Our visit to The Theatre Royal Windsor represented Act 2 of the Panto Project 2022; the first part of the project taking place in the Corn Exchange Newbury and the final part being a touring panto performance, which will take place at a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school in Maidenhead in January 2023.
Children from SEN schools across Berkshire and surrounding provinces, together with many children from a range of local children’s charities, were whisked away to Windsoria and Etonia, a world ruled by King Fox, aka Basil Brush, to witness a modern fairy-tale of Beauty turning 18, falling in love and marrying a handsome prince.
The journey to the church was not straightforward. Along the way, the cast of Sleeping Beauty including the regulars of Stephen Blakeley, Kevin Cruise and Anita Harris, who is celebrating her 60th year in showbusiness, royally entertained the children, teachers and parents who enthusiastically joined in the traditional audience participation; there was lots of singing, clapping and booing.
In total, 372 tickets were purchased courtesy of generous donations from the Berkshire Masonic Charity and the Louis Bayliss Foundation Trust. Ice-cream was served during the interval and was provided courtesy of Beechdean. Letters explaining the source of funding have been circulated to the school charities for onward transmission to the parents. The Provincial Grand Master, together with his Deputy and the Provincial Grand Charity Steward, were in attendance to meet and greet the children and, of course, to partake in the fun!”
