MULTI-AWARD-WINNING pantomime director Geoff Cross is putting the director’s hat back on after a break of over ten years to resurrect John Morley’s ‘Puss In Boots’ as Wellington Panto Group’s 2017 offering.

This very traditional pantomime was first premiered at the London Palladium in the early 1990s and first presented by the group at the Wellesley in 2001, also with Geoff directing.

The story, with an updated script, takes place among the Bluefields of Holland – already an ‘off the wall’ setting, which includes a huge Windmill and a deep Well.

A madcap collection of characters includes King Bulbo, Queen Tulip, Princess Daffodil, Lord Edam (the big cheese), the evil Blackleather, Professor Frankenstein and a good selection of ‘simple villagers’, all topped off by a talking Cat.

Ace panto scriptwriter John Morley weaves his hilarious plot expertly and the action swiftly flows this way and that, at one stage using a giant ‘machine’. And could a Yellow Submarine be seen in there somewhere? The baddies are turned into goodies, there’s a royal wedding and everyone lives happily ever after – simple.

Everything is stitched together with a selection of musical numbers led once again by Wellington Pantomime Group’s award-winning band, also under Geoff’s direction, and some expert choreography by the hugely talented Ashleigh Payne.

The pantomime runs from Wednesday, January 25, to Sunday, January 29, at the Wellesley Theatre with three shows on Saturday, January 28, and one at 12.30pm on Sunday, January 29. The 2.30pm matinee is proving popular, so anyone who would like tickets is urged not to delay.

Tickets are available from Odette’s Tea Room, High Street, Wellington, online at www. ticketsource.co.uk/wellingtonartscentre and by phone on 0844 997 9000, priced £11, £8 concessions.