Jack and the Beanstalk is coming to The Atkinson's this festive season. Adventures await with the show bringing everything that audiences love about a panto, from sing alongs to slapstick comedy. We have been to Southport to meet the cast from this larger than life show.
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00:00 The Atkinson is Southport's home for music, theatre, art, literature and history.
00:07 This year the festive panto is Jack and the Beanstalk.
00:12 The thing about panto and why I love doing panto is like you say it's for all the family and there's nothing really else that exists that's like panto in that way.
00:21 Like you say you can have kids here, you can have the parents obviously and then grandparents but also it's completely inclusive for anybody to come.
00:30 So that's why I love panto so much and the other thing is as an actor you feel like a really big responsibility because not only might this be the only time that a family comes to the theatre in a year
00:41 but it might be the first time somebody's come to the theatre in a year so we want to sort of convince people that theatre's good and that you should come.
00:48 So yeah you feel quite a responsibility and not only that it's like people have chosen to come here as part of their Christmas so it feels like quite a privilege to be able to do that.
01:00 The saying goes there's no show without punch but there's no panto without the dame. Terry Burns stars as Dame Trot.
01:09 I don't know if my mum would like this but I'm kind of channeling my mum really, certainly the voice because my mum's a Cockney girl and I am really Cockney as well but sort of Essex.
01:25 We moved out to Essex so I'm not quite as Cockney as she is and I'm sort of channeling my mum but my mum's not quite as brassy as Dame Trot is but yeah that's where I'm getting my inspiration from I think.
01:42 The show promises everything an audience loves about panto from singing along to songs, slapstick, comedy and plenty of sparkling costumes.
01:52 I just love that it's fun the whole way through so it's full of singing, dancing, acting. I love being part of the cast so everybody's so lovely.
02:04 It's so nice and everyone sort of brings something different to the show which is really nice. But I also love that panto for so many people is like their first experience of theatre.
02:17 When you've got a good audience who are really up for it, it just makes your life so much easier. Everything just flows.
02:24 But then again when you have to work a bit harder to get them on side, that's good as well because when you do it and you get them there, when they've started a bit flat, a bit slow, it feels great as well.
02:39 Yeah, we've got them now. So yeah, it's all about the audience interaction. That's the thing about panto I think that's different from anything else.
02:51 Brookside legend Dean Sullivan was set to star in the panto however in November it was announced he'd had to step away from the role. Sadly, the 68-year-old has since passed away.