Panto - it’s Back

By Nicola Gray

Last year, COVID-19 played the part of biggest panto villain ever and the Christmas pantomime season was decimated last year as a result. Booooooooo! Well, its behind you (cue laughter) and Local Life have put together a guide to this year’s most exciting panto experiences in St Helens and beyond.

St HelenS tHeatre royal Goldilocks & the Three Bears

St Helens Theatre Royal, Corporation Street, St Helens, WA10 1LQ 01744 756000 www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com Goldilocks and the Three Bears come to town this Christmas with a mix of unbelievable circus tricks, madcap comedy capers and a smash-hit selection of chart hits to sing and dance along to.

• Dates: Friday December 10 to Sunday January 9 • Ticket Information: Tickets from £16. Online bookings subject to a 50p fee per ticket

Wigan little tHeatre Dick Whittington

Wigan Little Theatre, Crompton Street, Wigan, WN1 3SL 01942 242561 www.wiganlittletheatre.co.uk The tale of Dick Whittington features singing, dancing, comedy sketches and, as usual, there will be a crazy dame to add to the fun.

• Dates: Thursday December 2 to Saturday December 18 • Ticket Information: Standard tickets from £10 other tickets £12. Online bookings subject to a 7.8% fee per ticket. tHe old CourtS Cinderella

The Old Courts, Gerrard Winstanley House, Crawford Street, Wigan, WN1 1NA 0343 208 6015 www.theoldcourts.com

Get ready to cheer Buttons, the Fairy Godmother, Cinderella and Prince Charming, but do remember to boo every time you see the Ugly Sisters up to their evil ways. • Dates: Thursday December 9 to Thursday December 23. • Ticket Information: Adult tickets - £17.50 and child tickets - £13.00

tHe atkinSon SoutHport Cinderella

The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1DB 01704 533333 www.theatkinson.co.uk

This spellbinding panto pits Cinderella against her wicked Stepmother and the jealous stepsisters; will Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother come to the rescue? • Dates: Friday December 10 to Sunday January 2 • Ticket Information: Adult tickets from £18, concessions from £16 & family tickets from £59

everyman Robin Hood

5-11 Hope St, Liverpool, L1 9BH 0151 708 3700 www.everymanplayhouse.com Regular writers Sarah Nixon and Mark Chatterton have put their own marvellously mischievous spin on the classic tale of heroism, social justice and… tights!

• Dates: Saturday November 20 to Saturday January 15 • Ticket Information: Stall tickets between £17-£20 and

Circle tickets between £12-£20

m&S Bank arena Cinderella

King’s Dock, 16 Monarchs Quay, Liverpool, L3 4FP 0344 800 0400 www.mandsbankarena.com

Cinderella dreams of leaving her dull life as a servant to meet a handsome Prince and after the announcement that Prince Charming is going to hold a royal ball, it seems she may get her wish! • Dates: Saturday December 18 and Tuesday December 28

• Ticket Information: Silver performances - Adult tickets £23, concessions £21, VIP £45 & family tickets £82. Gold performances - Adult tickets £30, concessions £28, VIP £52 & family tickets £106.

grand tHeatre BlaCkpool Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs

33 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1HT 01253 290190 www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk

In true rags-to-riches style, SnowWhite manages, with the help of her madcap friend Muddles, to meet a handsome Prince and make her dreams come true.

• Dates: Friday December 3 to Sunday January 2 • Ticket Information: Adult tickets from £20.50 and under 18s tickets from £18.50 manCHeSter opera HouSe Aladdin

3 Quay St, Manchester, M3 3HP 0161 828 1700 www.atgtickets.com Aladdin will feature a lamp-load of comedy, jaw-dropping special effects, sensational song and dance and plenty of boos and hisses the whole family will enjoy. • Dates: Saturday December 11 to Sunday January 2 • Ticket Information: Tickets available form £13.00 per person. Online bookings subject to a booking fee of £3.65 per ticket.

Job Support

St Helens Chamber’s Guidance Services Team is offering redundancy support to local people who need it. The redundancy support service ranges from help accessing funding for training to CV and interview preparation, and is delivered by qualified Careers Advisers at St Helens Chamber.

Mike Unsworth, Career Guidance Manager at St Helens Chamber, explained: “Unfortunately, as the furlough scheme ends, we are expecting to see more redundancies being made by companies who can’t afford to keep staff on.”

St Helens Chamber’s support is completely free and impartial, as the National Careers Service for St Helens. Their advisers can help people write or update their CV, brush up on their interview skills, and apply for jobs, as well as providing free short training courses which add valuable skills to any CV. Mike continued: “We understand that this time can be traumatic and upsetting, but I would say to anyone facing redundancy to try not to panic – there is support available to help you back into work as soon as possible. “Our National Careers Service team keep up to date on the latest labour market information and can match up your skills to industries you might not have even considered before. We will work with you as much as you need to get you back on your feet. “As the National Careers Service for St Helens we can also help people access Rapid Response Service funding, which can be used to pay for short training courses to help find new employment; for example, Sage training, HGV training or Prince2. “This funding can only be accessed through the National Careers Service, and it helps people to refresh skills or update any qualifications they might need to stand out to new employers.” To find out more about redundancy support, as either an employer or an individual, please contact Starting Point on 01744 698800 or email info@thestartingpoint.org