Tag Archives: QDOS

Writer: Alan McHugh Director: Bob Tomson Reviewer: John Roberts The Empire Theatre’s annual pantomime may have undergone a change of producer, but that doesn’t mean the largest Christmas show in Merseyside has lost any of its glimmer and shine, in fact this year’s offering of Cinderella starring Duncan James (Prince Charming) and Jodie Prenger (Fairy Godmother) still provides a winning ...

Writer: Alan McHugh Director and Choreographer: Johnny Bates Reviewer: Kris Hallett In January, news rocked panto-land that QDOS had won the war over its competitor and First Family Entertainment (FFE) was no more. This year, they return to Bristol Hippodrome victorious. In doing so, they have produced the best pantomime Bristol has seen in years. It may have been blowing ...

Director: Michael Gyngell Reviewer: Matthew Forrest It seems an odd pairing, that of John Barrowman and the Krankies:  one forging out a career in Hollywood, the others light entertainment stalwarts delighting crowds for over 50 years. They make for strange but successful bedfellows together as this is their third outing together performing Dick Whittington, having previously taken the show to ...

Writers: Michael Harrison and Alan McHugh Director: Michael Harrison Reviewer: James Garrington When you regularly announce yourself as “Britain’s Biggest Pantomime”, you are setting expectations that many producers would find hard to live up to in reality. When the producer that makes this bold claim is Qdos, and the venue is the Hippodrome, then actually it’s a pretty safe bet ...

Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion today announced a major casting coup in landing international superstar David Hasselhoff as Captain Hook for this year’s spectacular pantomime Peter Pan. David Hasselhoff, aka The Hoff, is best known for his iconic rôles as Michael Knight in Knight Rider and Mitch Buchanan in Baywatch. David, who stars as pantomime’s ultimate baddie says he’s thrilled to be ...

Writer: Alan McHugh and Michaels Harrison Director: Michael Harrison Reviewer: James Garrington There are three things you can pretty much guarantee at Christmas: the shops will be crowded; the tree lights won’t work; and the Hippodrome will present a blockbuster pantomime. This year’s pantomime is no exception to that rule. Producers Qdos have once again pulled all the stops out ...

Writer: Jon Conway Director: Bob Tomson Reviewer: Glen Pearce [rating:3] EastEnders’ Alfie Moon may be more used to pubs than palace ballrooms, but Shane Ritchie’s Buttons seems equally at home in either. Ritchie gets an uproarious reaction on his entrance and it’s clear the Southend audiences love the comedian turned soap actor. In fact, such is his popularity that this ...

Writers: Michael Harrison and Brian Conley Director: Michael Harrison Reviewer: James Garrington [rating:5] It’s panto time, and this year Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates sails into the Birmingham Hippodrome. This has been billed as Britain’s biggest pantomime, and it’s hard to argue with that claim; producers Qdos have never been a company to skimp on their productions, and this ...