EXCLUSIVE: Stars of Grove Theatre panto revealed!

The theatre, in partnership with Evolution Pantomimes, will be bring a spell-binding and breathtaking adaptation of the Sleeping Beauty to town.

Evolution Pantomimes, led by television presenter Paul Hendy and his partner Emily Wood, is the most successful pantomime company in the country, producing spectacular shows throughout the UK.

Sleeping Beauty will star:

> John Partridge, best known for his role as Christian Clarke in Eastenders but also a highly regarded West End star, will be turning on the charm as the Prince in Sleeping Beauty.

John originally trained in ballet at the Royal Ballet Lower School in London, but tasted the success of his future TV career when appearing in an adaptation of Stan Barstow’s novel A Kind of Loving, at just 11 years old. Leaving school at 16 John joined the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats in which he toured for three years.

He burst on to your TV screens in 2008 when he joined the cast of Eastenders, playing Christian Clarke for the next four and a half years.

He is an ultimate showbiz master, with the talent to act, sing, dance and present. John has worked with U2 and the Pet Shop Boys in the past, he was invited to judge Lloyd Webber’s TV show Over The Rainbow and in recent years, has played Prince Charming in Cinderella pantomime, Zach in the West End revival of A Chorus Line, and Billy Flynn in a 2016 UK tour of Chicago.

Fans of John Partridge, be sure not to miss his royal appearance as the Prince this December!

> One of soaps feisty females, Sally Lindsay, who played Shelley Unwin in Coronation Street, will take no nonsense as the wicked fairy godmother Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty this Christmas.

After Coronation Street, Sally has starred on screen in series including Mount Pleasant, Open All Hours and Scott & Bailey, as well as appearing as a regular panellist on Loose Women.

She is also an established stage actress, starring in numerous musicals and plays including Ella, meet Marilyn, Much Ado About Nothing and A Taste of Honey.

Sally appears as a regular guest contributor to the Radcliffe and Maconie Show on BBC Radio 2, which led her to be hand-picked for the voice of Piella Bakewell in Wallce and Gromit film A Matter of Loaf and Death, after creator Nick Park heard her voice on the radio. Now taking on the role of the evil Carabosse, watch as Sally uses her powerful voice for evil in Sleeping Beauty, sending shivers down your spine. Boo!

> Where there is evil, you can always find good to counteract it, and CBeebies presenter Rebecca Keatley is sure to shine brightly as Fairy Moonbeam in Sleeping Beauty.

A popular character in family entertainment, Rebecca is best known for her energetic and bubbly role in CBeebies’ Justins House and Swashbuckle, but more recently CBeebies fans will be watching her on the hit children’s TV show Let’s Play.

She is also the narrator on CBeebies’ Time for School and My Family. Alongside being a hit with children, Rebecca is also a stage and TV star having appeared in stage work including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Jane Austin’s Emma, as well as on screen in ITV’s Life and Debt and BBC 1’s History Hunt.

But this Christmas, Rebecca is saying Let’s Play a magical pantomime to bring the whole family together with fun, laughter and of course, magic.

With a top quality cast, lots of audience participation, lavish sets and stunning special effects, Sleeping Beauty promises to be Grove Theatre’s funniest and most magical pantomime ever!

The production opens on Friday 8 December, 2017 and runs until Tuesday 2 January, 2018.

Tickets start from just £12.75* and can be purchased from the Box Office on 01582 60 20 80 or online at www.grovetheatre.co.uk.

*A £1.95 transaction fee will be added per booking to online and telephone bookings.