To celebrate their 21st anniversary, the Whitley Bay Pantomime Society put on a production of ‘Cinerella’ at The Playhouse Theatre Whitley Bay staring Joanna Riley as ‘Cinderella’, Roland Maughan as ‘Buttons’ with John Collins and Alan Douglas as the ‘Ugly Sisters’. A darkened auditorium with the sound of church bells, music from the orchestra pit begins to play as the stage curtain opens to reveal a decorative stage. The chorus begin a song and dance routine followed by members of the...

To celebrate their 21st anniversary, the Whitley Bay Pantomime Society put on a production of ‘Cinerella’ at The Playhouse Theatre Whitley Bay staring Joanna Riley as ‘Cinderella’, Roland Maughan as ‘Buttons’ with John Collins and Alan Douglas as the ‘Ugly Sisters’. A darkened auditorium with the sound of church bells, music from the orchestra pit begins to play as the stage curtain opens to reveal a decorative stage. The chorus begin a song and dance routine followed by members of the principle, including Rowland Maughan as ‘Button’s performing, the opening scenes. The ‘Ugly Sisters’ arrive riding a tandem bicycle. The performance continues with several song and dance routines performed by both individually as part of a duet or as part of a chorus. The performance come to an end with both the cast and audience singing ‘Agadoo’ by Black Lace. Rowland Maughan comes forward as the curtain closes and the words to the song appearing on a large placard hanging down above the stage. Roland addresses the audience to thank some of the parties or groups who are in the audience. He wonders into the auditorium carrying a basket of flowers which he presents to a woman on the front row. He walks up and down the aisle to make sure everyone is singing ‘Agadoo’. He comes back onto the stage with five children who are each given a sticks of rock before leaving. The curtain raises again for one final dance routine after which the full cast appear for a final encore. The song over Roland comes forward to give a special thanks to some of the cast and crew, some receiving bouquets. Two of the founders of the Whitley Bay Pantomime Society Ernie and Marjorie Scorer comes on stage and are presented with a gift by the cast as thanks for their work over the past 21 years. Another gift is presented to the society Treasurer Les Burns and a surprise ‘key of the theatre’ is given to Roland by Eric. The audience applaud as the cast wave, the night ends with everyone singing the National Anthem.