Home Congleton Pantomime
  • Who Are We? This information has been supplied by the society.
    About the Society.
    Congleton Pantomime is a society which produces an annual Pantomime at Daneside Theatre in Congleton. It has a members ranging in age from eight to eighty. Some members appear on stage, some help backstage, some help by serving on the committee that manages the group. All are valued for the contribution they make and new members are made very welcome.

    History
    The Pantomime society was formed in 1979 when a small group of people got together with the purpose of putting on a pantomime in Congleton. After a lot of fundraising and hard work, the first production was staged in Astbury Village Hall in January 1980. The hall could only seat an audience of 120 and the dressing rooms were in caravans in the car park. The cast sometimes had to brave two or three inches of snow before making an appearance on stage!

    After five years at Astbury, Daneside Theatre was completed. The Pantomime members had joined in with fundraising and helped with painting and other jobs as it neared completion. They staged a mini Pantomime, ‘The Pied Piper’, as their contribution to the opening show. The group have produced their show at the theatre every year since. The 2009 show will be the 30th production.

    The Cast
    Auditions are held, usually in July, for main characters and chorus parts. Details are published in the local paper, the Congleton Chronicle. There are opportunities for adults and young people to take part.

    For many years the talented Dancers and Pantomime Babes have been provided by the local Jean Clarke School of Dancing.

    The Audience
    The Pantomime group plays to a family audience (children age 3 and over) and also have group bookings from local schools, Sunday schools and uniformed organisations.

    Performances
    The annual show runs starting from the second weekend in January from Saturday to Saturday. There is a performance each evening at 7.30pm excluding Sunday. There are matinee performances on both Saturdays and on the Sunday. The tickets are on sale in the Information Office from October and some performances, particularly the matinees, sell out quickly.

    Contacts
    Ticket can be obtained from Congleton Tourist Information Office, High Street Congleton. Tel. 01260 271095. For more information about the group, contact the secretary Mrs Judy Picken 01260 299051

    Previous Productions.
    At Astbury Village Hall

    1980 Sleeping Beauty
    1981 Puss in Boots
    1982 Aladdin
    1983 Queen of Hearts
    1984 Jack and the Beanstalk

    At Daneside Theatre

    1985 Babes in the Wood
    1986 Cinderella
    1987 Dick Whittington
    1988 Mother Goose
    1989 Sleeping Beauty
    1990 Aladdin
    1991 Red Riding Hood
    1992 Jack and the Beanstalk
    1993 Babes in the Wood
    1994 Snow White
    1995 Cinderella
    1996 Sinbad the Sailor
    1997 Puss in Boots
    1998 Mother Goose
    1999 Aladdin and his Magic Lamp
    2000 Cinderella
    2001 Dick Whittington
    2002 Jack and the Beanstalk
    2003 Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs
    2004 Babes in the Wood
    2005 Sleeping Beauty
    2006 Robinson Crusoe
    2007 Aladdin
    2008 Jack and the Beanstalk