Coventry panto “legend” Iain Lauchlan will be donning his frocks again to play Widow Twankey in the Belgrade Theatre’s Aladdin.
Aladdin features “all the hallmarks of a traditional Belgrade pantomime: spectacular scenery, incredible costumes, hilarious slapstick and plenty of audience participation”.
Iain Lauchlan played the Dame in Belgrade pantos between 1988 and 1999. He returned for Sleeping Beauty in 2012. Over his 38-year career in the entertainment industry, he has worked on many dramas and television series including the BBC’s Playschool. He is perhaps best known as the writer of the BAFTA Award-winning series The Tweenies.
Craig Hollingsworth returns to the Belgrade as Twankey’s idiot son and loveable sidekick Wishee Washey. He played Dame Trott’s son Simon in Jack and the Beanstalk in 2013.
Completing the line-up are Arina II as Princess Jasmine, Sion Lloyd who plays Abanazar, William Finkenrath as the Emperor, Joanna Sandi (SoShi / Spirit of the Lamp) and Marcquelle Ward as the Genie of the Lamp.
Aladdin runs on the Belgrade’s main stage from Wednesday 26 November until Saturday 10 January 2015.
Meanwhile, the Belgrade is again asking the people of Coventry and Warwickshire to dig deep to support families facing financial hardship at Christmas.
The Belgrade’s Give the Gift of Theatre Campaign aims to provide at least 400 people with tickets to a performance of Aladdin as well as financing a specially recorded performance of Aladdin which will be shown at University Hospital Coventry, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Warwick Hospital and selected nursing homes around Coventry.
The Belgrade is asking the public to help raise £11,000 by Friday 12 December. Further details are available at the Belgrade web site.