Nottingham's Theatre Royal has announced its new star-studded line-up for its 2022 pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The production will feature exciting twists and turns such as giant magic mirrors, costumes, classic songs and dance.
Comedian Joe Pasquale will play Muddles and will be joined by Steps star Faye Tozer who will play the Wicked Queen. Dame extraordinaire David Robbins will join the cast with actor Jamal Kane Crawford who will play the prince. Snow White will be played by Lucy Ireland who will make her Nottingham stage debut in the show.
Joe has been performing for over thirty years with his stand-up shows and panto. He is back by popular demand after audiences loved his performance as Smee in 2018. He has a touching memory of a previous show in Nottingham and feels that Theatre Royal is one of the best places in the country to perform.
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"I've performed in Nottingham quite a lot and I absolutely love it here. The Theatre Royal is brilliant acoustically and there isn't a bad seat in the audience either. Even though it's quite a big room, it's still great for comedy," Joe said
"I remember doing a relaxed performance for disabled people and there was a young lad in the front row who hadn't spoken to anyone for years. We needed to take some of the scary bits out of the show so they asked me to do five minutes to fill the space. I spoke to this lad at the front and had a chat with him which was great," he recalled.
"At the end, his career brought him backstage and that had been the first time he spoke to someone in five years. He reacted to the character I was playing on stage which brought him out of himself."
Joe enjoys going into the lace market for shopping, especially when looking for Christmas presents. He is excited to create a bit of 'controlled mayhem' for Nottingham audiences.
"Panto for me is a bit of controlled mayhem where you have to serve the show but throw the script out of the window at the same time. Which is what people expect from me."
This is the second trip that Faye Tozer has made to Nottingham in recent weeks as she appeared at HMV in Victoria Centre to promote the new album marking 25 years of Steps.
"It feels good to be back in Nottingham as I've been here so many times. It actually feels a bit of a home away from home as I've been here so many times. I am excited to see what's going on in the present day because we've done gigs here and arena tours but it would be nice to see how it's changed," she said.
"I'm excited to get to explore the city. There was a really fabulous jeweller near the town hall who did the most fantastic bespoke pieces and also I like the Lace Market too. I'm excited to discover it all again."
She has been in panto since she was six and enjoys playing a villain. This is her third time as the Wicked Queen but she feels the Nottingham audience is in for a treat as no two performances are the same with a new cast.
"It's quite fun when you revisit the role and it's like putting on an old pair of shoes. Although when you perform with a new cast, you never know what's going to happen. Working with Joe who is an off-cuff comedian, I think we will need to be on our toes."
Panto Dame legend David Robbins has just relocated to East Leake. "My other half moved here for a job so I've come too and had to find a new workshop. I've always loved Nottingham and it was always going to be here or Newcastle when I was choosing where to live.," he shared.
"My favourite show has been the Rocky Horror Show which I did for five years in total. I've toured with Rocky many times going back a few years. I've always loved that show, it's very like Panto as it's different each time you perform it."
"Backstage at Theatre Royal is perfect as it has so much space especially when it comes to panto. I've got twelve costume changes so I need somewhere to get ready. It's always nice to know that you have the space to get ready and you won't have the hassle of people trying to get past you. Everything about this theatre is absolutely brilliant."
Lucy Ireland is excited to start exploring Nottingham when the cast has their days off. She has not performed in Nottingham before but has made her professional debut in the recent tour of Footloose in the Adelphi Theatre in London.
"This is my first show in Nottingham and my first panto. It feels incredible to be joining a very talented cast and I'm so excited," Lucy said. "We have a busy schedule but we have a few days off so I'm looking forward to getting to getting the chance to explore the city a bit."
Jamal Kane Crawford has just finished performing in Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre in London which was disrupted due to Covid. He says Nottingham is a favourite location for performing in.
"I've toured here before with different shows and I love Nottingham. The crowd is great here and it's one of my favourite places to come because of the audience reaction. I've not done panto in about three years and I love it. I have such a great time on stage," he said.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves starts on December 3 at Theatre Royal and runs until January 8. Tickets are on sale at the online box office ranging from £21.50 to £42.00
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