November 20, 2009
PANTO fans in Coventry are being given a peek behind the scenes of The Belgrade’s Beauty and the Beast.
For the first time in the theatre’s history cast and crew are creating videos for their Christmas show.
Fans can watch interviews with actors, find out how grisly masks are made and view slideshows of dress rehearsals on a new blog.
Theatre press officer Ray Clenshaw said: “It’s a great way to give the audience a glimpse behind the scenes.
“Obviously we wouldn’t want to show too much because you don’t want to know everything about a performance before you see it.
“But there are a lot of skilled people working on the show who you don’t usually get to see.”
He added: “The cast are really enjoying using the camera.
"We’ve got to the stage where we can leave the camera with them and they’ll pick it up when they have time during rehearsals.”
Beauty and the Beast has been created by Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton – the brains behind other Belgrade productions as well as the children’s TV show The Tweenies.
Andy Hockley, also returns as the glamorous Dame Dorothy-Do-It, whizzing around on her turbo-charged Hoover.
Beauty and The Beast runs from November 30 until January 9 and tickets cost between ÂŁ11 to ÂŁ19.25.
To watch more videos or book tickets visit the show blog at http://www.belgradebeautyandthebeast.tumblr.com
The Belgrade have also opened up a discussion page on Facebook for panto memories which can be found here.
Written by and starring Paul Nolan and Robert Wilkinson as the Cheeky Chappies, the show follows the capers of Dick and Ginger, a comedy music hall act that have never abandoned their pursuit of fame and fortune.
This runs between December 7 and December 23.
