The Deco - The Old Savoy - Home of The Deco Theatre

Nov

Cydnee-Mae’s star potential has earned her a leading role in Christmas Panto at The Deco

Tags: Christmas 2020, live theatre, Northampton, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco, The Old Savoy

Comments Off

The Deco Theatre will be unveiling another promising local stage talent during this year’s Christmas Panto, ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

Cydnee-Mae Sherman, 12, has been handed her first solo senior role in a Panto, having been a regular as one of the supporting dancers at the Northampton theatre since she was five years old.

Such is her potential she was one of two children chosen to share the role of ‘Tinkerbell’ in the Deco’s production of ‘Peter Pan’ three years ago – but now she has been given the role of ‘Fairy Nearly’ for herself, and will appear in all productions between December 11th and 24th.

“She is a natural, and we are delighted that Cydnee-Mae is going to be part of the senior cast in ‘Sleeping Beauty’,” said executive producer Kevin Roach. “We’ve monitored her progress over quite a few years now, and she is not only a very talented performer, but the stage loves her as much as she loves it.”

Cydnee-Mae lives with her family locally, and is delighted that she not only has her own role in the Panto, but she will be performing again with her older sister, Tayla-Jayde, 18, who herself has been a Deco Panto regular for the past 8 years as a member of the dancing team.

“I’m very excited to be returning to The Deco Theatre for another panto season,” said Cydnee-Mae. “It is such a privilege to be asked to play the role of ‘Fairy Nearly’ in this year’s production of ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and I can’t wait for it all to start.

“I’m so grateful, as always, to The Deco team for giving me this opportunity; and having Tayla-Jayde on stage with me as one of the dancers makes it even more special for me, her, and our family as this will be the last time we perform together before she goes off to College.

“It was Tayla-Jayde’s enthusiasm for performing that first got me started, and although my parents didn’t want me to feel as though I had to follow in her footsteps or be in her shadow I soon joined Starlight Stage School.

“The support I’ve received from Tayla-Jayde, my parents, Starlight Stage School and The Deco has been amazing, they have all been fantastic, and I can’t thank any of them enough.”

Tickets start from just £12.50. Book online: www.thedeco.co.uk/event/sleeping-beauty-christmas-2020/

Oct

Our Dame ‘par excellence’ – and Colin’s delighted to be back at The Deco

Tags: Christmas 2020, family entertainment, Northampton, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco

Comments Off

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

Oct

Deco’s three Panto amigos all delighted to be heading back to Northampton

Tags: Christmas 2020, family entertainment, Northampton, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco

Comments Off

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.”

Sep

‘Sleeping Beauty’ cast has a very local feel to it!

Tags: Christmas 2020, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco, The Old Savoy

Comments Off

There’s very much a local feel to ‘Sleeping Beauty’, this year’s Deco Panto, thanks to singer and dancer Fern Roach, dancing specialist Andrzej Mialkowski, BBC Northampton presenter Wayne Bavin, and comedian and entertainer Mark Jones lining up in the cast.

Fern, who was born and bred in the town, has a senior role for the third year running, having previously appeared as a member of the support cast, while Andrezj, an accomplished dancer, is well known in and around Northampton as the owner of the Henry Street based Step by Step Dance Studio.

Wayne has established himself as a popular afternoon presenter on BBC Radio Northampton since joining the statin in 2018, and though Mark now lives in London, he has a big local connection, having previously lived in Northampton, and being a regular visitor to the town to visit relatives who still live in and around the county.

“We pride ourselves on supporting and encouraging local talent, and we’re very proud of our town, and our county, so we’re delighted with so many local connections in this year’s Panto,” said House Manager Jill Roach, who is also Fern’s mum.

“Fern has been outstanding in her two Panto performances so far, and I’m very proud of her – and she has won her parts on merit, auditioning like everyone else.

“I’m delighted she’s established herself as a Deco Panto regular, along with Chris Wills and Colin Ridgewell, who are also firm favourites with our audiences, and back again this year, as is Lydia Lucy, who previously appeared in 2016, and again two years ago.

“Andrzej has a huge personality, and every time we’ve met him we’ve felt he’s a natural for Panto, so when he told us he’d love the opportunity, and then put himself up for audition, we were delighted,” said Jill. “And we’re certain we’ve discovered another great local stage talent: he’ll be brilliant.

“Wayne and Mark are two highly experienced Panto performers, and great entertainers too, and we’re delighted that they’re making their Deco debuts this year – our audiences will love them, and they’re both really looking forward to being part of our show.”

The Deco Panto runs from December 11th to 24th, and tickets are now on sale. It will last approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, with no interval: just the right length for a festive family treat, but without the traditional break in between because it would make social distance planning a little tricky.

For tickets and full details: https://www.theoldsavoy.co.uk/event/sleeping-beauty-christmas-2020/

Sep

Old Savoy offering a heritage experience with free journey down Memory Lane

Tags: cinema, Heritage Week, Northampton, Singin' in the Rain, The Deco, The Old Savoy

Comments Off

The Old Savoy theatre is celebrating Heritage Week with a difference this year.

The management team is inviting visitors to come and take a look around the iconic building – rebranded as The Old Savoy last year – enjoy a short talk on the history of the theatre, and if they wish, then enjoy a FREE screening of the classic 1952 film, ‘Singin’ in the Rain.

If visitors wish to make their visit even more memorable, they can enjoy a bite to eat while watching the film: booking a table seat in the stalls, and for £9.95, enjoy a platter of delicious food, and a pot of tea or coffee.

These seats are limited, and available by calling our Box Office on 01604 491005.

If you simply want to watch the film from the circle, without the food option you can book tickets online: www.thedeco.co.uk/events

There will be three screenings each day, between Wednesday, September 16th, and Friday the 18th: at 11.45am, 2.30pm, and 5pm.

The pre-screening talk will be delivered by popular entertainer and local legend Clive Fletcher, who will be familiar with anyone who has come to annual Christmas Panto’s at The Deco, which is housed at The Old Savoy.

“We’re really excited about this,” said house manager Jill Roach. “This is an opportunity to see, and learn about,our wonderful theatre, and watch a famous film as you would have done all those years ago when we were The Savoy.

“The only thing we can’t do is provide entertainment by an organist during the interval, more’s the pity,” she said. “But we’re just trying to do something different, and take our visitors down Memory Lane at a significant town centre venue in Northampton history.”

‘Singin’ in the Rain’ is an iconic comedy-romance, based around the transition from silent to talking movies; it’s full of great music and songs, and legendary for the classic ‘Singing in the Rain’ song and dance routine by the star of the film, Gene Kelly – who was also its co-director. Co-stars included Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor and Jean Hagen.

The Old Savoy opened on May 2nd, 1936, as The Savoy. In the 1960s and 70s it was The ABC, hosting live music as well as screening films. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Cliff Richard are among the legendary acts who performed there.

Stage Right Productions began putting on live entertainment at The Deco Theatre in 2009, and took over the running of the whole building last year.

As usual social distancing and COVID-19 safety guidelines will be observed.

Sep

We WILL put on our Panto this year. Oh yes we will!

Tags: Christmas 2020, family entertainment, Northampton, Panto, pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco, The Old Savoy

Comments Off

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a good Panto, and don’t we need to spread plenty of seasonal spirit, fun, and goodwill in December. So we’re delighted to be putting on our Christmas 2020 Panto ‘Sleeping Beauty’, which will run from December 11th to 24th.

Tickets are now on sale for performances up to the 18th inclusive; bear with us for Christmas week, we’ll make an announcement soon, but ticket sales were already high for those performances and we’re still rejigging to keep in line with our social distancing and COVID-19 safety guidelines – your safety and well-being is paramount at all times!

Our will last approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, with no interval: just the right length for a festive family treat, but without the traditional break in between because it would make social distance planning a little tricky.

It’s so sad to see Pantos being cancelled at theatres around the country, and we stand side by side with all the fantastic venues nationwide; before too long we want to see the entertainment industry is thriving once again, as it was, and should be.

And as we said, you’ll all deserve some Christmas cheer, and we’re determined to help deliver it at The Old Savoy, home of The Deco Theatre, and home to top quality family Panto every year.

Again, thank you for your support and goodwill. You’ve been amazing, and we really do appreciate it. For more details about our Panto arrangements: https://www.theoldsavoy.co.uk/christmas-panto-2020-from-team-deco/

Aug

Christmas Panto 2020 – from Team Deco…

Tags: Christmas2020, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco

Comments Off

Dear Valued Customer,

Firstly, we hope that you and your family continue to remain safe and well during these challenging times.

We want to share our plans for Sleeping Beauty, this year’s Christmas Panto, and always a special time of the year for us.

As you are all more than aware, we will be required to adhere to social distancing measures this year in order to keep our audience, our staff, and our cast, safe.

This will mean that we will have to make some changes in order to ensure that we comply to government guidance as follows:

• The show will last approx. 1 hour 20 mins and there will be no interval, just the right length for a festive family treat but without the break in between, which would make social distance planning a little tricky.

• There will be a smaller cast and less children taking part as everyone needs to be tested, and have individual dressing rooms and we must keep cast and crew safe and well.

• We will ask you to take you and your parties temperature before you leave home and if you or any member of your party are experiencing any symptoms, however mildly, we ask that you stay at home and we will reschedule your visit.

• Your temperature will be taken on arrival at the theatre and providing everything is within the normal range, you will be directed to your seats, there will be no waiting in bar areas.

• Should we record an abnormal temperature we will ask you and your party to return home and we will reschedule your visit once everyone has had a negative test.

• There will be a one-way system throughout the theatre and the lift will only be for use by guests with a disability.

• We ask that no prams or buggy’s are brought into the theatre.

• Face coverings will be required in line with government directives

• There will be a contactless bag search on arrival we therefore also ask that bags are kept to a minimum.

• In order that social distancing can be achieved we will on the busier dates need to increase the number of performances, it maybe that we have to change the time of your booking, and seats numbers but we will, where possible aim to keep you in the same area that you have booked.

• We ask where possible that drinks, snacks, popcorn, hotdogs etc. are pre-purchased and there will be a number of ‘click and collect’ points throughout the theatre.

• In the event of a ‘local lockdown’ or general directive from Government that the show cannot go ahead we will reschedule your visit to a later date in the run if possible or transfer your booking to Panto 2021.

Finally, we also acknowledge that there will be a number of guests that have purchased tickets and are nervous about attending. Please don’t worry – as a gesture of goodwill, we will reschedule your booking or indeed if some of your party wish to attend and others do not, to panto 2021.

At this stage we will transfer you to the same day that you have booked this year, i.e. the Sunday before Christmas, first night, Christmas Eve, etc. Then, if you need to re-jig later we be more than happy to rearrange once we are back to normal in the New Year.

We will be updating our website, Facebook and all other social media platforms as we begin to re-organise the seating arrangements for guests that wish to join us, and we will be in touch with everyone individually, by email or telephone, if there is something we need to speak to you about.

We are working throughout August, to ensure all guests that have pre-booked are rescheduled/re-seated. During this time, we will close the show for new sales and put back on sale on September 1st.

As you can imagine, it is a mammoth task, as 19 of our planned 34 shows are already over our social distancing capacity.

We thank you, as always, for your understanding and patience during these unprecedented times. It really is appreciated. Your well-being, and that of our staff and cast, are paramount at all times.

We very much look forward to welcoming you back to The Old Savoy, home of The Deco Theatre.

Kindest Regards

Jill and Kevin Roach, and all at Team Deco. See you soon!

Jun

Treat dad to a special night out at The Deco this Father’s Day

Tags: Father's Day, gift ideas, great night out, live theatre, Northampton, The Deco, The Deco. special offer, treat for dad

Comments Off

It’s Father’s Day this Sunday, June 21st. So if you’re thinking of a gift idea, we’ve a fantastic offer from The Deco.

Buy tickets ‪for any of our shows – and we’ve lots of great entertainment lined up later this year, and well into next – before next Sunday, and we’ll not only give you 10% off any tickets bought, but we’ll throw in two years free membership of our Silver Friends Membership, worth £60 (it’s £30 a year).

The Silver Friends membership can be gifted to your dad, or you can keep it yourself, just let us know when buying your tickets.

Simply book online (www.thedeco.co.uk), quote discount code ‘Father’ to book your tickets and receive your 10% discount, and to register for your sliver membership. We’ll then call you to finalise your membership – offer’s limited to one membership per transaction.

As a Silver Friends Member of The Deco you get:

* 10% ticket discount for up to 2 tickets per show,
* 10% off food and drink
* 10% off room hire
* Advanced booking – an early bird window for new shows
* A dedicated customer service representative
* Free ticket exchange: you can exchange your tickets up to 7 days prior to the show date.

So give your dad a treat this Father’s Day – what better than a great night out at The Deco!

Jun

A typically great night out lined up to celebrate the re-opening of doors at The Deco

Tags: live entertainment, Northampton, re-opening the doors, The Deco, Typically Tina

Comments Off

Live entertainment will return to The Deco with a socially-distanced celebration of Tina Turner after the Covid-19 lockdown.

We’re re-opening with ‘Typically Tina’, an awesome tribute show, on Friday, September 11th. And we cannot wait to get back to putting on shows.

Seats will be removed or covered over to make sure everyone stays apart, and we are very much looking forward to doing what we love again: putting on great entertainment.

Said House Manager Jill Roach: “We thought we would run with the Tina Turner show as the production company wanted were keen to do it, and and it’ll be a nice test for us to see if it goes to plan with our one-way system and the other facilities we’re putting in.

“Obviously things could change, but as we start to emerge out out of lockdown we decided we would put a stake in the ground and say, ‘we’re going to reopen the doors’ – even if it’s just serving ice cream – on September 1st, then have the concert on the 11th.”

The Tina Turner tribute concert, by performer Karin Bello, was meant to be on May 15, but like every other show at every other venue, was postponed by the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis.

“Everyone will have their temperature checked on arrival, there will be a one-way system around the venue, spaced out seating to maintain a two-metre buffer between groups, and staff will be wearing PPE,” said Jill.

“I hope we can get back to some sort of normality – I think people have it engrained in them to social distance and that’s the way to go for the foreseeable future.”

“I can’t wait to get it open again,” she said. “It was so exciting to relaunch last Christmas, and now we need to get people’s confidence back, but so many people have been extremely supportive towards us, and we’ve lots of fantastic entertainment lined-up way into next year.”

Tickets for Typically Tina are £18.50, with a £5 discount available with code FIRST. For more information, visit thedeco.co.uk.

Apr

Our Open Day has been re-arranged for August

Tags: August, Open Day, The Deco, The Old Savoy

Comments Off

The on-going COVID-19 crisis means the Open Day we have planned at The Old Savoy in Northampton has now been rescheduled for Saturday, August 15th, 2pm-8pm.

The Open Day is an opportunity for anyone who’d like to be involved in working with us to come along and talk to us about the potential to become a part of our friendly, dedicated team.

We’re looking for freelance technicians, catering staff, Front of House staff, weekend staff, and volunteer stewards.

If you think this is something you’d be interested in, come along and meet the team, preferably with a CV telling us about previous experience. If you’d like to talk to us about it beforehand, email

hello@thedeco.co.uk.

Once again, many thanks for your patience and understanding.

All posts tagged The Deco