On Sunday of Week 8, MedSoc will bring the festive spirit to the campus of Lancaster University, with their pantomime production of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. The production will be held in The Nuffield Theatre at 7.30pm.
MedSoc Charities Officer and Producer of the pantomime, Katie Walsh, told SCAN that there are around 25 cast members and a further 15 Medical students involved backstage.
When asked how the idea of doing a Christmas pantomime came about, Walsh stated: “Myself and Tish Atherton (Director of the production) are the charities officers for MedSoc who decided to do the panto in the first place to try to raise money for charity. I had the idea since my first year at medical school but this year as charities officer I finally got to put my idea into action!”
“I know that other universities have an annual Christmas panto (Manchester Medics put on a panto every year for Manchester university students) but Lancaster Uni does not currently have anything like this as far as I’m aware!” she continued.
Walsh also expressed their aim to raise the awareness of MedSoc and show Lancaster University “that we work hard but play hard!”, also pointing out that “this is a good opportunity for medical students to take time out from their busy timetables in hospital and uni to do something fun and have a laugh.”
Walsh explained that after deciding to do the pantomime, they started planning for it at the end of the last academic year. She also pointed out that the production has promoted working alongside other societies, telling SCAN: “We have been working together with the Theatre Society who have been a big help to us by giving us advice on how to go about putting on the panto. They offered us a ‘creative consultant’, Jenn Pawley, who has been helping us to stage the panto.”
Abbey Barraclough, a third year student who will be playing the role of Snow White, told SCAN “We’ve all being loving doing the panto! It’s a brand new venture for the medics, everyone is having so much fun doing it and it’s all for a good cause because the money is going to charity.”
Evil Queen Caligula played by third year Charlotte Bolton added “I am really excited for the panto and transforming into the pantos baddie next sunday. I will hopefully get plenty of boos! The panto has been a lot of hard work but hopefully it will all pay off on the night.”
The production will also see Panto Dame, Dolly Dumpling played by first year Jamie Harrison and dwarfs Top Dwarf (TD), Grouchy, Snoozy, Sniffly, Cheerful, Dozy and Disney.
Walsh stated: “I am very excited to see people’s reactions to it! We have been working really hard and rehearsing for the last couple of months.” She also pointed out that the production will be for one night only as it is their first year, although, “if the night is a success we are hoping that we can make it an annual event for everyone at uni to enjoy with possibly more nights in future.”
“The panto will have some medical twists and jokes in it but is not too full of medical puns so it appeals to a wide audience” she concluded.
Tickets cost £6 and are available from Medical School UG office Furness B46. Tickets can also be reserved by emailing medsoc@lancaster.ac.uk.
