Desperately seeking talent

Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre is holding open auditions on Saturday 17 September to find 24 talented children to appear in this year’s pantomime, Mother Goose.

Charlie Ryan as Will Do-It with chorus

Charlie Ryan as Will Do-It with chorus

The open auditions will take place from 9.30am on the Main Stage and are for children aged between 8 and 16 years old.

Children will need to be at the Belgrade’s stage door (opposite the Town Wall Tavern) for 9.15am, where they will be met by licensed chaperones. They must be prepared to remain all day and should wear comfortable clothing as they will be required to dance at the audition. Children are also advised to bring a soft drink with them.

Steve Boden from Imagine Theatre, who co-produce the Belgrade pantomime, said, “These auditions are totally open and young people, between the ages of eight and sixteen years, from all backgrounds are welcome, irrelevant of what experience they already have.

“We pride ourselves on finding the best young people from the local area and this year we will have three teams of eight children taking it in turns to perform throughout the hectic schedule. We’ve been overwhelmed with the response of people wanting to audition for Mother Goose this year and hope to attract the top talent from across Coventry and beyond to be a part of what promises to be an outstanding production.”

The parents of those children chosen to be in the chorus will be asked to attend a meeting at the theatre on Monday 19 September at 6.30pm for information about licensing and panto guidelines. More information about the auditions and the extent of the commitment needed from the children involved can be found on the Belgrade’s website: www.belgrade.co.uk

Mother Goose is all set to be another hit pantomime from the team of Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton who have written, directed and starred in numerous Belgrade pantos as well as having created the children’s TV phenomenon The Tweenies.

Tickets for Mother Goose, which runs from Tues 29 Nov to Sat 7 Jan 2012, are available from the Box Office on 024 7655 3055 priced from £13.25 to £21.75 and online at www.belgrade.co.uk where cheaper tickets are available.