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Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs - Dec 2014 Croydon


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Confirmed on Gareth's Website & Facebook

Gareth confirmed to star in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Paul Hendy and Emily Wood for Evolution Pantomimes in association with Fairfield Halls presents

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
STARRING
GARETH GATES

Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls, Croydon
Friday 5th December 2014 to Sunday 4th January 2015


Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the greatest panto of them all?

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, of course, this years Christmas treat at the Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls, Croydon, starring GARETH GATES.

Recently seen donning his skates for a second time in the final Allstars series of ITVs Dancing On Ice, featuring past winners and favourites, GARETH GATES will head the cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs playing Prince Charming.

Gareths career launched in 2002 when he was famously runner up to Will Young in the UKs first Pop Idol TV show. His music career flourished with 4 number 1 singles and he went on to sell 5.3 million records worldwide to date. He is also the holder of the second best-selling single of the noughties with Unchained Melody.

In addition to taking part in the third series of Dancing On Ice, in which he came fourth, Gareths successful career has seen him receive acclaimed reviews on stage, touring and in the West End, in hit musicals including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the 25th Anniversary tour of Les Miserables and Legally Blonde.

Next month sees Gareth return to music with the release of The Very Best of Gareth Gates (release date: 10/03/14), a compilation of his number one hits, fan favourites and new self-penned songs. Gareth is also taking part in series two of the Big Reunion, as part of the band 5th Story, which is currently on our screens.


Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs opens on Friday 5th December and will run until Sunday 4th January. Tickets are on sale from the Fairfield Halls Box Office 020 8688 9291 or online at www.fairfield.co.uk

All tickets for performances from Friday 5th to Friday 12th December and Sunday 4th January are £17. All other performances are priced £21, £26 & £30 Adults and £21, £22 & £25 Children & Senior Citizens. Family Ticket (2 Adults & 2 Children) £91. Great concessions are available for Groups, Schools, Brownies and Cubs. No Booking Fee!

For further information please contact: Laura Roberts Press Officer, Fairfield Halls
Tel: 020 8603 3931 Email: publicity@fairfield.co.uk

BOOK TICKETS HERE :thumbsup:http://www.fairfield.co.uk/en-GB/shows/snow%20white%20and%20the%20seven%20dwarfs/events

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Guest NicolaJayne

The panto news and tickets seem to go on sale earlier each year, it's wonderful news though that Gareth is doing Panto again though, and thank you Val for being so on the ball in letting us know. This is definately another Birthday treat for me,

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Guest NicolaJayne

Just booked my tickets for my Birthday but Sunday matinee 7th Dec all booked up only had seats left in the circle, seems tickets have been on sale a long time. I was lucky and managed to get 2 seats on the front row cancellations and 1 a bit further back For another day,Brian won't mind that as he hates front row, but good for Sam. So I expect most weekends may be the same. It's a shame tickets are on sale so far in front before we find out Gareth is appearing.

By the way all seats are £17 for the first week. And reduced parking at NCP car park under the theatre.

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Great news.

Assuming Gareth is going to be the Prince once more?

It looks like it is the same producers as this last year's Panto-Evolution.

Just booked my tickets for my Birthday but Sunday matinee 7th Dec all booked up only had seats left in the circle, seems tickets have been on sale a long time. I was lucky and managed to get 2 seats on the front row cancellations and 1 a bit further back For another day,Brian won't mind that as he hates front row, but good for Sam. So I expect most weekends may be the same. It's a shame tickets are on sale so far in front before we find out Gareth is appearing.
By the way all seats are £17 for the first week. And reduced parking at NCP car park under the theatre.

Wow that's amazing Elaine. Incredible how early people book.

Thanks for supplying all the information. It certainly helps others looking to book.

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Guest NicolaJayne

Box office number is 0208 6033973 not the number given. I tried to book for the week after 16th 17th&. 18th but booked up till about row k. In the evenings. I was amazed thought there would be no problem getting good seats during the week. I just think some people must book when they go for next year as they kept advertising next year at St Albans and saying tickets were on sale.

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  • 7 months later...

The details of the panto are no longer on Gareth's Official site and with last year's promotion seeming as if it had taken place earlier in the year, I wondered if this was going ahead.

Well it's all good that it is :thumbsup:

Loving the photos. Thanks.

Have we seen that same costume before?

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Interview with Gareth in London Theatre News

https://www.londontheatre1.com/index.php/96452/interview-gareth-gates-prince-snow-white/

Interview with Gareth Gates – Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

October 1, 2014

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With panto season fast approaching, Gareth Gates is preparing to play the Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – but even as a seasoned actor and singer, every performance presents a fresh challenge for the former Pop Idol star.

While singing is his first love, when it comes to delivering his lines, Gareth still has to find ways to control the stammer which has been a part of his life since childhood.

Music became his saviour at the age of eight, when he took on the lead role in a school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and found that singing and performing gave him the confidence he lacked due to his speech problems. He went on to realise his dream when he was offered the role of Joseph in the West End.

For me, music is a release and a means of self expression,” says Gareth. “I love singing, but speech is more of an issue, I use breathing techniques to help me manage it. I’ve tried various things, but the only thing one seems to work is the McGuire programme. It can be isolating to have this problem, but through the programme, I’ve met other people who share my affliction.

The method developed by Dave McGuire, which featured in the Channel 4 documentary Stammer School, teaches ways to keep the problem under control, such as Costal breathing, a technique used by opera singers.

Gareth is supported by a fellow member from the programme, Chris Cooksey, who acts as his speech coach, advising him when he needs to slow down or take a breath to stop him stumbling over his words.

When I’m rehearsing, it can be terrifying,” admits Gareth, “But when I actually go on stage, I get into character and I’m on a roll. I adopt a different persona. For Aladdin, I played him as a cheeky chappie, with my own Northern accent. In Snow White, I become a handsome prince, who speaks very well!”

Stress can worsen Gareth’s speech problems, so it helps that panto is a more laid-back style of theatre with the chance to ad-lib if necessary.

Compared to serious West End shows, panto is nice and relaxed,” says Gareth, who spent 18 months in Les Miserables. “It’s an enjoyable thing to do, to get on stage and interact with the audience.”

His five-year-old daughter Missy loves to watch him on stage and on one occasion during the traditional scene where the hero plays up to the audience by failing to spot the villain, a little voice piped up from the audience: “Daddy – he’s behind you!

This is my fifth panto – it wouldn’t feel like Christmas without it!” says Gareth. “Im looking forward to singing songs I really enjoy in this production of Snow White. Panto really gets you into the festive spirit. As a child I went every year, and now I love to be part of other people’s Christmas.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, written by Paul Hendy and produced by Evolution, stars Gareth Gates as Prince Charming and Witney White as Snow White, with Quinn Patrick as Nurse Nellie and Siani Owen as Queen Morgiana.

Interview by Angela Lord

Performances at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, run from Friday 5th December until Sunday 4th January. Tickets for performances from Friday 5th to Friday 12th December and Sunday 4th January are £17. All other performances are priced £21, £26 & £30 Adults and £21, £22 & £25 Children & Senior Citizens. Family Ticket £91. Concessions for groups. Tickets are available from the Fairfield Halls Box Office 020 8688 9291 or online at www.fairfield.co.uk

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Guest NicolaJayne

Thank you for posting the interview Val, I was lucky and got tickets for £17 as it was early in December., being the only dates I could get front seats for.

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Guest NicolaJayne

Thanks for the mention on DG Chris,

Couldn't have a better Prince Charming than Gareth he has had plenty of practise at it and you couldn't get a more handsome Prince.

I am front row for this with my little Grandson , Sammy the others class themselves as too old for panto now.but you are never too old.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest NicolaJayne

Thank you Khelda missed that tweet, great promotion for the panto, not that I think it will need it was selling fast when I first found out Gareth was in it. I think all the best seats will be taken by now.

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  • 4 weeks later...

That's great news Khelda.

Gareth does seem to be able to put bum on seats in Panto.

There is a lovely article here from a lady who recently met Gareth and the cast at rehersals:

Tara Green @ParentingGeek ·Panto season starts in #Croydon next week at @FairfieldHalls Read about what happened when I first met the cast: http://www.theparentinggeek.com/review-all-the-fun-of-a-pantomime-photo-call/ …

As a Mum of three daughters aged 10, 7 and 2 years old, it is fair to say that I have seen more than my fair share of children’s television, films and a smattering of theatre shows and the words ‘Family Show’ has usually denoted something that is definitely a million times more engaging for the children than the adults in the family. More often than not I enjoy these shows vicariously through the children’s enjoyment of them, and let my own mind wander as I watch in an unabsorbed fashion.

In my experience of the pantomime staged at Fairfield Halls for the 2013 Christmas season however, the show was just as entertaining for my husband and I as it was for the kids. Some aspects of it went right over the children’s heads in fact, but made us giggle or snort with laughter. I love those moments, when we grown ups catch each other’s eye above the heads of our more innocent children who just miss the adult humour that sailed right over their heads.

In Croydon’s panto a lot of this is down to the fact that Quinn Patrick who plays the dame is so cheeky, naughty and hilarious. He makes his little throwaway remarks and jokes and they seem completely impromptu and suited to the moment. Having never seen the show twice in one year, I have no idea whether these are scripted lines or are actually improvised.

As with last year’s panto production Peter Pan, Paul Hendy has written this year’s production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and it has again been produced by Evolution. At the press call I spoke to a number of the cast and the team at Fairfield Halls as they said that Paul and Evolution are so easy to work with and for, that once you’ve had one of their pantomimes in the house that it’s hard to change!

I cannot wait to see the pantomine in December and based on last year’s brilliant show and having seen how well the cast seem to get on this year, would have no hesitation in recommending it to you and your family too.

The-Stars-of-the-Show-982x1024.jpg
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Meeting and interviewing Gareth Gates as part of the pre-panto photo call was a surprisingly deep and meaningful experience! He was humble, he was nice, he was chatty and he was supported on the day of the photos and interviews by Chris Cooksey one of the members of his mentor and education programme, the McGuire Programme, for people who stammer. Our interview began with Chris explaining that he was there to coach and encourage Gareth to use the skills he has learnt for managing his stammer whilst in this very daunting situation of being interviewed and asked many questions by all of us sitting there that day. Gareth explained throughout the interview that when he is singing and acting he doesn’t have a problem with the stammer. He knows the words, he knows what is coming next and he has practised those lines until they come automatically. He told us that although he has stammered all of his life, he never had stammering issues whilst singing and indeed found singing to be a form of release and expression. He went as far as to say that singing saved him. Did you know that Gareth Gates was going to train as an opera singer before the his path was altered by Pop Idol back in 2002? It is pretty amazing and courageous for him to have sought and worked for a career in which he would be so in the public eye and so called upon to

Gareth lives in North London and has a five year old daughter. When he played Prince Charming at St Alban’s last year, his daughter saw about 20 of his performances. The most memorable for Gareth was when in a quiet moment as he asked “Where is he?” his little daughter’s small voice was heard to call out in the theatre, “Daddy, he’s behind you!” The audience were as captivated by this as her proud Daddy and everyone laughed and aaawed!

I asked Gareth if his parents and family mind him doing pantomime, as it means a great deal of work time during a traditionally family time season of the year. This is Gareth’s fifth pantomine, and his third with Paul Hendy and Evolution, and so if it is hard and demanding, that is a lot of year’s of Christmas toil and humbug! Gareth told us that pantomime is a very relaxed and enjoyable thing to do. He has Christmas day off and his family come to where he is for Christmas so that they are still together for Christmas dinner and a family day together.

So why was meeting him deep and meaningful? Because he is a man showing great courage in the face of a possible barrier to doing the things he wants to do with his life. Speaking and using his voice is hard for him and yet speaking and using his voice is what his job requires. I have fears in my life that make me stop in my tracks and wait. He didn’t do this. He chose his path and he is just getting on with it.

:wub:

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