St Helens Theatre Royal to host special fundraising panto performance for Zoe's Place

St Helens Theatre Royal is joining the campaign to help save Liverpool’s Zoe’s Place with a special fundraising performance of its enchanting half term panto.

Sleeping Beauty comes to St Helens Theatre Royal from Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November 2024.

And today the theatre is announcing that £15 from every ticket already sold or newly bought for the 1pm show on Tuesday 29 October will be donated directly to the vitally important Liverpool baby hospice whose future is under threat.

It means panto audiences could help raise up to £10,500 if there is a full house.

In addition to the individual £15 ticket donation, a special bucket collection will also be held at the performance.

Zoe’s Place, which was founded in 1995, is one of only three hospices in the UK which specialises in caring for babies and children under the age of five who have life-limiting, life-threatening or complex conditions.

The six-bed hospice in West Derby includes a state-of-the-art sensory room, hydrotherapy pool, soft play area, outdoor play area and garden and a special bereavement suite where families can stay overnight. An expert nurse-led team delivers care tailored to individual children and their families to allow them to live life to the fullest.

Sleeping Beauty. Credit: St Helens Theatre Royal

But the lease on the Yew Tree Lane site runs out in 2025, and delays in securing planning permission for a new purpose-built hospice, combined with sharply rising costs in the construction industry, have led to Zoe’s Place announcing it faces closing its doors at the end of this year.

Since news broke earlier this month, a campaign has been launched to raise £5 million in 30 days to help fund a new building and keep the vital service in Liverpool.

Meanwhile the most spellbinding panto of them all, Sleeping Beauty tells the story of Princess Aurora who is cursed by the evil fairy Carabose, pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and is doomed to sleep for a hundred years – unless a handsome prince arrives to break the spell.

The talented cast of firm St Helens favourites includes Maddie Hope Coehlo in the leading role while Rachael Wood is Carabose, Lewis Devine appears as Chester the Jester, Lewis Burrage is the Prince, Warren Donnelly appears as the King, Katy Mac is Fairy Sparkle and Mark Two plays Dame Queenie.

The panto is written by Liam Mellor, directed by Chantelle Nolan and has choreography by Nazene Langfield. Callum Clarke is musical supervisor.

Regal Entertainments Ltd has been bringing top quality and star-studded productions to the North-West for more than 20 years. It is run by the theatrical powerhouse mother and daughter duo of Jane Joseph and Chantelle Nolan who produce top quality drama, comedy and panto productions which continue to break box office records.

It produces four pantomimes – at Easter, Christmas and in the February and October half term holidays, with tens of thousands of theatregoers enjoying the fantastic family-friendly fun each year.

Panto director and St Helens Theatre Manager Chantelle Nolan says:

“As soon as we heard the terrible news about Zoe’s Place, we knew we wanted to do something to help secure the future of what is a vitally important resource for young children and their families in the North-West.

“We’re really delighted to be able to pledge £15 from each ticket that is, or has already been, sold for the matinee on 29 October, and knowing how loyal our wonderful panto audiences are, and the generosity of St Helens people, I’m certain that we’re going to raise a lot of money for this worthiest of causes.

“And of course, I can also guarantee everyone a brilliant time. Sleeping Beauty is one of our best-loved pantos and we have a fantastic cast who are ready to cast a spell over audiences young and old this half term.”