An institution in the Weymouth summer entertainment programme is gearing up for a swashbuckling return at the end of the month.

‘Pirates of the Pavilion’ is back for a fifth year – combining the usual nautical theme with some Jurassic hi-jinks.

Drawing on the popularity of a large prehistoric visitor to Dorset earlier in the year – when Dippy the diplodocus spent three months at Dorset County Museum – this year’s theme is dinosaurs, with the crew of the Saucy Sally travelling back to prehistory to recover the fragments of a magic fossil.

And the effects, in particular, are something to look forward to: created by Wareham-based The Twins FX, they include, as a highlight, a pterodactyl that flies high above the audience. Writer, producer and director Lee Redwood of Made-to-Measure Pantomimes stressed that the show was truly Weymouth-centric.

Dorset Echo:

Writer, producer and director Lee Redwood (centre) with cast members Isla Rose and Liam Mellor

“This doesn’t exist anywhere else,” he said. “We makes jokes about the Asda traffic lights, anything reported in the Echo. It’s truly a Weymouth thing.”

Mr Redwood, from Bournemouth, added that some members of the audience came back year after year for the show.

“We’ve got people who come down from Scotland specially for it,” he revealed.

For the third year in a row, one performance, on Tuesday, July 31, will be ‘relaxed’ – meaning suitable for disabled audiences, and those on the autism spectrum.

“We turn on the house lights, and turn down the sounds levels,” Mr Redwood explained. “There are no pyrotechnics and we leave the doors open so people can come and go.”

For the performance, wheelchair spaces will also be available at the front of the auditorium, rather than the back, as is usual.

Cast members Liam Mellor – who plays Seadog Billy – and Isla Rose – who plays Pirate Poppy – said the actors had ‘a lot of fun’ together.

“It’s a great show, and I love the jokes,” said Mr Mellor, from Doncaster, while Ms Rose, from Bournemouth, added that the group was ‘like a big family’.

As well as the senior members of the cast, dance students from around a dozen Dorset dance schools – numbering 250 students in total – will be joining for one day’s performances each.

“It’s a great chance for them to get a taste of a professional production,” Mr Redwood said.

Participating schools include Dorchester Ballet and Dance, Weymouth Stagecoach and Let’s Dance.

‘Pirates of the Pavilion’ will be showing Monday and Tuesdays every week of the summer holidays at Weymouth Pavilion, starting on Monday, July 30, and ending on Wednesday, August 29.

To book tickets, visit the Pavilion's website at http://weymouthpavilion.com/pirates or contact 01305 783225.