We popped out of the office for a bit, and headed over to the Ipswich Regent for the launch of Enchanted Entertainment’s 2016 pantomime offering – Sleeping Beauty.
Enchanted Entertainment return to the Regent after the success of last years production of ‘Aladdin’, and in turn will be bringing 24 spellbinding performances of Sleeping Beauty to Ipswich Regent from 17th December 2016 until 2nd January 2017 (including a one-off schools performance at 1.30pm on Monday 19th December).
For the first time ever, the pantomime will feature amazing 3D projection, as well as its usual fantastic live band and will be packed with top stars including: international soul legend Shelia Ferguson as the Wicked Fairy, ‘Any Dream Will Do’ runner-up Keith Jack as the Prince, back by popular demand – the hilarious Mike ‘squeaky’ McClean as the Jester, Ella Gilling from CBBC’s The Next Step as the Princess, Town 102 breakfast show host Wayne Bavin as the King and David Phipps-Davis as the Dame.
The launch was compered by this year’s Jester and funny man – Mike ‘squeaky’ McClean, and we were then treated to performances from Keith Jack, who sang “This Is The Moment” and Shelia Ferguson took on “One Moment In Time” – both were on fine form, giving powerful performances that were a taster of what’s to come. The entire cast were there in costume too, ready for their photo calls.
Producer, Guy Pascall, said:
What an amazing pantomime Sleeping Beauty is going to be this Christmas at the Ipswich Regent. For this years show we’ve been working on a breathtaking 3D projection sequence to add some extra magic to an already dazzling panto. Audiences are also in for a real treat, with the return of funny man Mike ‘squeaky’ McClean, who played ‘Buttons’ for us in 2014. Also, we have some of the best singers in Panto-land with the original lead singer of The Three Degrees – Shelia Ferguson and runner-up on BBC1’s ‘Any Dream Will Do’ – Keith Jack, it’s probably the most talented panto cast in the country.
We also had a quick catch up with Ella Gilling, who plays the Princess…
Hello Ella, how are you?
Yeah, I’m good thank you, excited!
So, is this your first panto experience?
This is my first panto experience, I’ve done TV work and musicals and plays at college but I’ve admitted it once today but I’ve never seen a panto, and I’ve never been in one so this is completely new to me! But I’m really excited and always open to new experiences so it should be really fun and I’m really excited!
Great! So far how are you finding it – is it similar to doing TV, or is it really different?
There are similarities, especially with the press launch like today, where there’s a focus on getting the images, camera angles and meeting people – and if you’re on set you do that a lot anyway but I think it’ll get different later when I start learning the lines and doing the scenes with people, especially when performing it with a live audience because although with panto you can blag it a bit, you only get one shot, whereas with TV you can always do the scene again if it goes wrong. So I guess the main difference is that you don’t get a second chance. But so far it’s been as fun as any filming experience!
Have you been to Ipswich before?
No, I’ve never been to Ipswich, or this theatre before – so it’s all brand new to me and it’s really lovely!
Great, thank you for your time Ella!
Enchanted Entertainment have assembled a stellar cast and are planning some spectacular pantomime magic to ensure Sleeping Beauty will be a brilliant pantomime with plenty of audience participation, fantastic sets and costumes, and of course jokes galore for all the family!
Tickets are on sale now and already selling fast, so ‘set your alarm clocks early’ and call the Ipswich Regent Box Office on 01473 433 100 or book online ipswichregent.co.uk
