Theatre Royal Panto Dress Rehearsal has a lot of heart

Working with its 2014/15 panto media partner Heart, Newcastle Theatre Royal has invited children and adults from charities across the North East to see its record breaking 2014/15 pantomime Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs before anyone else, in an exclusive Dress Rehearsal performance this Monday (24 November). A total of 1240 deserving children and adults will be given a sneak preview performance of the show, complete with full costumes and all special effects, before it opens to the general public on Tuesday 25 November. Four hundred of these tickets have been distributed by leading North East radio station Heart to its local charity benefices, including The Sick Children’s Trust. Newcastle Theatre Royal also invites applications from charities throughout the year to attend the free Dress Rehearsal. The other benefitting charities this year include: Smile For Life (a children's charity), Praxis Service, West End Refugee Service, Changing Lives, Bridgewater School, Haven (Tyneside), Sure Start Riverside West, and Blakelaw Ward Community Partnership. The Dress Rehearsal is the last full run through the company will do before the show opens officially to the wider public, and as such it is highly polished yet has all the fresh excitement and anticipation of a rehearsal. Philip Bernays, Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Newcastle, said:  “Every year we are inundated with applications for dress rehearsal tickets from many deserving local organisations, sadly far more than we have room for. We try and accommodate as many as we can, as it is a very wonderful thing to be able to offer the opportunity to see the show to those who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to.” Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs – the fairest panto in all the land! stars much-loved mega-hit trio of talent, Clive Webb, Danny Adams and Chris Hayward, and will be the tenth anniversary year for father and son Clive & Danny. Year after year Theatre Royal continues to be the fastest selling pantomime in the country and owes its enduring popularity to the massive talent of its three main stars, visionary producer Michael Harrison and amazing special effects produced by The Twins FX. The show attracts audiences of over 90,000 every year, and this year a staggering 85,000 tickets have already been sold with a whole week still to go before opening night (an all-time record), and it is set to be the most successful pantomime in the Theatre’s 178 year history. Earlier in the year the Theatre had to add two extra performances to meet with demand. Heart, the North East’s newest radio station, is supporting the famous panto all the way - in the run up to opening next week, right through until the final curtain on Sun 18 January 2015. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 25 November until Sunday 18 January 2015. Tickets are available from £12 (a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk