Oh yes it is! Hartlepool panto is on its way

A dance school is getting ready to stage its 68th annual pantomime production.
Members of the Elwick Academy of Dance enjoying their time on stage at a previous panto.Members of the Elwick Academy of Dance enjoying their time on stage at a previous panto.
Members of the Elwick Academy of Dance enjoying their time on stage at a previous panto.

The Elwick Academy of Dance production of Peter Pan will start on January 10 next year at the Town Hall Theatre in Hartlepool.

It will feature a show each night during the run as well as two on the Saturday.

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The cast will include one of the academy owners Geoff Lucas who will be playing Captain Hook.

He said this would be the first time the academy had staged Peter Pan in 22 years and the decision to choose was taken by the academy’s students.

It is the first time Geoff has been back on the Town Hall Theatre stage since he was 19.

The full dance school will feature in the production which will also include high flying stunts and the “baddie” crocodile transformed into a diva-style singer.

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The Elwick Academy pantomime is a tradition started by Geoff’s mum Freda Compton, the original owner of the dance school.

She founded the Elwick Academy of Dance in 1949 and went on to stage 61 annual pantomimes.

After she died, the pantomime trend was continued by her son who was in them himself for many years.