ACTORS are gearing up for the traditional pantomime Sleeping Beauty, written by Norman Robbins, which will be performed by the Preston Pantomime Group (PPG) from February 17 to 21.

All performances take place at Preston Village Hall near Weymouth and there will be a matinee performance on February 21.

Sian Oliphant, the production’s co-director with Julie Pardoe, said tickets are selling fast for the panto, the 37th to be performed by the PPG, pictured.

She said: “We’ve got quite a small cast but everyone has thrown themselves into it.

“It’s quite a traditional panto with a sort of twist in it. We’ve tried to bring it up to date with the jokes referring to local businesses and local people. We wanted to make it a real community panto. It is well supported and we have people who come every year,” she said.

Sophie Dodds is playing the Prince while Natasha Beaufils is playing Sleeping Beauty. Other main members of the cast are Lyndsay Maton, Emily Cross and Julie Pardoe as the Evil Fairy.

Sian said: “My husband Scott has been doing the scenery for 15 or 16 years and I started off helping with the panto by helping in the kitchen.

“I got to my 50th birthday and they said I should give it a go at being on the stage, I got conned into it and now I’ve found myself as a co-director!

“The scenery is fantastic. Also in the cast we have some pupils from St Andrew’s School in Preston and they’ve been doing a really good job. We’ve also had a lot of help from the Dorchester Middle School.”

All evening performances of Sleeping Beauty are at 7.30pm and the matinee performance on February 21 is at 2.30pm.

Tickets, costing £6 for adults and £4 for children, should be booked in advance by calling 01305 834410.

The Preston Panto Group is looking for new members and would like to hear from anyone who would like to get involved in a future production.

Call 01305 834410, see preston-pantomime-weymouth.co.uk or see the Facebook group Preston Pantomime Group.