Wellington Pantomime Group has announced that auditions for its next show – Treasure Island – will be either this weekend (July 18/19) or the following weekend.

Group chairman Pete Watts said: “We are very excited to announce that we will be holding auditions for our next pantomime, which we are hoping to perform in January 2021. Obviously we can’t be sure that Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted by then but we are giving ourselves every chance to be able to perform it, if possible. Auditions will be an odd affair this year as they will be by timed appointment to ensure social distancing is observed.”

Director Kirk J Shepherd said: “Treasure Island is a pantomime I have wanted to stage for some time now and I’m very excited to be part of this show.” The other members of the creative team are Dawn Morton, assisting Kirk, musical director Rob Spurway, choreographer Holly Knowles and producer Bridgette Sells.

Auditions will be held at Wellington Scout Hall as Wellington Arts Centre is undergoing a major refurbishment.

The pantomime group is also looking for people to help back-stage with set construction, making props, sewing costumes and helping with front-of-house duties, among the many opportunities available – email contact details to [email protected]

Anyone who would like to be involved on stage in the show should visit Wellington Arts Association’s Facebook page and view the audition video. See the associated audition information and choose a maximum of two parts to audition for, then email your choices with contact details to [email protected]. The panto group will then email an audition time.