IT’S panto time again… oh yes it is. After missing a year due to the Covid alert, Dalton Amateur Dramatic Society (DADS) are returning next month with their 22nd show – Puss in Boots.
DADS’s last production, Peter Pan, was one of the final live performances in the area before the country was put under lockdown in early March 2020.
The co-directors of that panto, Rebecca Blenkiron and Adam Wallis, are back at the helm for Puss in Boots, which will be staged on three nights, Thursday, February 24, to Saturday, February 26, along with a matinee at 2.30pm on the Saturday.
It is also the first time the society has performed this particular panto.
Ms Blenkiron and Mr Wallis said: “We decided on Puss in Boots for this year’s show as it is a project we have not worked on before. We have done a few repeats over the years but we like to try new things.
“We also thought something fresh and new would be great for our audience after a couple of years with no panto at all.”
They said audiences would be in for a great time.
“We found a fab new script by a chap called Alex Jackson and his work is great – it is really funny and fresh with a modern twist. You can expect lots of singing, some dancing – all be it a bit rudimentary, more like bobbing – and lots of laughs. We haven’t stopped laughing since we started.”
The pantomime tells the tale of Tom Miller, seeking refuge in Pompadour with his cat Puss.
They bump into Spirit of the Whiskers, who balms Puss’s painful paws with a pair of magical boots, from Betty’s boot shop “Ye Olde Bootey” .
Ogre Rumbletum and his wicked henchmen soon learn of these magical boots and seek them for their own.
Will Puss hold onto his boots or will the evil gang get their paws on them?
Preparations for the panto began last autumn with rehearsals stepping up a gear after Christmas.
Tickets available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/DALTONPANTO. Evening performances start at 7.30pm.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
