comedy Act. At Newcastle Theatre Royal they have performed in two Cinderellas, two Jack and the Beanstalks, two Aladdins, one Robinson Crusoe, one Sleeping Beauty, and one Robin Hood (not to mention five seasons with Cirque du Hilarious and the 175th Anniversary Theatre Royal Gala Show!)   

Barnum - coming soon to Theatre Royal

This year also marks a decade that the show’s inspirational writer, director and producer Michael Harrison has worked together with Clive and Danny at the Theatre Royal. As Managing Director of Qdos Entertainment he also oversees 24 pantomimes each year and has produced nearly one hundred pantomimes for the company. Michael also produced The Bodyguard in the West Endand is currently producing the spectacular new production of Barnum‎ starring Brian Conley. His other musicals include Aspects of Love, The Witches of Eastwick, Chess, I Dreamed a Dream and Jolson and Co.

In 2015 he will produce the national tour of The Bodyguard, the North American premiere of Titanic the Musical‎, a new production of Annie starring Craig Revel Horwood and a brand new musical Mrs Henderson Presents.  In 2012 he was awarded a companionship to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts by Sir Paul McCartney.

The pantomime features a truly stellar cast this year.  Emily Shaw plays Snow White.  Emily’s credits include Matilda the Musical as well as UK tours of Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast and Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Gary Watson from Sunderland plays The Prince.  His credits include Matilda the Musical, Mamma Mia, Cats and Walt Disney Productions’ new film Cinderella.  PeterPeverley is making his North East panto debut as one of the seven dwarfs after delighting Theatre Royal audiences in 2013 with his one-man show about the North East’s favourite comedian ‘the Little Waster’ Bobby Thompson. Another dwarf of particular note is Danny Rowe from South Shields whose first  profesional job was dancing for Take That in the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium in 2009 and then Born To Shine in 2010 on ITV.

Very special guests in this year’s show are The Acromaniacs - agroup of fast and hilariously funny international gymnasts and tumblers whose slapstick acrobatic act is constantly in world-wide demand. 

Danny’s brother Michael Potts returns for his 7th Theatre Royal panto by overwhelming public demand, this time as The Castle Idiot.  And of course never forgetting the North East’s favourite and most beautifully attired panto dame Chris Hayward in his 8^th consecutive Theatre Royal panto, this time as Dame Rita the Cook, as well as the region’s number one panto villain Steve Arnott as The Wicked Queen.  It will also be Steve’s 6th consecutive year.

It’s a must to book your tickets NOW, as the show has once again trumped all previous year’s sales and is set to become the fastest-selling pantomime in the theatre’s 177 year history.  Already, over 83,000 tickets have been sold and two additional performances have already been added due to continuous growing demand - on Sunday 18 January at 1pm and 5pm.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – ‘The Fairest Panto in all the Land’ is proudly supported by local Media Partner Heart FM.

Tickets:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 25 November until Sunday 18 January 2015. Tickets are available from £12 (a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk.

 

Tickets for Clive and Danny’s 11^th panto at the Theatre Royal - Dick Whittington (Tuesday 24 November 2015 – Sunday 17 January 2016) go on sale from Tues 25 Nov, 2014.  Friends of the Theatre can book now.

News: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Theatre Royal Panto Set To Break All Box Office Records For The 10^th Year Running

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Thursday 25^th November 2014 – Sunday 18^th January 2015

 

Clive Webb  Danny Adams and Chris Hayward - Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Newcastle Theatre Royal’s 2014/15 pantomime, has once again trumped all previous years sales and is set to become the fastest-selling pantomime in the theatre’s 177 year history.

Box Office figures this week showed sales were 12% up from the same time last year suggesting the appetite for Theatre Royal pantomime continues to grow! Last year’s panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, broke all the previous records. Over 92,000 people saw the show starring Clive Webb, Danny Adams and Chris Hayward, not forgetting the 168,000 hospital patients it was broadcast to.

Already, over 77,000 tickets have been sold for this year’s panto which opens on Thursday 25 November 2014, and two additional performances have already been added due to continuous growing demand. The Theatre Royal pantomime starts earlier than any other in the region and has the longest run of any pantomime in the country. The two extra performances have been added on Sunday 18 January at 1pm and 5pm extending the run by an additional day.

Theatre Royal owes its enduring popularity to the massive talent of father and son comedy duo Clive Webb and Danny Adams, opulently dressed dame Chris Hayward, visionary Newcastle-born producer Michael Harrison and amazing special effects from by The Twins FX.

Steve Arnott

Philip Bernays, Theatre Royal Chief Executive, said: “Our pantomimes are very famous now, and they attract audiences from across the world. Just when we think they can’t get any better – they do! Every year we see Box Office figures rising and it really is testament to a truly wonderful panto team – producer, cast and everyone involved. We are immensely proud and long may it continue!”

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs sees Clive and Danny celebrating ten years of pantomime magic at the Theatre Royal so the show is sure to be bigger and better than ever before.

The spectacular production promises another bumper season, jam-packed full of fun, adventure and an abundance of comedy, and is sure to be full of gadgets galore. Featuring plenty of glitz and glamour along with sensational musical numbers and breathtaking fairytale sets and costumes, this isn’t just panto – it’s Theatre Royal panto!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – ‘The Fairest Panto in all the Land’ is proudly supported by local Media Partner Heart FM.

Tickets:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 25 November 2014 until Sunday 18 January 2015.

Tickets are available from £12 (a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk.

Preview: Dick Whittington at Newcastle Theatre Royal

The Purr-fect Panto Returns in 2015!

Newcastle Theatre Royal has announced next year’s panto, before this year’s has even started! Theatre favourites Danny Adams, Clive Webb, and Chris Hayward will be returning in November 2015 for the magical pantomime adventure Dick Whittington.

Due to the huge demand for tickets at what has fast become the North East’s favourite pantomime venue, Newcastle Theatre Royal will open for bookings for the 2015 panto next week.

Priority booking for Dick Whittington starts on Tuesday 18 November 2014 for Friends of the Theatre Royal, on Thursday 20 November tickets are on sale for Advantage members, groups and schools, before public and online booking opens on Tuesday 25 November.

Dick Whittington sees theatre favourites Danny Adams (Dick Whittington) and Clive Webb (Councillor Fitzfenwick) top the bill alongside Chris Hayward (Dame Rita Fitzfenwick) for yet another spectacular show, filled with side-splitting jokes, glittering costumes, dazzling dance numbers – and of course an adorable panto cat!

Newcastle Theatre Royal panto-goers have come to expect a truly spectacular performance and Dick Whittington will be no exception, with a host of amazing visual and special effects, combined with some of the most colourful and elaborate sets and costumes seen in panto anywhere in the UK. 

Philip Bernays, Chief Executive of Newcastle Theatre Royal, said: “We are rightly proud of our pantomimes, increasingly seen as the best in the country!  We are lucky to have so much North-East talent available to us, not just in our cast, but in the shape of our truly talented panto producer, Michael Harrison. Born and bred in Newcastle and now with a growing profile as one of the West End’s leading producers, we are proud and delighted that Michael remains a close friend of the Theatre Royal, creating outstanding pantomimes for us year after year.”

Dick Whittington is produced by Qdos Entertainment, the world’s largest pantomime producer, which will stage 24 productions throughout the UK this Christmas. With ticket prices to suit all pockets, you won’t have to head to London to seek your fortune, to enjoy spectacular pantomime at Newcastle Theatre Royal this Christmas!

Tickets:

Dick Whittington appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 24 November 2015 – Sunday 17 January 2016. Tickets are available from £11.00, A booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets. Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk from Tues 25 Nov, 2014.