Olly headed along for The Little Mermaid at Newcastle Theatre Royal this year. Here is his fantastic review Book your tickets now HERE
AD - The festive season is quickly approaching and that can only mean one thing, panto season! we were kindly invited down to the press night at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle, for this year's offering, The Little Mermaid.
The Panto is created by Crossroad Pantomimes and this year’s instalment, The Little Mermaid is a brand new, never performed before title, written by critically acclaimed duo Micheal Harrison and Ed Curtis.
The cast bringing the action alive is led by the Newcastle pantomime legend Danny Adams as Danny Crabstix, along with returning panto regulars Clive Webb, Chris Hayward and Mick Potts among others. Joe McElderry also returns for a 4th year, sprinkling some star dust on proceedings and delivering powerful vocals throughout.
The Panto at the Theatre Royal has a bit of a cult following up here in the North East and it is among the fastest selling pantos in the country, so it's hard to believe this was our first time, but it soon became clear what all the fuss is about. However, before we headed into the Theatre Royal, we had a walk round the Christmas Markets in Newcastle, which is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. We would highly recommend combining these activities, grabbing some food and a drink at the market before heading on over to the theatre, they are no more than 50m apart.
The show was absolutely fantastic and the whole family loved every minute of it, I really don’t know if there is a better way to spend an evening with the family over the festive period. The storyline made a refreshing change from the old classics, the production and performances were top class and the good old panto comedy was there in abundance for both children and grown ups.
Highlights for us were:
Danny Adams , as Danny Crabstix, stole the show for us and had our boys in hysterics from start to end. Not just our boys, he had the whole audience, young and old, laughing out loud throughout.
The classic panto slapstick scenes. Panto wouldn’t be panto without some classic slapstick scenes and these didn’t disappoint. A hilarious prop scene and a very special underwater themed rendition of the twelve days of Christmas were our favourites.
Stunning vocals from Joe Mcelderry as Dishy Fishy, including a very funny and at the same time brilliant duet with Danny.
An amazing set and stunning visual effects meant you really were transported to an underwater world. From Little Mermaid herself swimming effortlessly through the ocean to Danny riding an underwater chariot out into the audience.
The absolutely stunning costumes are worn by all, especially those of the Evil Sea Witch.
If you enjoy panto and want to experience a high end production we would whole heartedly recommend the Little Mermaid this year at the Theatre Royal. It is not a cheap day out, but the entertainment you get is second to none. Our boys (4 and 6) didn’t take their eyes off it for the duration and are already asking if we can go to Aladdin next year.
The run has started and continues up until Sunday 12th January and ticket availability is very limited, however if you have a good look through all the dates on the website there are tickets still available, especially the cheaper tickets in the gallery and amphitheatre Tickets start from £13.
Good to know:
❄️You can travel for free on the Tyne and Wear Metro to and from the show (up to two hours before and after the show), just make sure you have your theatre tickets with you.
❄️There are plenty of city centre car parks to choose from in Newcastle, Dean Street Car Park is probably the closest to the theatre and although its not cheap (£2.30/hour), you only have to pay up until 19.00 and then its free for the rest of the evening.
❄️Running time is 2hrs 5 mins including the interval.
❄️Very comfy boosters seats available
Left it too late to find tickets for the dates you want this year? Next year’s show, Pinocchio, is already on sale and selling fast……
If the kids loved Danny as much as ours, it may be worth checking out his summer show, Cirque du Hilarious, we will definitely be doing this next summer.
Book your tickets now HERE
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