It’s traditional British pantomime at its rollicking, rambunctious best – and it’s coming soon to a stage near you.
The Royal Canadian Theatre Company is bringing its holiday panto, Ellie King’s Sinbad, The Pirates and The Dinosaur, to the Massey Theatre stage on Jan. 5 and 6.
The play tells the tale of Sinbad, who has a treasure map but no money to rent a ship or pay a crew. Enter the wicked Queen Anne Bonney, who has gold to spare and wants that treasure map. But the Queen has reckoned without Princess Serena, the anything-but-serene little spitfire.
“As the ship sails towards its destination, the crazy crew deals with mutiny, icebergs and a superfluity of bubbles,” a press release says. “And tropical islands are lovely, even if they might possibly have the odd dinosaur or two lurking around. … Does it all end well? Do our heroes live happily ever after? Will the evil Old Man of the Sea ever get anyone to pull his finger?”
Audiences can expect the fun to unfold in the truest British tradition, with the pantomime Dame, slapstick, music, dance, magic and a collection of corny old jokes.
It’s an original script by King, the artistic director of the Royal Canadian Theatre Company who was previously the founding artistic director of the former Burr Theatre in New Westminster. The music for the production was written by King and her husband, musician Geoff King.
The show starts its run at the Surrey Arts Centre, where it’s in preview Dec. 14 and onstage from Dec. 15 to 26. Its Surrey run includes a special “relaxed performance” on Dec. 21, designed to be sensitive to the needs of audience members with sensory conditions, those on the autism spectrum or others who can benefit from a less intense and more relaxed environment.
It then moves to the ACT Theatre in Maple Ridge Dec. 29 to 31, before coming to New Westminster to end its run.
The Jan. 5 show is a dress preview at 7:30 p.m. and the Jan. 6 show is a 3:30 p.m. matinee. For tickets, see www.ticketsnw.ca or call 604-521-5050.
Check out www.rctheatreco.com for details.
