Watch: Vivid costumes and fun show planned as Aldridge Youth Theatre ready to put on Dick Whittington panto
It's set to be another big show full of panto fun for an Aldridge theatre as it gets set to put on its latest fun-filled production.
Members of the Aldridge Youth Theatre have been putting the final touches on their production of Dick Whittington ahead of the premiere this Friday (January 9).
The youth theatre has been a part of the arts scene in the town since the 1940s - and has been putting on pantomimes at the theatre on Noddy Park Road for more than 40 years.
The theatre group provides an opportunity for children as young as six to learn about performance, building confidence on stage and the basics of acting before building up to being able to perform in productions such as the annual pantomime.
Jonathan Backrath is one of the three directors for Dick Whittington, alongside Ian Shirley and Phoebe Tandy, and spoke about the philosophy of the theatre.
He said: "We try to stretch them and develop them through characterisation and more challenging productions and plays and scripts and things like that, and we aim for development and hope these young people can go onto something professionally or for a hobby after they leave us.
"We go up to the age of 21, so they might go off to university and do their own thing, but then a lot may come back and do productions with us, so while there might be some who never do drama again, there are some who will keep doing it as an amateur.
"There are also some who have gone on to do it in different professional capacities, such as teaching or touring, then there are people who work on the technical side and work on big shows and productions, so there's a lot of success stories that have come out from this production."
Mr Backrath said Dick Whittington was a classic in the rotation of pantomimes performed by the theatre, having last been performed in 2016, and said people could expect a traditional and classic panto experience.
He said: "You've got lots of audience interaction, shouting singing, dancing and just classic panto jokes and it's just a lovely story all around.
"We had a dress rehearsal the other night and I'm not being biased, but I sat and watched it and it was very enjoyable and entertaining for all ages."
The production of Dick Whittington will run from January 9 to January 24, with 11 performances planned, and tickets will cost £10 for concessions and £12 for adults at the Aldridge Youth Theatre ticket site.
