Fun facts – what it takes to bring panto magically to life at the Alhambra Theatre!

As SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS enters its final weeks of performances at the Alhambra Theatre (closes on Sunday 18 January), we thought we’d take a little look behind the scenes and share what it takes to deliver the annual pantomime in Bradford.

Panto legend, Billy Pearce, leads the star-studded line-up of the festive spectacular as The Man in the Mirror, alongside international pop icon Sinitta (The Spirit of Pantomime) and Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist Myra DuBois (Queen Lucretia). They are joined by returning panto star and West Yorkshire local Sarah Pearson (Snow White), musical theatre performer Callum Connolly (Prince William), and the Magnificent Seven: Jamie John, Josh Bennett, Andy Herd, Kyle Herd, Paul Monoghan, Craig Salisbury and Richard Blenkiron (who is from Shipley).

To deliver this “colourful, entertaining and funny show” (Yorkshire Bylines), which is packed “…full of laughs, wow moments and pure unbridled fun…” (Telegraph & Argus), there is an army of backstage people, production crew and venue staff who work tirelessly during rehearsals and every performance to bring this gigantic show to life. Here’s a peek behind the scenes into what audiences might not know:

• The show arrived on 7 trucks, including 1 full of lighting equipment, 1 for sound equipment and 1 of rigging equipment
   
• The show took 2.5 days and 27 crew members to get in and fit up on stage and it takes 14 crew to run the performances
   
• There are 153 lamps rigged and hung up in the auditorium: 141 are LED, 12 are generic and the lights are capable of approx. 1 billion different colours each
   
• Most of the set / scenery pieces have LED lights in them, including the star cloths
   
• There are 10 flashes / pyros (special stage fireworks) during each show
   
• There are 792 lighting cues, 36 fly cues and 32 other special effects cues, meaning the Deputy Stage Manager says “go” 860 times in each show - that’s 61,060 over the run
   
• There are a total of 98 costume-to-costume changes in each show, with over 80 pairs of shoes and 80 pairs of tights used
   
• Over 3,000 crystals and 2,400 feathers were used to make the costumes
   
• The 12 Days of Christmas song/dance routine uses a total of 78 individual prop items, including 11 “crazy quackers” and 8 smelly socks!
   
• The Magnificent Seven’s Cottage weighs just under 1 ton
   
• There are 19 apples that make it on stage, but only one is bitten in to
   
• The props department spent 3 weeks sourcing the ingredients for the spell that Queen Lucretia casts (Serpent’s tongue, hornets sting, lizard’s leg and vulture’s wing) ….
   
• 3,717 merchandise items have been sold and 3,579 programmes, which if you lie them out end-to-end stretches to 1.1km!
   
• The Kiosk team has sold 16,935 confectionary items, including chocolate, sweets, and soft drinks; and 21,291 ice creams have been enjoyed by audiences in the depths of winter!
   
• Over 75 tons of drinks will have been delivered to the Alhambra Theatre during the panto season (that’s heavier than the Space Shuttle!)
   
• The dragon is actually really friendly, and just likes the smell of ice cream, that’s why it tries to get in to the audience!!

The show also features The Sunbeams provided by Sara Packham Theatre School in Keighley. This marks the theatre school’s 20th year of providing the legendary Sunbeams for the Bradford panto. The tradition of the Sunbeams (the children’s dance troupe) in pantomimes at the venue can be traced back to the 1930s, under the leadership of Francis Laidler who built the venue in 1914 and directed many pantos there over the decades.

The annual Alhambra Theatre pantomime brings together the work of over 30 technical and production staff, 26 performers and musicians. Plus, there are up to an additional 160 venue staff, including food & beverage, box office, cleaning, front of house and stage-door teams, who work to ensure the venue is ready to open its doors to the public during the run of pantomime.

Click here for more information.