Laughter fills Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn as record-breaking pantomime Cinderella opens - with video and 360-degree picture
Laughter filled Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn as the curtain went up on this year's record-breaking pantomime.
The venue by the riverside hosts shows until January 8 and record numbers will watch what has been described as the biggest show since it moved to its new home.
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Hundreds of schoolchildren from across the county were the first to watch this year's production of Cinderella, with dozens of coaches pulling up to drop off the excited audience. Some of the pupils admitted they had been so excited they had struggled to do their work before heading to the panto.
Grace Shapcott, eight, from Morda Church of England Primary School, near Oswestry, said: "I was really excited about the pantomime. I just love everything about it. It is really funny when you are shouting things like 'it's behind you'."
Today, star of the show Brad Fitt said he was delighted to be back in Shropshire and was looking forward to a great Christmas season at Theatre Severn.
He said: "There's plenty of laughter, plenty of dance and plenty of topical jokes.
"Of all the pantomimes, Cinderella is the one with the best story. It's a real fairy story, rather than a knock-about."
Mr Fitt, who usually appears in Shrewsbury each year as the panto dame, said he was glad to be out of his normal frocks.
"I've never played anything other than a dame in Shrewsbury so this is a bit different for me," he said. "I feel as though something is missing. Being the dame means you have to put the face on and the padded suit, which takes a couple of hours. But today, I've sat here and had a shave and I'm done."
The show has been written by Paul Hendy and produced by Evolution, the same team that brought previous box office smash hits Dick Whittington, Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty.
The show will feature Eric Smith, from BBC Radio Shropshire, as Baron Hard-Up, alongside the formidable Ugly Sisters Ian Smith and Matt Daines.
Completing the cast are Phil Butler as Dandini, Joanne Heywood as Fairy Godmother, Victoria McCabe in the title role, and Ryan Bennett as Prince Charming.
