We're short of a name
FORMER game show host Paul Hendy - best known for Wheel of Fortune and Stash the Cash - has a new one for Sheffield pantogoers this Christmas. It's Name The Dwarf!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is at the Lyceum and Paul, boss of Evolution Productions, wants local people to come up with a name for a dwarf.
"I want it to have a good local connection, perhaps slang," says Paul, who is not only producing and directing the show but is still writing the script.
"I'll take whatever the name suggests and use those as the dwarf's characteristics," he adds. See right for the competition details.
In two previous years Paul has held auditions with local girls for a Cinderella and a Panto Princess but he feels it is time to ring the changes.
While auditions are a well known publicity ploy Paul thinks that Name That Dwarf is a first. But isn't it just a touch politically incorrect?
"The dwarfs are professional actors first. They are not there just because they are small, they are there on merit, talented actors ... and they are dwarves," he says.
In any case, since Disney has copyrighted the names - Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey, Happy and Bashful - it's no break with tradition to come up with a new one.
The panto stars Eighties pop icon Toyah Wilcox as the Wicked Queen, Kate Quinell as Cinders, Andrew Alexander of Teatro as the Prince, Damian Williams back as the dame, Nurse Nellie, and Radio Sheffield's Toby Foster, making his pantomime debut, as Muddles the court jester.
This is the third year Evolution has put on a panto at the Lyceum, its biggest and grandest venue. In fact Paul's got five pantos on the go and writes the scripts for all of them.
"I switch on my computer in the morning and think 'This is not such a bad job'," he says.
For local references and colour he liaises with the cast. Last year it was Bobby Knutt ("although I couldn't understand a lot of the words he used") and this year it is Toby. Knutty appears on screen this year but not on stage.
Paul is a veteran of panto from all sides, having appeared on stage in at least 20 pantos. It was while he was in Beauty and the Beast at Canterbury that he fell in love with Emily Wood, the daughter of the producer. Now they both run the family business.
He runs his scripts past Emily and his young son Freddie, coming up to five.
"The great thing about panto is that it is one medium which appeals to all the family. You can have three generations - children, parents and grandparents - all enjoying it at the same time," he says.
It's likely that Snow White will break box office records. It sold 1,168 tickets on the first day when the box office opened in January.
The panto runs from December 1 until January 10.
Competition
CAN you think of a suitable name for a dwarf - the one in the red hat, holding the Wicked Queen's hand? Sheffield Theatres and Evolution Pantomimes are on the lookout for local slang, a local landmark or just a great name that is relevant to South Yorkshire.
The chosen dwarf name will be written into the script and the winner will receive a family ticket for the production on Press Night, Tuesday, December 15 at 7pm.
They will have an exclusive backstage tour of the Lyceum, visit the set and meet the cast and, most importantly, they get to meet their named dwarf.
Deadline for the competition is November 9. All entries need to be emailed to namethedwarf@sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Give the name for the dwarf as well as your own name, address and telephone number
Got a view? Add your comment below.
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