Panto Favourites
Dame Bella and Arbuthnot Return in new Christmas Adventure
Arbuthnot and Dame Bella’s Christmas
South Shields Customs House
Friday 11th – Thursday 24th December 2020
The Customs House is delighted to announce they will put on a festive
show this year. Arbuthnot and Dame Bella’s Christmas Adventure will have a limited run at the arts
centre in South Shields in December.
They’re back! Dame Bella (Ray Spencer) and Arbuthnot (Davey Hopper)
The show, which will also be filmed so families can watch again and again from home, will star Ray Spencer as Dame Bella and Davey Hopper as Bella’s hapless son Arbuthnot as well as a whole host of festive characters including the big man in red himself.
Back in August, it was announced that this year’s pantomime Rapunzel
would be postponed at The Customs House until 2021. Ray, who as well as Dame is
also The Customs House’s Executive Director, said at the time that the venue
would try to put on some sort of Christmas show – even if it was at the 11th
hour.
Ray said: “We are delighted that we can announce to you that we will
present a Christmas show at The Customs House this year. Clearly the safety of
our customers, staff and performers remain our paramount concern. We can’t do a
lavish production this year, as we simply can’t recoup the investment with less
shows and restricted audience numbers.
The show will be significantly different from our usual offer. There
will be no schools’ performances. There will be no juvenile dancers from South
Tyneside Dance Workshop. There will be no interval and the show will last
approximately 75mins. It will run for less than two weeks with just 25
performances.
“However, what there will be is an entirely original score and script
written by Davey Hopper and Jen Stevens, a joyous show with wonderful music
which contains many of the usual elements of pantomime. Importantly, because of
the limited run and reduced ticket capacity there will only be 10% of the usual
number of tickets available.
“Tickets are being limited to just 6 per booking. I realise this will be
hugely disappointing to many people because the big family outing to pantomime
is very much part of families' Christmas traditions. However, we simply can’t
ignore government guidelines and local public health advice.
“We anticipate a huge demand and know unfortunately there will be many
disappointed families because of the numbers of tickets available. However, we
will be producing a DVD of the show for those families who are unable to obtain
tickets.”
Two brothers, Santa Claus, and his brother Jack Frost, have gone their
different ways. One is kind and caring, the other filled with jealously.
But on discovering one child, in Cooksonville, no longer believes in
Santa, Frost sees his chance to freeze Santa and stop Christmas.
Can Arbuthnot persuade his cousin Dennis to believe? Can Roxy the Reindeer,
Jerry the Snowman and Grace the Elf navigate the North Pole, And... Will Dame
Bella get her stockings filled this Christmas?
Davey, is also directing the show, said: “We are all really excited to
show you this brand-new musical! It’s
still got all the bits of panto you love. With one of the best casts and
creatives ever assembled! Join us for this merry Christmas adventure!”
Capacity in the theatre has reduced to allow social distancing in
household or support bubbles of up to six. The venue’s bar and restaurant
remains closed, however refreshments can be ordered to be delivered direct to
seats.
Tickets from £15 go on sale to Friends of The Customs House with
priority booking from 10am on Monday 2nd November until 6pm on the 3
November after which the remaining tickets will go on general sale.
Tickets, DVDs and more information is available by visiting: www.customshouse.co.uk.
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