St Helens Theatre Royal Archives

The Salon: The Sequel! – St Helens Theatre Royal

6Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

The Salon: The Sequel! – St Helens Theatre Royal

This adult comedy show, written by Drew Quayle, follows the antics and everyday life of salon manager, Carol, played by radio and stage star Leanne Campbell. It’s predecessor show, The Salon originally played at St Helens Theatre Royal in 2009, playing again in 2011 and 2017, before transferring to Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre in 2018. This stand-alone sequel has been updated to reflect current local Liverpool culture and is awash with Scouse over-the-top caricatures and Scouse humour which had the hyped-up audience showing their appreciation with boisterous whoops and piercing squeals of laughter amid noisy excitement. Carol (Leanne Campbell) is orchestrator of the story, managing the salon staff and trying to keep her family life in control. Her staff of two, be...

Beauty and the Beast – St Helens Theatre Royal

8Apr

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Beauty and the Beast – St Helens Theatre Royal

It’s time for a seasonal pantomime in St Helens and this spring offering is a Regal Entertainment’s version of Beauty and the Beast written by Liam Mellor and directed by Chantelle Nolan. As with all pantomimes here at Theatre Royal and I’ve reviewed many here it was full of audience interactions, audience participation and the odd on the fence joke with an audience member or two getting involved on stage. So, to the story, Fairy Rose (Maria Lovelady) came on to the stage to tell us all about the little town of petit pois. Gaston (Auguste Voulton) with his big muscles and charisma wanted to take Belle (Lauren McCrory) as his bride but she wasn’t interested and definitely didn’t want to marry him, so Gaston and his mother Madame Botox (Abigail Middleton) hatched a plan by slipping a poti...

The Wizard of Oz – St Helens Theatre Royal

18Feb

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

The Wizard of Oz – St Helens Theatre Royal

It’s Pantomime season again in St Helens with this half term’s offering of The Wizard of Oz Directed by Reece Sibbald. Dorothy (Maddie Hope Coelho) is caught in a twister storm and is transported to the Land of Oz with her little companion the very cute and adorable ToTo the Dog. However, in order to get home she must seek to find the almighty Wizard of Oz down the yellow brick road. However, it wasn’t going to be quite so easy as she first thought as the Wicked Witch (Bethany Grace) vowed to make Dorothy pay for killing her sister when her house landed on her after the twister. Glinda (Hayley Russell) reassured Dorothy by saying as long as you have those Ruby Shoes on your feet the wicked which couldn’t harm her. Upon her journey she found a Scarecrow (Reece Sibbald) who needed a Brain...

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – St Helens Theatre Royal

3Aug

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – St Helens Theatre Royal

Theatre Royal St Helens welcomed Frank Spencer and his chaos to the town last night in ‘Some Mothers do ‘Ave ‘Em a popular comedy in the 1970s with Michael Crawford. The same Michael Crawford who was phantom. This stage show was written and directed by Guy Unsworth. The leading man playing Frank Spencer was the hugely funny Joe Pasquale who can cause a riot of laughter just by walking on stage. Frank is currently out of work and in between jobs or as he puts it, he’s in between his old one and waiting for a new one. He has just received a letter from the BBC to say he has a audition for a top talent competition and will be over shortly to film his magic act. His wife Betty played by Sarah Earnshaw, has news of her own but is finding it hard to tell Frank. Frank and Betty are having a dinne...

St Helens Theatre Royal ‘Chucks’ more pantomime casting our way

9Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

St Helens Theatre Royal ‘Chucks’ more pantomime casting our way

St Helens youngster Jamie Leahey and his trusty side-kick puppet Chuck will join an all-star cast in his hometown’s Christmas pantomime Cinderella. Thirteen-year-old Jamie and Chuck recently wowed the judges and audience of Britain’s Got Talent with his excellent ventriloquist act. In June, he made it to the Grand Final finishing runner-up – winning a legion of fans along the way. The pair will appear as themselves as a speciality act in festive pantomime Cinderella from Regal Entertainments Ltd.* Cinderella will run at St Helens Theatre Royal from Saturday 3rd December 2022 to Sunday 8th January 2023. Tickets are on sale now from £18. As the latest addition to the all-star cast, Jamie and Chuck will star alongside fellow Britain’s Got Talent favourite comedian and musician Jon...

6Apr

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Peter Pan – St Helens Theatre Royal

It was a great pleasure to see Peter Pan the pantomime in St Helens last night, by Regal Entertainments. The audience was full of families ready to boo and hiss whilst shouting he’s behind you. It’s worth noting if you see the show double check the start times as they are afternoon and teatime showings. Peter Pan (Harrison Vaughan) lives in Never-land. In Never-land it is a place full of lost boys. Where you can’t grow old. They all fight together against Captain Hook (Scott Gallagher) and his pirates. Peter had won the first fight against Hook by taking of one of his hands which was replaced by (you guessed it) a hook. However, Hook wasn’t going to lose the next time and plans to find his hideaway and poison Peter Pan whilst his cronies kidnapped the lost boys along with Wendy (Lauren ...

Jack and the Beanstalk – St Helens Theatre Royal

24Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Jack and the Beanstalk – St Helens Theatre Royal

Christmas pantomimes at St Helens Theatre Royal are a traditional treat and now half-term pantos are a firm favourite as they coincide with local school holidays; children and families can attend a show and enjoy retro slapstick and sing along to musical chart hits whilst enjoying the dancing and singing on stage. As you walk into St Helens Theatre Royal, it’s rather like stepping back in time. The small, old- fashioned theatre entices theatregoers to buy sweets and ice cream from the kiosk and the corner counter is twinkling with fairy lights from the colourful swords and fairy wands it sells which all the children clamour to buy. The theatre was full, and all eyes were on the stage as youngsters with their parents and grandparents waited for the curtain to rise. When it did, ...

The Greatest Love Of All Whitney Houston Tribute Comes To St Helens

27Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

The Greatest Love Of All Whitney Houston Tribute Comes To St Helens

The Australian producers of a Whitney Houston tribute concert bring their smash-hit show to St Helens Theatre Royal next week starring Britain’s Got Talent finalist Belinda Davids. The Greatest Love Of All starts its UK national tour in St Helens. The tour was originally planned to follow Belinda’s appearance in the BGT finals in September 2020 but was postponed due to pandemic restrictions. The Greatest Love Of All comes to St Helens Theatre Royal for one night only on Wednesday 6th October 2021, the show is at 7.30pm. St Helens Theatre Royal has been granted the use of the Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre’s ‘See It Safely’ mark. This certifies that the venue is complying with Government and industry Covid-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of staff, perfo...

Jack and the Beanstalk (Online) – St Helens Theatre Royal

3Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Jack and the Beanstalk (Online) – St Helens Theatre Royal

Once upon a time there was a theatre called the Theatre Royal in St Helens, who always delighted the people of Merseyside with a seasonal pantomime. Suddenly, a devastating pandemic stopped the Theatre Royal in their tracks. Finally, a canny production team saw a solution to their big problem… A pantomime at Easter? It always seems a little improbable because a pantomime is so quintessentially Christmas. But when reality is as crazy as ours, Jack and the Beanstalk is the much-needed slice of the ‘old normal’ we all need. And it is no mean feat. The Theatre Royal and their production team have dared to do what some regional theatres fear to risk, and it has paid off. The story follows the same old tale we all know and love; cash- strapped Jack sells off his mother’s beloved cow in ret...

St Helens Theatre Royal Announce Their Easter Streamed Pantomime

9Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

St Helens Theatre Royal Announce Their Easter Streamed Pantomime

St Helens Theatre Royal has announced that its Easter pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk will be streamed online to watch at home. Producers Regal Entertainments had previously announced that Goldilocks would be staged during half-term for audiences visiting the theatre. However, given the Government’s recent roadmap to ease restrictions, plans to stage the panto have now been revised as it is not yet permitted to open the venue’s doors to the public. Instead, Jack and the Beanstalk will be filmed and streamed online during the Easter break, enabling families to still enjoy the experience of pantomime during the school holidays but from the comfort of their own home. Jack and the Beanstalk will be streamed online for 17 performances between Friday 2nd April and Sunday 11th April ...