We are delighted to present Beauty and the Beast at the Marina Theatre from December 13th until January 1st.

Now while we all know the famous story of the French girl whose selfless love for the Beast transforms him back into a handsome prince, you may not be familiar with who is going to be starring in our spine-tingling, foot-tapping, hand-clapping Christmas cracker of a show! Well we have the answer!

Award-winning theatre producers Paul Holman Associates are once again teaming up with The Marina Theatre and sponsoring this year’s seasonal spectacular are cottages.com. And here is the lowdown on our fantastic pantomime cast!

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Jeremy Edwards: Gaston

Jeremy has been on our Television screens for over 20 years. His first big break was as Kurt in Channel 4’s new teenage soap Hollyoaks, before he moved to BBC 1 and the prime time drama Holby City. Jeremy has since become a staple on our TV diaries appearing on Comic Relief, Celebrity Big Brother, Mastermind, Dancing On Ice, Celebrity Masterchef, Shooting Stars, Light Lunch, Loose Women, 8 out of 10 Cats and many, many more. He also regularly presents on Angela and Friends, The Wright Stuff, Cooking The Books.

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Terry Gleed: Freddy

Terry graduated from the Guildford School of Acting, having completed three years’ training in musical theatre.

He subsequently joined Lulu and Eric Sykes on the UK tour of the Broadway musical version of Peter Pan, playing the role of Slightly, one of the Lost Boys. He then spent six months as an Apostle on the European tour of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Terry has spent many happy years touring the globe as a production vocalist on many of the P&O cruise ships.

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Helen Jeckells: Witch

Helen has enjoyed a varied career in the performing arts: from dance to drama, playing the piano and violin, teaching ballet, and choreographing shows.

Some of her performance credits include The Boy at the Edge of the Room (UK tour), Bloom (UK tour), Stepping Out (Vera-Union Theatre), Miss Skillon in See How They Run (UK tour), Essence of Ireland (UK tour), Magical Rhythms of Ireland II (European tour), Spirit of the Dance (Reno, Nevada), Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, Ruth in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (national tour).

Helen, who has a long association with PHA, has appeared in and choreographed over 20 pantomimes across the country.

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Fenton Gray: Madame Cherie Trifle

Some of Fenton’s theatre credits include Gus the Theatre Cat in Cats, Pimp/Claquesous in Les Misérables and Blood Brothers (original cast, Albery). He was Julian Clary’s director for three years, directing productions of Cinderella (Brighton, Richmond, Woking) and his one-man shows Amore (West Beth Theatre, New York) and Natural Born Mincer (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and UK tour). Fenton has previously directed for Paul Holman Associates – Cinderella (Derby) & Snow White (Weston Super Mare).

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Matthew Wellman: Prince Francois and Beast

Matthew trained at the Guildford School of Acting. His credits whilst training include Angel in Rent and Laurie in Little Women (Ivy Arts Centre). His theatre credits include Wilf/Understudy in Classic Ghost Stories (UK Tour), Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me (Landor Theatre), and Charlie West in The Despondent Divorcee (Edinburgh Festival). His TV credits include Having a Ball (BBC 2).

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Rosie Hale: Belle

Rosie originates from Warwickshire and trained at the London School of Musical Theatre. Since graduating, she has appeared on live shows of Britain’s Got Talent 2015 with her Disney inspired group, ‘Misstasia’. Most recently, Rosie has returned from Paris, where she landed the lead role of Enchantella in the new musical Forest of Enchantment at the Chaparral Theatre, Disneyland.

Join the Marina Theatre this Christmas for their festive pantomime, Beauty & the Beast, which will run from Tuesday 10th December to Wednesday 1st January.

Beauty & the Beast will delight your senses in a blaze of shimmering scenery, sparkling costumes, sensational song and dance, and side-splitting comedy. Not to mention plenty of chances for you to join in the fun, booing the baddie and cheering the champions in true pantomime tradition.

Our handsome Count is cursed to spend his life transformed into a frightening beast. The only way to escape his fate and break the spell is to learn to fall in love and earn love in return before the last petal of the magic rose falls.

Taking to the stage as the Witch Mauvaise in this year’s pantomime will be Mis-Teeq’s Sabrina Washington. Mis-Teeq became one of the most successful groups of the 2000’s, with two top 10 multi platinum albums, 7 consecutive UK Top 10 singles and record sales in excess of 12 million worldwide, making them the most successful Garage Act of all time!

The stance, the swagger, the strut and the style of Gaston will be brought to life by The X Factor’s Stevi Ritchie! With his larger-than-life personality, oodles of energy and impressive voice, Stevi, is the perfect person to play the arrogant baddie in this fairytale pantomime.

Joining them will be popular returning star, Lowestoft’s favourite Terry Gleed as Phillipe Philloppe back for his 9^th pantomime at the Marina Theatre. James Franklin will also be returning to the theatre after playing the Emperor in last year’s production of Aladdin. This year he will be playing Belle’s Dad, the Professor!

The Marina Theatre are thrilled to once again be offering accessible performances of the pantomime. A signed performance is available on Sunday 15^th December at 3pm, a relaxed performance will take place on Saturday 28^th December at 1pm as well as a signed and relaxed performance on Sunday 21^st December at 1pm.

To find out more visit https://www.marinatheatre.co.uk/whatson-event/beauty-and-the-beast-2024-25/ or call the Box Office on 01502 533200.

 

A new youth theatre group will cover everything from Shakespeare to musical productions when it launches in Lowestoft.

The Marina Theatre Trust is encouraging young people with a passion for (or even just a passing interest in) theatre to attend sessions every Saturday morning during term time – in the New Year.

There will be two age groups (9-12 years and 13-16 years) and each session will cover a variety of performance styles and genres – including creative writing, musical theatre and technical theatre skills.

The sessions will culminate in a summer production on the Marina Theatre stage.

Members of the youth theatre will also have access to discounted tickets on selected shows and specialist workshops throughout the year, as well as the opportunity to take part in a number of fun projects.

Will Isgrove, Head of Young People and Outreach, said: “The sessions will be held at the Marina Theatre and our expert tutors can’t wait to get started by telling fantastic stories in unique and creative ways.

“We’re hoping that much of the work we do will be guided by the group and we’re really excited to see where we can go.”

A free taster session will be held on Saturday, January 7th 2017 at 9:30am. As part of the initiative, The Marina Theatre Trust is also looking for a Young Associate to join their team.

“The ideal person would be between 16 and 22 and passionate about working with young people and developing their experience in the performing arts,” Will added. The Young Associate will work alongside our tutors and play an important role in deciding how the Youth Theatre develops and will have the opportunity to assist with other projects within the theatre. A range of informative and fun workshops and activities are also available for schools and college groups – all run by experienced professional theatre practitioners.”

For more information and to register your interest in the Youth Theatre email willisgrove@marinatheatre.co.uk