With one wave of a magic wand, the audience will be whisked off to a glamorous ball this Christmas as St Helens Theatre Royal presents their pantomime Cinderella.
Coronation Street actor Kimberly Hart-Simpson is swapping the cobbles for the title starring role in the production. Best known for playing the role of Nicky Wheatley in the soap, she is no stranger to town.
“St Helens has a huge part of my heart because I was working with this theatre company as a seamstress, so I’ve worked on Cinderella already as a dresser,” Kimberly told LiverpoolWorld.
“I remember running around with Chrissy Rock backstage, trying to get her dressed into a horse – which is a sentence I thought I’d never say!
“I’ve already got a connection to the show, a connection to the company, a connection to St Helens. It holds a real dear place in my heart, and it’s nice that I’m going to be the other side now.”
Kimberly’s other performing credits include Hollyoaks; Rita in Educating Rita (Swanage Theatre); Balance (The Royal Exchange); Chantelle in Mount Pleasant on Sky TV; Dreamers (Oldham Coliseum); and Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion E4.
The cast also includes Britain’s Got Talent performers Jamie Leahey and puppet Chuck. Jamie said: “I just love all the slapstick, the pies in the faces. There are loads of different characters in panto. I’ve been going to St Helens Theatre Royal since I was five or six. I remember watching pantos years ago. I remember the exact people were in it and the exact characters that they played.”
With real Shetland ponies, enchanted pumpkins and a sparkling fairy-tale carriage filled with fun, Cinderella will run at St Helens Theatre Royal from Saturday, December 3, to Sunday, January 8.
