St Helens Theatre Royal in the running for two prestigious Pantomime Awards

The theatre’s most successful ever panto production, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, entertained more than 37,000 theatregoers over Christmas and has now been recognised by the UK Pantomime Association.

Chantelle Nolan is shortlisted for Best Direction while St Helens Theatre Royal’s sound technician Conrad Kemp is contesting the Best Sound title in the 2025 awards, due to be announced on April 13.

The UK Pantomime Association was founded in 2021 to explore, share and celebrate pantomime by investigating the genre’s rich past, engaging with contemporary practice and inspiring the future.

Its hotly contested annual awards celebrate the wealth of talent on show at theatres across the country, highlighting the breadth of skill, enthusiasm and hard work of those on and off stage who work tirelessly to deliver first-class entertainment to audiences.

There are 22 categories up for grabs this year, with 52 judges collectively visiting 216 venues and watching almost 500 performances to choose the successful shortlisted nominees.

The owner of St Helens Theatre Royal, Regal Entertainments Ltd, has been bringing top quality and star-studded productions to the North-West for more than 20 years. It is run by the mother and daughter duo Jane Joseph and Chantelle Nolan who produce top quality drama, comedy and panto productions.

The company also previously staged pantomimes at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre, for which it was nominated in three categories at the Pantomime Awards in 2023.

St Helens’ Christmas panto Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs starred pop legend Maureen Nolan and Coronation Street’s Emrhys Cooper alongside panto royalty Leanne Campbell, talented newcomer Chantelle Morgan as Snow White and St Helens’ favourites Lewis Devine as Muddles and Richard Aucott as Nurse Nelly.

Regal Entertainments also enlisted the help of some very special local legends to voice the roles of the Dwarfs – with the magnificent seven comprised of Johnny Vegas, Joel Ross, Pete Price, Philip Regan (Queen of Scotty Road), Craig Phillips, Louis Emerick and John May.

Speaking about the awards, panto director and St Helens Theatre manager Chantelle Nolan said: “This is fantastic news. I’m absolutely delighted for Conrad; this is his second nomination in three years, and it’s a testament to the consistently brilliant work he does behind the scenes as a key part of our creative team who together make sure St Helens’ pantos are some of the biggest, best and brightest in the UK.

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“I’m also proud to have been nominated for Best Direction. The UK Pantomime Awards offer important industry recognition, and after Snow White was such a success, to win this national award on behalf of the production would be the icing on the cake.

“Pantomime is such an important part of British theatre tradition; it’s often children and young people’s first taste of live performance. A great panto can spark a lifelong love affair with the theatre, and that’s what we strive to give our audiences St Helens. Snow White was a huge hit with young theatregoers, and I know Cinderella, which opens next month, will be too.”

Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre is also in the running for an award, with its impressive staging of Rapunzel up for Best Pantomime (under 500 seats).

The winners will be revealed at a special ceremony on April 13, 2025.