Nottingham Playhouse is to produce a specially adapted panto for Christmas 2020, Cinderella, replacing Beauty and the Beast which has been postponed until 2021.
Playhouse artistic director Adam Penford, who is writing and will direct Cinderella, said, "Christmas in Nottingham just wouldn't be the same without a Playhouse panto—it’s a major part of the cultural calendar. So this year we’ll be mounting a special version of the most popular panto title in the land.
“While there’ll be necessary changes to bring it to the stage and ensure safety is paramount, it’ll still contain all the fun, magic and festive cheer of the classic Playhouse panto which audiences know and love."
The cast will be led by Nottingham Playhouse panto favourite John Elkington who will play Ugly Sister Kourtney. He will be joined by Tim Frater as Buttons and Gabrielle Brooks as the eponymous heroine with the perfect shoe size.
Tom Hopcroft will team up with Elkington as the other Ugly Sister, Kylie, while Max Runham will play the Prince. Sara Poyzer, who grew up in Nottinghamshire, will alternate good and evil as the Fairy Godmother and the Baroness Kim. Jessica Lee will serve up confusion as Dandini.
Cinderella will run for 75 minutes without an interval from Friday 27 November until Saturday 16 January 2021. It will also be streamed live because there is reduced capacity in the auditorium.
Elkington will return as dame in Beauty and the Beast, which has been rescheduled to run from Friday 3 December 2021 until Saturday 15 January 2022.