Pantomime to come back to Mossley (oh yes, it is!)

Ruby Slippers Drama Academy is bringing Dick Whittington to the George Lawton Hall early in the new year.

The George Lawton Hall in Mossley has been host to many a production over the years and has seen multiple live performances in its time. But in the last four years, the hall has not had one pantomime grace its stage. This has left a gap in the Christmas schedule at the George Lawton.

In steps the Ruby Slippers Academy, a Failsworth-based production company that is bringing the panto back to Mossley. The group have been touring local schools across Tameside and Mossley, performing Dick Whittington for primary school kids as part of a Theatre in Education (TIE) scheme.

But now, the big stage is calling. Mike Lawler and Cameron Kennedy from Ruby Slippers told us more about how the idea came about.

“I had heard stuff on the grapevine going around seven or eight months ago of the people in Mossley saying they wish they had a pantomime in Mossley,” Mike said.

The pantomime in Mossley has been a long-standing tradition of the town that many readers will have fond memories of.

“Of course, Mossley Operatic used to do the pantomime in Mossley when I was a lad,” Mike said. “It was an institution, it was a yearly production that sold out well in advance. Then they decided they want to do something different and stopped doing it. The last one was in 2018, but since then there has been nothing but a dark space at Christmas in terms of pantomime. I thought there could be something here, we could make it work.”

Cameron Kennedy, fellow member of Ruby Slippers Drama Academy, gave his opinion on taking the pantomime to the big stage.

“Now we move onto the big fish, the most ambitious we have been in three years, which is the George Lawton Hall. The TIE productions have been taken into bigger shows before. This year we have shot big and we are bringing pantomime back to Mossley. We are the first pantomime there in years and we are excited to be bringing something special back to a town that has been lacking a pantomime scene.”

The George Lawton Hall will be the biggest TIE production to go onto a stage, and this comes with some extra challenges. Mike told us about the reasoning for taking the Dick Whittington production to a wider audience.

“I have been doing pantomime for 30-odd years and I have enjoyed the experience of the TIE,” Mike said. "I am enjoying the daytime aspect of playing the dame and being able to spend time with family. But I do miss the performance on a big scale with an adult audience with the kids, as you can add a lot more to the dialogue.”

Taking it to the bigger stage gives Ruby Slippers much more room and freedom to add parts and dialogue that would otherwise go over the primary school pupils’ heads. It also means that the cast can be at its full potential, including a full cast of 40, something that Cameron told us more about.

“What we are doing at the George Lawton Hall is going to be a proper pantomime,” Cameron said, “where it is for everyone, so double meaning jokes for the parents and stuff. It will be very cohesive for everybody in the end. We have freer rein there and that is what people can expect.”

Dick Whittington will be running at the George Lawton Hall on January 13 and 14, and it is testing the water to see what response it receives. Mike said, “If it is successful then there could be a chance of making it bigger next year and doing a full week of a traditional family pantomime in Mossley.”

To get tickets for the event, head to https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on?q=dick%20whittington%20mossley%20 or find them on Facebook at Ruby Slippers Drama Academy.