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Gareth Gates talks about coming to do panto in
Canterbury

by Chris Price

Gareth Gates made a promise to the county as he led
the cast of Sleeping Beauty at the Marlowe Theatre pantomime
launch.

The singer and actor, who has sold more than 3.5 million records
in the UK, will play a cheeky Prince who is "more Prince Harry than
Prince William" when the show gets underway.

Gareth, 27, was joined outside the theatre in Canterbury on
Monday, June 25, by punk princess and actress Toyah Willcox and
CBeebies’ Katrina Bryan from Nina and the Neurons.

He has done pantomime three times before, playing the Prince in
Cinderella and Snow White, but it was his role in Aladdin last year
which caught the attention of Evolution Productions, who have
brought him to the Marlowe.

"I think they liked my comedy, so let’s hope there is quite a
bit of that in this year’s production," said Gareth.

"Aladdin is a different show, where the lead is a cheeky chappy
but I think they want me to bring that through to this show.

"They don’t want me to always be the regal Prince but be a bit
more of a boy about town.

"More Prince Harry than Prince William."

Gareth will already have had plenty of time to get to know his
co-star Faye Brookes, who plays Sleeping Beauty, as the pair are
starring in the UK tour of Legally Blonde together this summer.

Completing the cast are Marlowe favourite Ben Roddy – a veteran
of three Marlowe pantomimes – as the Dame and Kent-born comedian
Lloyd Hollett as the Storyteller.

Toyah Willcox, who has a home in Canterbury, has only had one
Christmas off from panto since her first one in 1993. This will be
her seventh Marlowe Theatre pantomime.

She said: "It’s a great Christmas tradition which you get
nowhere else in the world.

"It is a time for the family to be together. I love it. I
wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t do panto."

Sleeping Beauty is at the Marlowe Theatre,
Canterbury, from Friday, November 30 to Sunday, January 20,
2013.