Your Midlands and Shropshire am dram guide

Although pantomime is still dominant at present, with lots of different shows to choose from across the area, there are other offerings too.

Stourbridge Writers and Actors Group or SWAG as they are affectionately known, is a progressive local amateur theatre group, and they are proud to announce that they are performing Eating Out - A Night at The Palace from January 24 to 25.

To be held at Gig Mill Church Hall, Witton Street, Stourbridge, Eating Out is written by local playwright Peter Williams, and directed by Sean Harris.

The Palace restaurant has recently opened and is run by a clueless owner/manager and a grumpy head waiter. It’s Saturday night and the woefully understaffed restaurant is going to have to deal with a peculiar mix of customers.

For tickets priced at £5, call 07498 309612 or visit the group’s Facebook page, or email Stourbridge.wag@gmail.com.

My favourite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast, although I have never seen the pantomime version.

So, I might just take a trip over to Stourbridge Town Hall between January 18 to 25 to watch Stourbridge Pantomime Company present this classic tale.

Naturally, Belle, The Beast, Chip, Mrs Potts and all the other recognisable characters are in the show, but with a traditional pantomime twist.

I expect custard pies, ghosts, 'he’s behind you', a fabulous, glamorous dame and everything else that goes with panto

For tickets, visit www.stourbridgepanto.co.uk or call Peter Mills on 01384 36963 or 07426 498475.

At Little Theatre Donnington in Shropshire, the resident group there is presenting Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with matinee performances on January 18, 19 and 25 at 2.30pm and an evening performance also on January 25 at 7.30pm.

Meet Snow White, her little followers and of course a host of other colourful characters in this classic panto.

Tickets are £7 each or £25 for a family ticket which accommodates two adults and two children, available by calling 01952 407959 or by visiting www.littletheatredonnington.co.uk.

Here’s an unusual pantomime and one I have never seen before – The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

It’s presented by Aldridge Youth Theatre, who have their own premises in Noddy Park Road in the town.

In Robert Browning’s poem, The Pied Piper might have charmed the rats of Hamelin in Germany, but in the Aldridge Youth Theatre pantomime, he is whisked over to Hampton -in-the-Marsh in rural England.

Neville Ellis’s script, written especially for the youth theatre, sees the Pied Piper battling not only with the vermin, but also with a rather dodgy and bankrupt town council.

Under Alex Fisher’s direction, forty members of the senior and intermediate groups of Aldridge Youth Theatre promise pure family entertainment with plenty of song, dance and laughter.

The panto runs from January 10 to 18 and then from January 23 to 25, with evening performances at 7.30pm and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm

For tickets, priced at £9 for adults and £8 for concessions, call 01922 458615 or visit www.aldridgeyouththeatre.co.uk.

Cannock Chase Drama Society, is presenting Sleeping Beauty from January 23 to 26 and the show is described as ‘Cannock’s most spellbinding pantomime adventure!’

The group has been in existence for more than 70 years and began life in January 1945 as a small group of friends who were simply keen to perform.

Their first production, Quiet Wedding took place in the New Hall in Cannock, where they remained for their next 64 productions, before moving into Forum Theatre in the town.

They continued to perform there, until they eventually moved to the Price of Wales Theatre in Cannock in 1984 where they have been delighting audiences ever since.

This group certainly knows how to present a good old-fashioned, traditional panto and Sleeping Beauty sounds like it is worth a visit.

A spokesperson for the group said: “We believe that amateur theatre is a very great factor in keeping alive the theatrical tradition in this country.”

For tickets for Sleeping Beauty, priced at £15 for adults, £12 for concessions, or there are also family tickets available at £45 each, visit https://www.ticketor.com or call 07968757820 or 01543 578762.

That’s all for this week. Please keep sending me details of your forthcoming show, and remember to include a good quality colour photo too to promote your performances. Email me at a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk, call me on 01902 319662 or follow me on Twitter @AlisonNorton or Facebook.

Break a leg!