Young stars playing Peter Pan and Wendy will miraculously fly away to Neverland to fight pirates, meet mermaids and play with lost boys in Epsom’s Christmas panto.
But behind the scenes, a lot of effort goes into creating the aerial effects and there will be a team of eight people controlling the wires and expensive equipment that will allow the cast to fly.
Producer John Spillers, who owns Spillers Pantomimes, says they have to make sure child actors are not scared of flying and know how to move the right way.
Spillers says: "It’s got to look right. You can’t have people flying willy-nilly. You have got to do it properly.
"Kids need to really believe they are flying. You can’t just string a kid up and hang them up like a piece of meat."
The production of Peter Pan, supported by the Epsom Guardian, opens at the Epsom Playhouse in December.
The cast of professional actors, singers and dancers is headed by Martin Clark as Peter Pan and Mark Sell as the evil Captain Hook.
There will be a revolving set, moving between the pirate ship and Neverland, and lots of cinematic projections.
Spillers says his company has come to Epsom each Christmas for about a decade and the audience always has high expectations.
He says: "It’s our creme de la creme. It’s the nearest theatre to the West End we do and we try to make it the best that we can."
He says the child actors, who play lost boys and other characters, all need licenses, adding: "They can’t go from the dressing room to the stage without a chaperone watching them."
Producers are also searching for a girl aged six to nine to play Tinker Bell who will be filmed flying in a harness.
The film of Peter Pan's right hand fairy will then be integrated into the panto.
Anyone interested in auditioning should send a photo and note outlining why they think they should be Tinker Bell to the producers.
Email bev.berridge@btinternet.com by Friday October 11.
Peter Pan; Epsom Playhouse; December 13 to January 5; Prices range from £11 to £18.50; Call 01372 742555; Visit www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk
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