All posts tagged family entertainment

Just seven weeks today until the opening night of ‘Sleeping Beauty’, our socially distanced Christmas 2020 Panto. And at The Deco we are determined to bring some seasonal cheer to your lives after what has been a totally testing year in so many ways for all of us. So join us for a fantastic family treat!

‘Sleeping Beauty’ runs from Friday, December 11^th until Christmas Eve, and taking into account current guidelines, and our absolute priority that your well-being while visiting our theatre is of paramount importance, our show will run for approximately 1-hour 20 minutes without an interval (for social distancing purposes).

We’ve another awesome cast, including some fantastic local talent, but also the return of some highly popular Deco Panto favourites, including Chris Wills, Lydia Lucy, and our regular ‘dame par excellence’, Colin Ridgewell.

Be it as an hilarious dame or a dastardly baddie, Colin’s always been hugely popular with our audiences, and we’re as delighted to hear he’s excited about coming back for his sixth Panto at The Deco, as we are having him on board once again.

“It’s absolutely fantastic that The Deco is going ahead with it’s Panto,” said Colin. “And it’s my privilege to be a part of it, and I can’t wait to be back at a theatre I love, and working with another absolutely brilliant group of performers, and being around the fantastic team behind the scenes who make The Deco so special.

“What is so important to me is putting on another brilliant Panto that families can come along and enjoy, and have a great time while they’re with us – and don’t we all deserve something to cheer us all up after what has been a shocking year for so many.

“Not just that, The Deco has worked so hard to make sure that all visitors, performers and staff are in a totally safe and secure environment – I know that no stone has been left unturned in terms of achieving that, and the staff deserve every credit for being as meticulous about it as they are.”

Colin, who lives across the border in Buckinghamshire, first made a name for himself as a teenager, when he was a regular in the legendary BBC children’s TV drama ‘Grange Hill’, and has loved acting and performing all his life – none more so than Panto.

“As you well know, I absolutely love Panto,” he told us. “It really is a privilege to be on stage being part of a performance that is giving so much fun to so many people, and I include us on stage as well as our audiences.

“So it won’t surprise you to know that I’m really excited about ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and as I say, nothing will make me happier than putting a smile of the faces of our audiences, and helping make Christmas 2020 as memorable as it can be – so come and see us, join in the fun, and have another great time at the wonderful theatre that is The Deco.”

For tickets, and for full details of our social distancing guidelines, go to www.thedeco.co.uk/event/sleeping-beauty-christmas-2020/

Make Christmas special at The Old Savoy, home of The Deco Theatre

Three popular Deco Panto regulars are returning to Northampton for another Christmas spectacular – and are all determined to spread some ‘extra special’ Christmas cheer to audiences this December.

Colin Ridgewell, who first made his name in the classic BBC children’s series ‘Grange Hill’, actor and entertainer Chris Wills, and singer-actor Lydia Lucy have all thrilled audiences in Deco Christmas Pantos over the past five years, and are all delighted to be heading back to appear in Sleeping Beauty at what all three call their favourite venue.

Said Colin, who has established his popularity with his performances as a Panto Dame: “Under all the circumstances, it’s brilliant that the Deco team are putting on their annual Christmas Panto, and I am determined to make ‘Sleeping Beauty’ as much a great night out for our audiences as all the others I’ve appeared in.

“I absolutely love The Deco, as I so the people of Northampton and all around the county, who make performing there in Panto such an enormous pleasure each year, and after the year so many have endured, the least I can do is help spread some extra special Christmas cheer.”

Lydia first appeared at The Deco four years ago, and captivated everyone with her fantastic singing voice. Indeed, weeks later, the whole nation was likewise, as she made it all the way through to the final of ITV’s The Voice. She returned to The Deco two years ago, and is delighted to be back.

“Life is never boring these days, and I’ve been very busy,” she said. “Lockdown was weird, but since we emerged from that I’ve rarely had a dull moment, and doing Panto again is a lovely way to round off the year – I love Christmas, and what would it be without Panto!

“As Colin says, we’re all in need of some Christmas cheer; mine will be appearing in another Deco Panto, and I hope that we as a cast, and a production team, can spread lots of goodwill, laughter and happiness throughout our audiences during the performances of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.”

Said Chris: “The Deco is an awesome theatre, and every year we have fantastic audiences, and it is a pleasure to be back in Northampton again – I love the place. Full credit to the management for working so hard to make The Deco a totally safe environment, and giving people something to look forward to this Christmas, and I can’t wait to be back on stage there.”