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 from Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November 2024.
And 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.
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.
Telephone ticket booking line 01744 756000, lines open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.
Book online at www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com