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Final Casting Announced for Panto in a Pickle!

Former panto Babe Harriet Bunton joins Norwich’s favourite pantomime Dame Richard Gauntlett and award winning comic entertainer Tucker in this year’s Panto in a Pickle!, playing at Norwich Theatre Royal from 16 – 24 December.

Born in Norwich, West End actress and performer Harriet Bunton has a long-standing relationship with the Theatre Royal where she started her performing career at the tender age of six as one of the youngest Babes in the theatre’s long tradition of pantos. She returned to the Royal as Panto Babe, Tweenie or Junior for the next 10 years. Passionate about acting and singing from a very young age, Harriet attended Norwich’s Central School of Dancing and Performing Arts where she began to hone her performance skills. After graduating from Laine Theatre Arts in Surrey in 2012, she returned to the Theatre Royal in 2016 to make her adult panto debut as Dolly The Fairy in Jack and the Beanstalk.

A hugely experienced touring and West End performer, Harriet most recently starred in the Olivier Award-winning production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Menier Chocolate Factory and The Playhouse Theatre (London). She also played Janet in the European Tour of The Rocky Horror Show and appeared in the Qdos production of Sleeping Beauty. Harriet is no stranger to London’s theatre-land where she performed in a string of smash-hit musicals including Mamma Mia! (Novello Theatre), We Will Rock You (Dominion) and the multi Olivier Award-winning hit Sunny Afternoon (Harold Pinter Theatre).

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Harriet joins previously announced stars Richard Gauntlett and Tucker in Norwich Theatre’s Christmas extravaganza.

There has been a terrible mess-up in Panto-land.  What is Cinderella doing with those magic beans?  Why did Captain Hook stop Snow White going to the ball?  How did Aladdin end up in an enchanted sleep?  All of your favourite Panto characters need your help to get them back to their correct stories as this really is a Panto in a Pickle!

It means the absolute world to be able to be part of a production on stage, with a live audience in this tough and strange year. It’s even more special that it is in my hometown, and on the stage I spent so many Christmases as a child. It really is an honour and I feel incredibly grateful.

Harriet Bunton

Jane Walsh, Panto Executive Producer at Norwich Theatre, said: “I’ve known Harriet since her first appearance with us as a Babe in the 1999 pantomime Cinderella. Even at such a young age there was something in the way she took to the stage that made it clear that she was going to make a career in theatre.  I have watched her grow into a true professional and couldn’t be more delighted that she is returning to us for Panto in a Pickle!”

Playing alongside A Circus Carol and She Go Does It Under the Christmas Tree…with Friends as part of Norwich Theatre’s festive season A RIGHT ROYAL CHRISTMAS, Panto in a Pickle! is a brand new show for the whole family that captures lots of the traditional panto fun in a madcap adventure through six of your favourite stories.

Creatively produced by Norwich Theatre, A RIGHT ROYAL CHRISTMAS will see the Theatre Royal re-open its doors in a COVID-secure way for a short period in the run up to Christmas with the three different productions alternating in a special repertory season.  All performances will be conducted in strict adherence with latest Government guidance, with seating within the Theatre Royal auditorium reduced by two-thirds to accommodate a socially-distanced audience.  Shows will run for approximately 60-90 minutes with no interval to minimise crowding.  Carefully designed COVID-secure queuing systems will be in place across the Theatre Royal building to guide audiences to their seats in a safe, convenient and comfortable way.

To book tickets visit norwichtheatre.org or call Norwich Theatre Box Office on 01603 630 000.

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