Now you know we at Ink Pellet love to let our hair down once in a while, so we look forward to Christmas and a lovely bit of panto (oh yes we do). Sorry about that, slip of the keyboard. But as you’ll see from the listings here, the traditional genre is alive and kicking. My first ever pantomime trip was at the Southend Cliff’s Pavilion to see Mother Goose so I am delighted to see this old favourite being revived at Nottingham Playhouse, which is cracking (get it?) all the egg jokes you could possibly crack! Local hero John Elkington has become a comic legend in his own right over twelve years of Nottingham Playhouse Pantos and this will be his 27th Dame role. For details on how to book, visit www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk.
Meanwhile normal service is renewed as we head south to the lovely Greenwich Theatre who will be working with Blackeyed Theatre to put on Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle. I missed this on its last run in London so I am hoping to make the journey when it opens (on my birthday, in fact) on February 8. This new version has been created by Frank McGuiness who tells the story of a servant girl’s legal challenge to keep a boy she saved in the heat of civil war. This play is directed by Tom Neill, who last worked at the Greenwich on Alfie. To book your place, call the box office on 020 8858 7755 or check out www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk.
Finally, don’t miss the revival of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird that kicks off a national tour at York’s Theatre Royal. Directed by Damien Crudden and starring Duncan Preston as Atticus Finch, this is bound to be a big ticket event. It is amazing to think that Lee’s Pullitzer Prize-winning novel is now 50 years old – and still enjoyed by a new generation. For details on how to book your tickets visit www.touringconsortium.com