| ALL THE PANTO LOWDOWN | Peter Pan is at The Victoria Theatre, Halifax from Tuesday December 17th to Tuesday January 3rd. Box office: 01422 351158. |
Once again Wendy, John and Michael tag along with Peter Pan to the home of the Lost Boys where they encounter the dastardly Captain Hook. But the producers are promising a high flying spectacular and warning the audience to "expect the unexpected." A panto is usually only as good as its baddie. Taking the role of Captain Hook is Jess Conrad. Something of a pop star in the 1960s, Jess went on to make many TV appearances including playing Mr Warpole from the Sports Department in Are You Being Served? On stage he was the original Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
 | | All aboard for Never Never Land |
But Captain Hook is not the only sailor on this particular panto ship. Best-know for his role as the hot-tempered Crash in CBBC's The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Darragh Mortell plays, yes, Pirate Crash. And, of course, it's usually good to have some sidekicks along the way. Double act Harper takes on the roles of Smee and Starkey. Harper are, in fact, Rob and Darren Harper, sons of comedian Bobby Ball. It's possible we may be seeing much more of Harper in the near future - they've been filming a TV pilot called Funny Guys. Peter is played by Justin Vanderhyde who comes to Halifax from playing a summer season in Corfu and taking on the role of Peter Pan in Dubai. He has even performed at the Coca Cola Cup Final at Wembley. And, if all that wasn't enough, around 150 Calderdale residents who may not otherwise be able to attend this year's panto are also being invited along to Never Never Land. The Community Foundation for Calderdale has joined forces with Pennine Housing 2000 and the Victoria Thaetre to fund and organise trips to the theatre for tenants and residents' groups. Megan Vickery, Grants Manager for the Community Foundation For Calderdale, says: "This is the season of goodwill. And we are looking forward to giving groups of both children and adults the chance of some Christmas cheer that they may have otherwise be unlikely experience." Although this special invite to Never Never Land is only for Saturday December 17th, Peter Pan will be flying around the Victoria Theatre from Tuesday December 13th 2005 - Tuesday January 3rd 2006. | 
