Mendes Management’s panto moves to a new home, The Exchange in North Shields, this year.
For the last two years, the company has presented its panto in non-theatre venues in Newcastle; in 2017, it produced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the NE6 Suite in Walker and last year it performed Aladdin in Simonside Community Centre in Westerhope.
Their third panto, Cinderella, will be performed at The Exchange in Howard Street, North Shields, from 3 to 22 December.
The cast will include Lucy Walton as the Prince and Lucy Marie Curry as Cinderella. Janine Leigh, a London actress originally from Jarrow, returns for her third panto to play Dandini and Jayne McKenzie will be the Fairy Godmother. Craig Richardson plays Buttons and Steven Charles Stobbs and Paul Martin, who is returning to his native North East from Majorca especially for this production, will play the Ugly Sisters. Michael Geddes completes the cast as Barron Hard-up.
The show is written and directed by actor and singer Dale Meeks whose credits as an actor include Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game in the West End, Chicago the Musical on a national tour and a considerable stint in Emmerdale on TV.
Once again, Mendes Management has teamed up with Newcastle West End Foodbank, providing its clients the opportunity to experience the magic of panto, and this year they also welcome ENGIE, which produces and supplies energy, services and regeneration. ENGIE is supporting families in the Tyne and Wear area to enable them to see the panto at The Exchange this Christmas.