Meet The Hatter At Storyhouse This Halloween

AN enchanting dance and multimedia show comes to Storyhouse this month putting a new spin on the character of the iconic Mad Hatter from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The award winning Joss Arnott Dance presents Meet the Hatter at the Chester cultural venue on:- Saturday, 31 October 2026, at:- 2 pm as part of a UK tour.

Tickets cost from:- �10.50 for Storyhouse Members.

Meet the Hatter combines powerful dance with storytelling and mesmerising visuals, complemented by an emotionally charged original score.

Faced with an empty tea party and a deep sense of isolation, the Hatter uses the power of imagination to create his own magical version of Wonderland.

The production takes audiences of all ages on a journey that celebrates the importance of play, while highlighting how self-belief can create opportunities you've only ever dreamed of.

Prepare to be amazed by this fantastical, immersive and extraordinary family show that you won't want to miss.

Meet the Hatter is Choreographed by:- Artistic Director Joss Arnott in collaboration with- Dancers:- Dominic Coffey and Robbie Ordona, with Dramaturgy by:- Sue Buckmaster of Theatre Rites.

Multimedia artists are:- Urban Projections, Composer is:- Oleta Haffner, beatboxer is Jack Hobbs (Hobbit), lighting design is by:- Josh Tomalin, Movement Consultant is:- Miguel Altunaga, Animation Artist is:- Alexandros Savvides, and Costumes are by Maisie Drewery-Harris. Audio Description is by Vicky Ackroyd.

For more details visit:- StoryHouse.Com.

Cast Fly Into The City To Celebrate Peter Pan Pantomime At St Helens Theatre Royal
Photograph by David Munn.

THE Chase's Mark 'the Beast' Labbett and Strictly's Flavia Cacace lead a talented star cast in St Helens' fantastic family favourite The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan this Christmas.

Regal Entertainments Ltd presents The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan at the theatre from:- Saturday, 28 November 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027. Tickets are priced from:- �20.

Superstar quizzer Mark 'the Beast' Labbett is set to take on the role of Pan's dastardly hook-handed nemesis in the unmissable new production.

And he will be joined by Strictly star Flavia Cacace as Tinkerbell, alongside Connor Darren James, Lauren McCrory, Tyana Xu and St Helens pantomime favourites Lewis Devine and Richard Aucott.

Family audiences can expect plenty of unforgettable magical moments as the thrilling, high-flying adventure unfolds on the Theatre Royal stage, putting the 'Pan' firmly into panto.

Mark Labbett plays Captain Hook. Known to millions as 'The Beast,' Mark is best known as one of the Chasers on ITV1's smash-hit quiz show The Chase. He joined the programme in 2009 and later became the sole Chaser on the American version in 2013, before joining the Australian version in 2016 as 1 of its Chasers.

Mark 1st appeared on our screens as a contestant on Mastermind in 1999. Since then, he has appeared on BrainTeaser, Countdown, SUDO-Q, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Only Connect, The National Lottery People's Quiz, Are You an Egghead? and University Challenge. More recently, he has starred in The Chasers' Road Trip and The Chase Around the World.

Flavia Cacace brings sparkle to St Helens as Tinkerbell. Strictly Come Dancing star Flavia moved to Britain from her native Italy when she was 5 and started dancing at a young age. In 1995 she was partnered with Vincent Simone, the start of a successful 25-year dance partnership which saw the pair win a host of UK and international dance competitions. She spent 8 years as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing.

Her panto credits include Snow White at the London Palladium and Jack and the Beanstalk at the Worthing Pavilion.

Lewis Devine returns, this time as Smee. Audience favourite Lewis most recently appeared at St Helens playing Muddles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Simple Simon in Jack and the Beanstalk and Idle Jack in Dick Whittington. Other roles for Regal Entertainments include Silly Billy in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, French Frank in Beauty and the Beast, Wishee Washee in Aladdin, Chester the Jester in Sleeping Beauty and Buttons in Cinderella.

Coming from a talented performing family, Lewis won the 1st ever Kids Stars in Their Eyes as Donny Osmond and is part of a comedy show band called Schooner with his father Terry. Away from the stage, he runs The Devine Theatre Company to develop Merseyside youngsters in the entertainment industry.

And Richard Aucott appears as Mrs Smee. Recent appearances at St Helens include Nurse Nelly in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dame Dolly Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk. His other credits for Regal Entertainments include Felicity Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington, Widow Twankey in Aladdin, Dame Gertie in Goldilocks, Potty Polly in Beauty and the Beast and Ugly Sister Borisina in Cinderella.

Richard first set foot on stage aged 13 as the back end of a pantomime horse in Toad of Toad Hall. . Starting at the bottom he made his way up the ladder until at 18 he played his 1st Dame. Since then, he has appeared in almost 30 pantos up and down the country, mostly as the Dame. He also makes most of his own stage costumes. His other theatre credits include Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Mr Woodhouse/Mr Elton in Emma, and Alan Bennett in The Lady in the Van as well as roles in The Importance of Being Earnest, Much Ado About Nothing and The Herbal Bed.

Connor Darren James is Peter Pan. Connor, who makes his St Helens panto debut this Christmas, is a graduate of the prestigious East 15 Acting School where he studied acting and physical theatre. His stage credits include Zach in The Engagement Party at Oldham Coliseum, Sean in Innit the Musical at the Lowry, and Oskar in Let the Right One In. His screen credits include the film Goodbye St Christopher.

Lauren McCrory plays Wendy. Lauren previously appeared at St Helens Theatre Royal playing Princess Jill in Jack and the Beanstalk. Her other credits for Regal Entertainments include Beauty in Beauty and the Beast and Wendy in Peter Pan. She has also appeared as Cinderella at the ODEON Liverpool.

Tyana Xu is Tiger Lily. Chinese actor, theatre performer and model Tyana is a 2026 graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama MAMT. With more than 10 years of musical theatre training, she brings a strong foundation in acting, singing and movement to both stage and screen. Her credits during training at Central include Jenny in Company and Mary in Merrily We Roll Along, and Frankie in Jagged Little Pill (at Zhejiang Conservatory of Music).

Regal Entertainments Ltd has been bringing top quality and star-studded productions to the North-West for more than 20 years. It is run by the theatrical powerhouse mother and daughter duo of Jane Joseph and Chantelle Joseph who produce top quality drama, comedy and panto productions which continue to break box office records.

It produces 4 pantomimes at:- St Helens Theatre, over:- Easter and Christmas, long with the February and October half term holidays, with tens of thousands of theatregoers enjoying the fantastic family friendly fun each year.

Panto director and St Helens Theatre Manager Chantelle Joseph says:- "The official launch of our Christmas show is always a fantastic occasion which really gets everyone in the festive mood; as well as being a real surprise for passersby who see the cast in their amazing costumes. I'm also absolutely thrilled with the fantastic reaction from our St Helens family audiences since we announced The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan earlier this summer. We have a brilliant cast who are ready and raring to go, led by Mark Labbett as a beastly Captain Hook and with the lovely Flavia Cacace sprinkling Christmas magic as the impish Tinkerbell. I can promise a production packed with fantastic music, lavish sets and dazzling costumes and a tale that will take theatregoers young and old on a glorious, swashbuckling adventure."

Book online at:- StHelensTheatreRoyal.Com.

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Meet The Hatter At Storyhouse This Halloween

Cast Fly Into The City To Celebrate Peter Pan Pantomime At St Helens Theatre Royal Photograph by David Munn.

Cast Fly Into The City To Celebrate Peter Pan Pantomime At St Helens Theatre Royal
Photograph by David Munn.