STEPS and Strictly Come Dancing star Faye Tozer leads the cast of this year’s Fairy Godmother of all pantomimes, Cinderella, at Darlington Hippodrome this December.
The cast is raring to go to bring some magic to Darlington after last year’s panto was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Singer, actress and TV personality Faye said: “Everyone needs a bit of sparkle in their life after such a miserable year or so with the pandemic so I can’t wait.
"I actually played a mouse in Cinderella when I was about 6 so this is a step up!
"The further North you go, the louder the audiences get so this should be a fabulous run. We love interacting with the audience and being heckled.
This Fairy Godmother will be sassy and not well-behaved!"
Read more: Patrick Monahan joins Cinderella cast at Darlington Hippodrome
Buttons is played by comedian and Edinburgh Fringe regular, Patrick Monahan who has appeared on The One Show (BBC), Asian Network Edinburgh (BBC Radio) and Loose Women (ITV).
Patrick said: “Panto is great because it’s not just children’s entertainment, adults really enjoy it too.
“It can be tiring but I’d happily take a month of being exhausted over another lockdown any day!
“Darlo people are really down to earth and can laugh at themselves and having local knowledge makes all the difference with panto.
You want the kids to think Cinderella really does live in Darlo!”
Cinderella will be played by Tanisha Butterfield who is currently in her third year of drama school and will be making her professional debut at Darlington Hippodrome.
Tanisha said: “I really can’t wait. Who doesn't love Cinderella? My mum and sister will be coming to the show which makes me so happy.
“Panto has a way of bringing people together and after such an awful time we’ve had with the pandemic it’s great to know that theatre could survive Covid.
This is my first professional acting job and I feel really lucky."
Read more: Darlington Hippodrome ready for action with big names on the bill
The cast agreed that a lot of hard work goes into panto behind the scenes.
Faye said: “So much goes into panto from set design to costume and special effects.
It really is a team effort, everyone involved works equally hard to put on a good show.”
The cast also includes actor and musician Pete Peverley and TV actor Phil Corbitt as the Ugly Sisters.
Cinderella runs at Darlington Hippodrome from Friday December 10 to Friday December 31.
To book tickets for Cinderella click here.
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