Aldridge youth theatre members all set for panto fun

Members of Aldridge Youth Theatre are hard at work putting the finishing touches to their latest pantomime production which gets underway in eight days time.

The case of Sinbad the Sailor range in age from 11-21 and the classic tale featuring  the swashbuckling adventures of the intrepid mariner is set to wow audiences on a mammoth 11 day run starting on Friday January 10.

Neville Ellis has written the script and Jonathan Backrath directs. Jonathan has been with the charity - which provides theatrical training and opportunities for youngsters from a purpose built centre in Aldridge - for 27 years.

He said people who come and see the pantomime will be entertained by a show full of music, jokes, drama and fun and that everyone had been working hard in rehearsals.

Jonathan said: "The last time Sinbad was done here was in 2015 so for a lot of people it will be the first time they have seen us do it. It's a great script based on the old witch of the sea but with a new take on the classic tale.

"We have a cast of 40 people so as you can imagine it takes some discipline and hard work to keep everything together - we feed them a lot of chocolate which I find helps, but they are all looking forward to entertaining in front of live audiences.

"They are exhausted generally at the end of the run of shows but they all love doing it and have such fun, which of course is the essence of a great pantomime."

Sinbad the Sailor runs at Aldridge Youth Theatre from Friday January 10 to Saturday January 25 with evening, matinee and weekend performances.

Tickets are available from the Ticket Source website.