On Tuesday 10th October, the cast from Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs introduced themselves to Weymouth for the first time this year! We invited the Dorset Echo for a sneak preview of our Christmas Pantomime, where the cast performed exclusively and answered questions about the panto. The cast were introduced on stage one by one (and 7 by 7) by Paul Hutton, who is playing Muddles the Jester and we even saw George Sampson (The Prince) bust some legendary moves that saw him reach fame on Britain’s Got Talent!
Tickets for this year’s Christmas Pantomime Snow White are selling at an unprecedented speed, make sure you book your tickets ASAP to avoid missing out. 👇
We’re delighted to announce that PAUL HUTTON is starring in our Christmas Pantomime Snow White as THE JESTER!
Theatre credits include: Lennox in The Gentle Hook (Sidmouth/Ilfracombe); U/S Edna & Wilbur in Hairspray (No.1 UK Tour); Ensemble in Bedknobs & Broomsticks (Disney – workshop); Ensemble and cover Uncle Henry/Guard/Professor Marvel/Oz in The Wizard Of Oz (Leeds Playhouse); Silly Billy in Beauty & The Beast (Shaw Theatre, London); Jacob/Potiphar in Joseph (Kilworth House Theatre ); Hanky Panky/Genie in Aladdin (Wakefield Theatre Royal; Ensemble in Evita (Phoenix Theatre); Harry Trevor in Kiss me Kate (Kilworth House Theatre); Ensemble and cover Mr Braithwaite in Billy Elliot The Musical (UK and Ireland tour); Ensemble and cover Santa/Mr Greenway in Elf – the Musical (Dominion Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin); Ensemble and cover Max Bialystock in The Producers (UK Tour); Baker in Into the Woods (Ye Olde Rose and Crown); Mr Bascombe/Starkeeper and Doctor in Carousel (Arcola Theatre); various roles in Unmythable (New Zealand and UK tour); Wishee Washee in Aladdin (Enchanted Entertainment, Dorking); Sophocles/Tantalus in Olympia – workshop (Richard Darbourne Ltd); Strepsiades in Socrates and His Clouds (Jermyn Street Theatre); Showtime (the Spa, Bridlington); King Kevin in Sleeping Beauty (the Castle Theatre, Wellingborough); Freddie in Mack and Mabel (Southwark Playhouse); Durdles in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Landor Theatre and Arts Theatre); Huntsman in Giselle (Royal Opera House) Mark Cohen in Rent (Webfoot Theatre Company); Orin Scrivello in Little Shop Of Horrors (Norbury Theatre); Perchik in Fiddler On The Roof (Malvern Festival); Dandini in Cinderella (Enchanted Entertainment, Dorking).
Paul is so excited to be at Weymouth Pavilion this Christmas playing Snow White’s best friend ‘Muddles the Jester’. He hopes you all enjoy the show and that you give the Wicked Queen an extra loud “Boo!”
Tickets for Snow White are selling at an unprecedented speed, make sure you book yours ASAP to grab the best available! Head to our website to find seats or call us on 01305783225
Mirror, Mirror on the wall…who is the greatest PRINCE of them all!? Britain’s Got Talent winner GEORGE SAMPSON is starring as the Prince in Weymouth Pavilion’s Christmas Pantomime SNOW WHITE!
Many of you may recognise George Sampson for his hip hop interpretation of ‘Singing In The Rain’ on Britain’s Got Talent in 2008, or perhaps you saw him in ‘Our House’ at Weymouth Pavilion in 2017.
George found his passion for performing on the streets of Manchester, Market Street at the age of twelve where he would busk three times a week, he was spotted as an exceptional talent and was encouraged to audition for Britain’s Got Talent, in which he went onto win, in 2008, with his hip hop interpretation of Singing in the Rain.
Following the success of the show he went onto star in the West Ends HipHop musical: Into the Hoods, playing Lead Schoolboy, he followed this with two sold out National arena tours with BGT.
George starred as Eddie in the feature films Street Dance 3D and Street Dance 2 where he found his love for acting. He then went onto shoot 3 series of BBC drama Waterloo Road, playing bad boy Kyle Stack, in which one series won a National Television Award for Best Drama…
Having found a desire for screen work, George began working on Sky TVs Mount Pleasant, playing the role of Gary, and later appeared on Emmerdale, as troublemaker, Ryan, In 2016.
George played the main character Daniel in the short film, Daniel Thomas, produced by East Heads Films Ltd in 2017 and has featured on other television shows such as Casualty and The Dumping Ground.
George made his musical theatre debut in the Our House UK tour, combining his love for both acting and performing arts in 2017. He then enjoyed a successful run in his first Qdos pantomime at the Lyceum Theatre, Crewe in 2018, before returning the following year for Qdos at The Hippodrome, Darlington to play Jack, in Jack and The Beanstalk in 2019.
George most recently played the role of school bad boy Dean Paxton, in the Everybody’s Talking about Jamie 2020-21/ 2022/ UK tour, and went on to continue playing the role at the Ahmanson Theatre, downtown Los Angeles in February 2022, before continuing on the UK tour after, as Dean Paxton.
Snow White is at Weymouth Pavilion from the 16th December – 31st December 2023, visit our website for tickets and more information.
November/December is one of our favourite and busiest times of the year! Last week was especially chaotic (in a good way).
Our week kicked off with the World Cup which we streamed in the Ocean Room on Monday 21st November and Friday 25th November, we couldn’t believe how many of you turned up! Our tech manager and maintenance manager did an incredible job in adding some sparkle and making sure we have the biggest screens in town! Don’t forget, we are streaming the World Cup again on Tuesday 29th November, find out more on our website.
On Saturday the cast of our Christmas Pantomime Sleeping Beauty spread festive cheer at the Weymouth Christmas Light Switch On. The cast did some short performances and sing-songs on stage and had the honours of switching on the lights. Despite the rain and unfortunate power cut, the cast battled through and did Weymouth Pavilion proud!
A BLAST WITH THE CAST AT KINGSTON MAURWARD COLLEGE
We had a blast with the cast at Weymouth Pavilion on Monday when they visited the venue for their press call (OH YES THEY DID!)
The cast were introduced on stage by the Director Guy Pascall and the press were entertained with songs and banter performed by panto villain Carabosse, played by Harriet Bacon, Tommy McGowan as the Prince and of course Stevi Ritchie as Jester!
After the press call, the cast headed over to Kingston Maurward College where they made themselves at home! Check out their dazzling photoshoot!
Our dazzling new 3D Christmas Pantomime can be seen at Weymouth Pavilion from the 10th December – 2nd January, don’t wait around, grab your tickets now!
Stevi started performing at the age of 16 and trained at the London School of Musical Theatre and ALRA for the 3 years acting course.
Stevi then went on to perform in various Pantomimes around the country such as Buttons in Cinderella, Aladdin & Wishee Washee in Aladdin, Potty Pierre in Beauty and the Beast, Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk and most recently Tin Man in the UK Tour of The Wizard of Oz.
Stevi has also toured the country with various children’s theatre tours.
Stevi Ritchie first found fame on the X Factor 2014 where he placed 6th out of 16 acts and was the last wildcard standing mentored by Simon Cowell.
Cheryl bought him back as a wildcard after being knocked out of the competition at Judges Houses.
Since X Factor he has appeared on numerous TV shows such as This Morning where he presented the Prize Giveaway Competition as well as 8 out of 10 Cats, Celebrity Benchmark, Big Brothers Bit on the Side, Reality Bites & Who’s Doing The Dishes to name but a few.
Stevi then entered the Celebrity Big Brother house and came 5th in the final.
He since has released a single in Japan with Sony Japan with top Producer Mr Akimoto.
Stevi has a very supportive family and a wonderful daughter called Summer.
Stevi is delighted to be returning to the Pavilion this Christmas in Sleeping Beauty where he looks forward to playing the role of ‘Chester the Jester’ and making everyone in Weymouth laugh.
CHARLOTTE ALLEN – Princess Aurora
Having spent the last year in Turkey as a production cast vocalist for Tui Blue Sensatori, Charlotte is extremely grateful and excited to be returning to her hometown for the festive season. She last performed at Weymouth Pavilion in ‘Pirates of the Pavilion’ in 2017. Since then, she has travelled as a vocalist abroad and on home soil, notably as a resident Cast Vocalist at Butlin’s Minehead and Skegness.
She has always loved Pantomime, from her first performance as a juvenile in 2007 to her professional principal debut in 2014. She has played many roles such as ‘Princess Pearl’ in The Little Mermaid, ‘Fairy Gee’ in Cinderella but her favourite being ‘Carabosse’ in a previous production of Sleeping Beauty. Charlotte is very excited to be swapping naughty for nice and putting on her tiara as Princess Aurora this Christmas.
Charlotte’s love of theatre and singing was nurtured by her wonderful vocal coach Martine Burt and ‘WOW Youth Musical Theatre’ to whom she would like to thank for their years of encouragement and fond memories.
CHRIS CASSERLY – Dame
Chris trained at Drama Studio London and The Artists Theatre School, under the mentorship of Amanda Redman.
This Wizard of Oz tour will be Chris’ 25th pantomime. Last December, Chris was delighted to return to Dorking, having previously played Dame and directed Aladdin in 2013 and Jack and the Beanstalk 2014. Since then, he has spent three panto seasons in London, followed by Ipswich and Newcastle.
At Christmas Chris plays a blatent “bloke in a dress”, his Dame roles have been in Cinderella (Radlett, Epsom Playhouse), Beauty and the Beast (Gravesend, Fareham), Aladdin (Dorking, Newcastle), Jack and the Beanstalk (Crewe Lyceum, Dorking), Dick Whittington (Theatre Royal Lincoln), Snow White (Radlett, Telford, Ipswich Regent and Shaw Theatre London). Chris played PC Ping Pong in Aladdin (Dunstable), Empress in Aladdin (Halifax), Alderman Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington (tour), and the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz (Shaw Theatre London).
In the West End, Chris spent 18 months with English National Opera, performing in The Handmaid’s Tale (directed by Phyllida Lloyd), The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie and Semele (London Coliseum).
Other theatre work includes The Wheels on the Bus (No1 UK Tour), Wise Women (Tour), Fiddler on the Roof, Company, Little Shop of Horrors, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet. Chris played King Cuthbert in the UK tour of Rapunzel, and the Wizard in a previous UK tour of The Wizard of Oz.
Directing credits include Aladdin and Jack and the Beanstalk (Dorking), and The Wizard of Oz, Snow White and Jack and the Beanstalk (Shaw Theatre London)
On television, Chris played Simon Hall in New Tricks (BBC), as well as roles in At Home with the Braithwaites (ITV), Other People’s Children (BBC), Tamil Tales (Sky), and Being Dad (Sky).
Chris performed with Sir Paul McCartney at the O2. He was murdered in the film Barn Dance, and is the voice of Suzuki in the award winning horror film Iche the Killer.
ELLENA BACON – Fairy Fortywinks
Ellena trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, London and graduated in 2020 with a Trinity Diploma in professional musical theatre.
Credits include: Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (The Shaw Theatre, London) and (UK Tour), Linda Manero in Saturday Night Fever (Italia Conti Academy), Sarah Kine in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Italia Conti Academy), Aladdin in Aladdin (Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe), Cinderella in Cinderella (Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe).
Ellena is thrilled to be playing the role of Fairy Fortywinks this Christmas in Sleeping Beauty. She hopes you all enjoy the show and that you give the wicked fairy Carabosse an extra loud “Boo!”
HARRIET BACON – Carabosse
Harriet trained at Performers College and graduated with a Trinity National Diploma in professional musical theatre.
Harriet’s credits include; The Wicked Witch of The West in The Wizard of Oz (The Shaw Theatre, London) and (UK Tour), Princess Jasmine in Aladdin (Dorking Halls, Surrey), Snow White in Snow White (Ipswich Regent Theatre), Jack and the Beanstalk (Truro, Hall for Cornwall), Sleeping Beauty (Truro, Hall for Cornwall), The X Factor (ITV), FA Cup Final (ITV).
Harriet is incredibly excited to be returning to Weymouth Pavilion this Christmas and starring alongside some of her favourite panto performers.
TOMMY MCGOWAN – Prince
Tommy McGowan was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland and has had a passion for the performing arts from a young age. At 16 he began his training at the Dance School of Scotland and moving into Guildford School it Acting and Motherwell College where he gained a BA Honours Degree in Musical Theatre.
Tommy has spent the last few years travelling the world on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise lines performing in Broadway and West End shows. Tommy is incredibly thankful to be back in stage and joining the amazing cast and crew for Sleeping Beauty in Weymouth this Christmas!
Theatre credits include: Drew Bowley in Rock of Ages, Galileo in We Will Rock You, Clyde Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde, Roger Davies in Rent, Chad in All Shook Up, Prince Charming in Cinderella, Charlie Price in Kinky Boots, Joe Casey in Our House.
YOUR CHANCE TO PLAY ‘SLEEPING BEAUTY’
OPPOSITE X-FACTOR & CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER’S
STEVI RITCHIE
IN THIS YEAR’S PANTO AT WEYMOUTH PAVILION
The search is on to find a talented local actress to play the lead role of ‘Princess Aurora’ in this year’s magical family pantomime Sleeping Beauty at Weymouth Pavilion.
Panto producers Enchanted Entertainment are on the lookout for a female aged 18+ from the local area to star in the show with the professional cast, including X-Factor favourite and singing sensation – Stevi Ritchie, who is playing the comedy role of ‘Jester’ in Sleeping Beauty alongside the hilarious Chris Casserly, who will be playing the ‘Dame’ this Christmas.
Female performers aged 18+ need to attend the auditions taking place on Monday 12th September from 11am onwards at Weymouth Pavilion. Auditionees will need to be available all day for any recalls that may be required.
Producer Guy Pascall said:
“It’s going to be a fantastic Christmas production and what an amazing opportunity for a local actress to gain valuable professional experience in the panto and to start them off on their own glittering career”.
Hopefuls need to bring a song of their choice with a backing track to sing to the audition panel. They will then be given some acting sections from the script of Sleeping Beauty to perform in front of the pantomime’s creative team.
The successful candidate must be available from 27th November – 9th December for rehearsals and then from 10th December – 2nd January for the actual performances. The role is contracted, meaning the performer will be paid for their work on the show.
Enchanted Entertainment will be bringing 34 spellbinding performances of Sleeping Beauty to Weymouth Pavilion from 10th December 2022 – 2nd January 2023 and for the first time ever the panto will feature AMAZING 3D! especially designed for children in the audience.
Musical Director Jezz Weatherall said:
“Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty is one of the best pantomime parts for an actress to play and we’ll be looking for someone that can sing, dance and act to a very high standard”.
Enchanted Entertainment are assembling an amazing cast and planning some spectacular pantomime magic to ensure Sleeping Beauty will be a wonderful family panto with plenty of audience participation, fantastic sets and costumes, and of course jokes galore for all the family!
Tickets are on sale now and already selling fast, to book seats call the Weymouth Pavilion box office on: 01305 783225 or book online at: www.weymouthpavilion.com
STEVI RITCHIE – Chester the Jester 
CHARLOTTE ALLEN – Princess Aurora
CHRIS CASSERLY – Dame
ELLENA BACON – Fairy Fortywinks
HARRIET BACON – Carabosse
TOMMY MCGOWAN – Prince
