Mother Goose at Cambridge Arts Theatre
Cambridge Arts Theatre has announced the full cast for this year’s annual Christmas pantomime, Mother Goose.
Set in the beautiful city of Cambridge, the Arts Theatre puts a fun, modern and local spin on the traditional rags-to-riches pantomime story, brought to life by the same creative team behind 2022’s five-star production of Dick Whittington.
Starring as Gertie Goose and returning for his eighteenth Arts Theatre pantomime is Cambridge’s number one dame Matt Crosby. Crosby’s recent roles at the Arts Theatre include Sarah the Cook in 2022’s Dick Whittington and his Cat and Widow Twankey in 2021’s Aladdin. Other recent credits include ITV’s 2023 series Nolly alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Coronation Street, To Sir, With Love (Birmingham Rep), Antigone (Storyhouse) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Vaudeville Theatre).
Charlotte Wakefield will star as Fairy Virtue. Wakefield is a twice Olivier Award-nominated actress whose recent credits include The Great British Bake Off Musical (Noël Coward Theatre), The Boy in the Dress (Royal Shakespeare Company) and Crazy For You.
Gemma Sutton will star as principal boy Jack Purchase, whose credits include Tammy Faye (Almeida Theatre), Girl From the North Country (Gielgud Theatre) and Follies (National Theatre).
Pippa Duffy stars as the evil villain Demon Vanity. Born and bred in Cambridge, Duffy was part of the original cast of Only Fools and Horses the Musical (Theatre Royal Haymarket). Other credits include Mammals (Amazon Prime) and Alan Partridge Mid Morning Matters (Sky Atlantic).
Completing the principal cast are Steven Roberts as Sammy Goose (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Georgia Nicholson as Priscilla the Goose (Hetty Feather), Nathan Taylor as Squire Purchase (Spamalot) and Alicia Belgarde as Jill Goose (Grease the Musical).
The ensemble is comprised of Danielle Cato, Oliver Imeson, Sophie Karaolis, Sarah Jane Lowe, Louis Parkins and Luke Stone.
Gertie Goose lives a simple life in her little Cambridge cottage with family and best friend Priscilla… who just happens to be a talking Goose! A cook in the kitchens of Eiderdowning College, Mother Goose longs to open her own bakery… but with the lovesick Squire Purchase raising rents and a cost-of-living crisis looming, money is tight and her dreams remain unfulfilled. Caught between the forces of good and evil, Mother Goose is headed for an eggs-istential crisis of epic proportions! Will beauty, fame and fortune change her? You’ll have to book to find out!
Mother Goose is directed by Michael Gattrell (Dick Whittington, Aladdin, Dame Trott’s Panto Palaver) and is written by Al Lockhart-Morley, Cambridge Arts Theatre’s resident pantomime writer since 2014.
In 2022, Cambridge Arts Theatre welcomed 28,000 people during their celebrated production of Dick Whittington and his Cat. Mother Goose opens on Thursday 30 November 2023 and runs until Sunday 7 January 2024. For more information and ticket prices visit cambridgeartstheatre.com.
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