Comedy, drama and song in Hansel and Gretel panto at New Mills Art Theatre

Rehearsals are now in full swing for the pantomime which will be performed at New Mills Art Theatre at the end of January and start of February.

The German fairytale from the Brothers Grimm tells the story of a brother and sister left in the woods by their poor father and stepmother. The siblings eventually stumble across a house in the woods made of bread, cake and sweet treats.

The pair immediately start eating from the house but a witch, pretending to be a kind old woman, soon appears and invites them in. The witch then traps them both in the house, forcing them to work for her doing chores and fattening them up ready to eat.

But Hansel and Gretel have other ideas and manage to overcome the evil witch and the story comes to a much happier ending.

Along the way the outrageous panto dame, Peggy Pumpernickel and her daft son Wally provide the slapstick routines and jokes for all the family to have a good laugh at!

Talented youngsters Jake Hornsey and Samantha Provart who play Hansel and Gretel have both just received prestigious NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) nominations for previous performances at the Art Theatre and are waiting patiently to see if they win awards at the presentation evening later this month.

This will be the first panto staged in the recently refurbished auditorium at the volunteer-led theatre.

The £46,000 revamp, which was completed last year, saw volunteers giving up over 1,800 hours of their time, with 100 rolls of wallpaper and 80 litres of paint being used for the work.

As well as new carpet, safety flooring, and a new heating system, the theatre now also boasts iconic golden seats from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Theatre Royal.

Hansel and Gretel will be performed on the evenings of January 31, February 7 and February 8 at 7.15pm, with matinees at 2.15pm on February 1, 2 and 8.

Tickets are available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/arttheatrepantomime, or from 07983 344 862 or email: [email protected].