Yes you heard that right.Get tickets to see Santa’s New Sleigh and you could become a certified Master Sleigh Builder Oh and you also get to meet the big man himself. I caught up with the producer Sam Bradshaw to find out about this magical offer.

Right up until Christmas Eve, two troubled elves, Sprocket and Dibs, are calling on families to help them solve the very serious problem of Santa’s missing sleigh.

In the end there’s nothing else for it but to build a new one, and that’s where you, the audience, can help out, with lots of singing and laughter along the way.

This festive treat comes from Sam Bradshaw Productions, who are on tour again after sell-out seasons in Lichfield, Peterborough and the West End’s Arts Theatre.

Santa’s New Sleigh was first created for The Curve in Leicester. Sam was playing Stinky Pete the Pirate in a production of Peter Pan in Shrewsbury when he was asked by the Dame, Brad Fitt he’d like to produce the children’s show with him. What first began as a 40-minute story featuring Jingle Bells has developed into an hour-long show with its own original songs.

With Sam directing, and the cast working collaboratively with writer Brad, the show has evolved naturally, resulting in what Sam describes as “a fast and funny, silly bit of business.”

He said; “It’s a family-friendly, full-on interactive story with a narrative that bridges the gap for little ones that aren’t quite old enough for the panto, and there’s some subtle adult humour in there too so it’s a lovely feel-good Christmas show for everyone.”

There’s plenty of audience participation, with children invited on to the stage to open the advent calendar doors and Dads plucked out to be reindeer pulling the sleigh. At the end there’s a meet and greet with Santa and every child gets a present.

Sam has plenty of experience knowing how to create engaging productions for kids as he first became a children’s entertainer at just 13. He can walk on stilts, ride a unicycle and juggle knives.

“My Dad asked me to do some tricks for my cousin’s party and after that I kept on performing magic shows,” he explained. “I have a good eye for what kids like, so it’s funny and not patronising. It’s what my passion is, it’s amazing to see their faces when they help build the sleigh.”

Sam loves his role of half-creative, half-businessman. In between productions he performs on cruise ships and runs a children’s entertainment business in London. Most exciting of all, though, is the news that he’s working on a David Walliams title. No wonder he’s good at juggling.

Santa’s New Sleigh is performed at the Winter Gardens’ recently refurbished Pavilion Theatre, which has been reopened after 20 years through a partnership between Selladoor Worldwide and Blackpool Entertainment Company. It’s the oldest venue
in the Winter Gardens complex and was part of the original 1878 build.

“It’s an honour to be the first show staged since the 70s at such a prestigious venue as the
Pavilion Theatre,” said Sam, “And Blackpool is such a fun place with lots going on. There’s a good offering here this Christmas and it’s fantastic to be part of it.”

Santa’s New Sleigh is ideal for kids of all ages, including their parents.

Book tickets here  https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/venueartist/256254/5277083

Photographs courtesy of Sam Bradshaw Productions

Blackpool Opera House until 30th December

Never mind the rainbow, if you’re off to see the Wizar of Oz at Blackpool Opera House this Christmas you’ll soon be over the moon.

Rave reviews have been pouring in for Selladoor Worldwide’s festive musical offering and I’d like to add mine to the collection because this is a show you must not miss.

Adapted from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s stage version, this magical show combines a superb cast with spectacular set design.
The costumes are so authentic the fantasy characters are just as real as the country bumpkins they’re based on, and the make-up brings to life the familiar faces we all know and love from the original movie perfectly.

With one of the largest stages in Europe, Blackpool Opera House offers a pretty decent plot for the Texas farmland where Dorothy and Toto’s story begins, and for the imaginary world the tornado transports them to.

X Factor’s Holly Tandy is around the same age Judy Garland was when she played Dorothy, and despite the American legend being a hard act to follow, Holly steps confidently into her ruby slippers.

Thoroughly believable as the naïve but feisty young girl who discovers that her heart really does belong in deep, not-as-dull-as-she-thought Texas, she joins a crew of equally fantastic actors and keeps us enthralled throughout. Anyone who saw her on X Factor will already know how well she can sing, but this performance shows she has acting skills to match, and her accent is so good there isn’t even the slightest trace of Yorkshire.

Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher is a surprise as the Tin Man. He starts off true to type as a farmhand, but his transformation into the awkward character with a rusty gait and heart is clever and endearing. Scott Gallagher bounces in with his usual larger than life presence but mixed with the required timidity to create the Cowardly Lion.

But the best act for me came from Kieran McGinn as Scarecrow. His movements are gawky yet fluid, and, just as he described prior to the show, reminiscent of a deer learning to walk. He spins and falls as if he really is made of straw with no joints. He’s so likeable as the simple Scarecrow who’s searching for a brain I actually felt a bit distressed when bits of him got scattered across the stage.

The Wizard himself and the witches are all strong in their roles, the crows and trees are spookily good, the munchkins delightful as intended, and Toto proves a scene stealer right from the start, with someone behind me exclaiming “Ah it’s actually a real dog!”

Last but not least, this show has some impressive sound and light effects. Flashing arcs of white herald the arrival of the tornado, beams of light
create the yellow brick road, and there are plenty of noises designed to make you jump out of your seat.

This is one show that’s worth travelling to see even if you're not a local - but if you do live in Blackpool get your tickets booked here and find out why there’s no place like home.

Photographs courtesy
of Mark Dawson

The Grand Theatre Blackpool, until 6th January 2019

The Blackpool Grand plus panto equals a double dose of glitz
and entertainment and this year’s show does not disappoint. Featuring a superb
cast of local celebrities, stage and soap stars, Beauty & The Beast is
clearly an absolute delight for all ages judging by the audience reaction.

All generations of "shark" willingly stand up to
play their part in the Baby Shark Dance at the request of Louis La Plonk, aka
radio presenter and comedian Steve Royle. Audience participation is always the
best bit and he orchestrates this brilliantly, whether it’s poking fun at the
adults with a French accent, or teasing the kids with a Chorley one.

UK Productions’ larger than life characters create an expert
blend of fun and drama. Nick Wilton is endearing as the Dame, Polly La Plonk;
radio presenter Hayley Kay shines as Fairy Bon Bon singing The Great Showman’s
This is Me; EastEnders star Danny Walters shows his sensitive side and
fantastic vocals as The Beast; and Amelia Adams-Pearce proves her musical
theatre prowess with a plucky manner and powerful voice as Belle. Taking full
advantage of the strong female role, she fobs off the foppish French Hugo
Pompidou (portrayed with ding-dong aplomb by Ben Harlow), takes care of her father
Clement (played by the highly likeable Marcus Knibbs), and swoons but keeps her
cool as The Beast woos her.

The set and costumes are just gorgeous, from the sparkling
purple drapes in the dramatic Beast scenes, to Belle’s famously exquisite
yellow ballgown. The talented dancers from the Barbara Jackson Theatre Arts
Centre do choreographer Katie Hill’s routines real justice, with ballerinas fluttering
daintily beneath towering forest backdrops.

This definitely rates as one of the best pantomimes I’ve
seen in a while. It strikes a lovely balance of hilarity that's not over the
top with tender moments that aren’t too deep. The Beast's transformation into
Belle's handsome Prince really does make you go "Ahhh" and the laughs
really do make your belly ache.

Beauty & The Beast brings five-star Christmas cheer to
Blackpool. Book your tickets here
www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/event/beauty-and-the-beast-pantomime.

And if you don’t know the Baby Shark dance already, make
sure you learn it before you go.

The magnificent Empress Ballroom was filled with a breathtaking explosion of classical music and spectacular 3D animations for the ambitious and gloriously successful Light Odyssey.

The historic room, with its newly restored ceilings, came alive with a kaleidoscope of visuals created by six world-leading animators as an interpretation of the stunning architecture and music of the BBC Philharmonic.

Wowing spectators with “an epic journey of light, space and sound” this magical production involved 90 musicians led by acclaimed Norwegian conductor Eivind Aadland, performing Copland, Britten and Saint-Saëns, and classical favourites such as Barber’s Adagio for Strings.

Blackpool was a fitting host for this incredible one-off event, the first of its kind in the UK. For it’s thought the resort was also home to the world’s first electric streetlights, with thousands travelling to see the moment “artificial sunshine” began to glow from arc lamps along the promenade in 1879.

Light Odyssey was the brainchild of Creative Director Alex Rinsler and Production Manager Phil Holmes. The ambitious duo were quite rightly excited about the significance of this remarkable event, as the performance was rewarded with a standing ovation.

A delighted Phil declared: “Light Odyssey was a world class, once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a unique creative collaboration of the BBC Philharmonic as their musicians performed classic favourites in the iconic and magnificent interior of the Empress Ballroom, surrounded by stunning light installations, extraordinary animations and 3D projections, imaginatively produced and specially created by the world’s best animators - right here in Blackpool - live on our own doorstep!”

The theme was “sea and a sense of place, experienced anew with light”. The journey began with scans taken of the Empress Ballroom to make a 3D model of the venue. This was used for six designers from the UK, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands - selected from around 50 international applicants - to create bespoke animations.

This phenomenal project also created a training opportunity for students of Video Design for Live Performance at the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama, who worked with the show’s technical partners, QED Productions, pioneers of projection mapping technology.
Debussy’s Prélude de l’Après midi d’un faune was brought to life by Matt and Rob Vale of Illuminos, whose work has taken them from Les Troyens for Lyric Opera, Chicago, to the 2017 Capital of Culture closing ceremony in Cyprus.

“Working with the Empress Ballroom as a canvas has been a one of a kind experience”, said Rob. “The architecture and space is stunning. The chance to work with a live orchestra is very rare, and to respond to such a beautiful piece of music has been both a unique challenge and a privilege. It was also exciting to be working alongside other projection artists – we were as excited as everyone else to see all the hard work come to life in its full musical and visual scale on the night. We hope guests felt our crafted a piece brought beauty and wonder to Light Odyssey, as we spent time in the company of faeries.”

Alongside the Vales’ mythical creatures were themes of nature and sea mythology from award-winning multimedia designer Dan Shorten of Anomic Multimedia. Also a creative director at Guildhall School, his work includes large-scale projection artworks for a range of clients including the Tower of London, The British Museum, Glastonbury Festival and Blackpool Illuminations. Speaking ahead of the event, Dan predicted: “The audience can expect to be surprised, this will be a unique experience for them. The quality of all the elements is exceptionally high. It's been a great honour to be involved, inspiring and challenging in equal measure."

Phil said: “We hope this special event will go down in Blackpool’s entertainment history as one of the most ground-breaking and innovative melting pots of culture, art technology and live music experiences ever performed in the resort".

Light Odyssey is part of Blackpool’s award-winning Lightpool Festival, made possible with £85,000 of public funding through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants; other key partners include VisitBlackpool, LeftCoast and the BBC Philharmonic.

For more information visit: www.visitblackpool.com/things-to-do/festival/