Winter holidaymakers seeking festive fun, magic and uplifting joy can enjoy it in spades at a seaside resort’s hilarious Christmas panto. And visitors can also book in a theatre and hotel package to stay at Blackpool’s new four-star hotel, ‘Boulevard’ – or simply BLVD – recently voted Luxury Best Hotel 2024 for Northern Europe, and Luxury Lifestyle Hotel 2024 for the UK. 

The Daily Express went along to see Pleasure Beach Resort’s new festive panto Cinderella, at their Globe theatre and directed by Adam Slevin and Alexa Robinson it stars Ian Oswald as her who performed alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, in Hollywood musical movie Wicked. He embodies Abriel, the Spirit of Virtue, a voice of wisdom and magic – when he’s not busy checking his “socials” on his fairy phone – and a helping guide Cinderella on her journey to true love.

Ian’s joined by actor and model James Colebrook – also known for his relationship with TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh – playing one of Cinders ugly stepsisters Scarlett.

Chris O’Mara joins Cinderella The Pantomime straight from a stint in Cabaret The Musical, at the KitKat Club in London, to play the other ugly stepsister Celeste.

Ian, James and Chris are joined by the Globe’s long-returning cast of panto pros, including Emmerdale’s Kelsey-Beth Crossley, and Amazon Prime’s Goodwin Island star Ashley Luke Lloyd.

The show starts with energetic and bubbly Buttons (Dave Cross) setting the scene, telling us who to boo and who to scream at – the barbed word “mingers” is to be thrown at the ugly stepsisters whenever possible!

The huge stage, with optional rainfall when required, is used to the full for brightly-lit market scenes as Prince Charming (Lloyd) spots Cinders selling paintings to make ends meet – after all she lives in Hardup Hall with her dad the Baron (Tyler Thompson) so is short of a few quid.

But when the Baron rocks up with a new bride, the wicked stepmother Drusilla, played by a sultry Crossley, then Cinderella (Sarah Ward) knows her days of carefree joy could soon be about to end.

The show has some great songs and incredible vocal performances – as well as the popular high-flying (literally) antics of gymnast and the resort’s Hot Ice favourite Alexi Kofanov.

Running at around one hour and 20 minutes with no break it’s perfect for the family and young kids who may struggle to sit through longer, drawn out pantos with long interviews that seem to drag on (no pun intended) all night.

You can experience the magic of Pantomime staying at BLVD with their theatre package including bed & breakfast plus pantomime ticket per person. From £240.00 per family, based on 2 adults 2 children sharing a Family Room.

And running until Christmas Eve, there are still dozens of Cinderella shows left.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach was founded way back in 1896 by A. W. G. Bean and been family-owned and operated ever since – with the current managing director Amanda Thompson OBE actually Bean’s great-granddaughter.

And Amanda is also Cinderella’s executive producer. She said: “It’s often thought that there’s nothing to do at Pleasure Beach in the colder months, but we’re actually still thrilling guests right up until Christmas Eve.

“Cinderella is one of the most magical stories ever told, and we’re excited to bring it to life this season.

“Our team has poured heart, creativity, and humour into this production, and we can’t wait for families and friends to experience it.”

* Cinderella runs on selected dates with a special finale performance on Christmas Eve. Tickets start from £10.50 per person and can be booked at: https://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/shows/cinderella-the-pantomime-2025/

* For the BLVD hotel deal visit https://www.boulevardhotel.co.uk/theatre-packages-2/