The Last Laugh, The Mousetrap and Aladdin lead the Floral Pavilion autumn season
New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion has set out its autumn and winter programme, led by the West End comedy The Last Laugh, the 75th anniversary tour of The Mousetrap and the venue’s Christmas pantomime Aladdin.
The Floral Pavilion in New Brighton has published its autumn and winter line-up, and three titles carry the season: the West End comedy The Last Laugh in October, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap on its 75th anniversary tour later the same month, and the venue’s annual pantomime, Aladdin, over Christmas.
The 814-seat theatre on the Wirral coast programmes touring drama, music, comedy, dance and family shows, and the months ahead lean on all of it – big touring productions sharing the diary with one-night bills and household names.
The Last Laugh (6–10 October) arrives after runs in the West End and New York. Written and directed by Paul Hendy, it puts three giants of British comedy in a single unlikely dressing room: Steve Royle, the Britain’s Got Talent finalist, as Eric Morecambe, Damian Williams as Tommy Cooper and Simon Cartwright as Bob Monkhouse, trading thoughts on comedy, mortality and what being funny actually costs.
The Mousetrap follows from 19–24 October. The anniversary tour is led by Nicholas Bailey – familiar to EastEnders viewers as Dr Anthony Trueman – as Major Metcalf, with Susan Penhaligon, of Bouquet of Barbed Wire and A Fine Romance, as Mrs Boyle.
Christmas belongs to Aladdin (5 December–3 January), with BAFTA winner James Mackenzie – the Raven host and a Molly and Mack regular – relishing the villainy as Abanazar, and Floral Pavilion favourite Sean Jones back for a seventh year as Wishee Washee.
Around those, the drama strand takes in Diane’s Deli (4 September), Emmeline Pankhurst: Angel or Anarchist (23 October), Cue Murder! Halloween Special Murder Mystery (31 October), Thunder Road Theatre’s The Void (6–7 November) and the festive whodunnit Murder at the Manor (12 December).
Beyond the plays, the season runs to music (John Barrowman’s My Life in Musicals on 10 September, The Mersey Beatles, The Opera Boys with Paul Potts, The Glenn Miller and Big Band Spectacular), comedy from John Cleese, Hal Cruttenden, Simon Evans, Paul Smith and Gary Delaney, and family shows including Fireman Sam Live! – The Lost Pirate Treasure and There’s a Monster in Your Show.