This show was running Dec. 2021 & Jan. 2022
Written by Crystal Weltzin
Directed by Kerri Norris

A perfect holiday treat for the whole family! Cheer the good guys, boo the bad guys and laugh out loud at the silliness of the retelling of the classic story, featuring all your panto favourites. Add toe-tapping music, sparkling sets and costumes and there you have it.

Written by our own Crystal Weltzin this classic story is adapted to the well known standards of laughter and entertainment inherently required by a true PANTO…

Alice sits on a riverbank on a warm summer day, drowsily reading over her sister’s shoulder, when she catches sight of a White Rabbit in a waistcoat running by her. The White Rabbit pulls out a pocket watch, exclaims that he is late, and pops down a rabbit hole. Alice follows the White Rabbit down the hole and comes upon a great hallway lined with doors. She finds a small door that she opens using a key she discovers on a nearby table. Through the door, she sees a beautiful garden, and Alice begins to cry when she realizes she cannot fit through the door. She finds a bottle marked “DRINK ME” and downs the contents. She shrinks down to the right size to enter the door but cannot enter since she has left the key on the tabletop above her head. Alice discovers a cake marked “EAT ME” which causes her to grow to an inordinately large height. Still unable to enter the garden, Alice begins to cry again, and her giant tears form a pool at her feet. As she cries, Alice shrinks and falls into the pool of tears. The pool of tears becomes a sea, and as she treads water she meets a Mouse. The Mouse accompanies Alice to shore, where a number of animals stand gathered on a bank. After a “Caucus Race,” Alice scares the animals away with tales of her cat, Dinah, and finds herself alone again.
Alice meets the White Rabbit again, who mistakes her for a servant and sends her off to fetch his things. While in the White Rabbit’s house, Alice drinks an unmarked bottle of liquid and grows to the size of the room. The White Rabbit returns to his house, fuming at the now-giant Alice, but she swats him and his servants away with her giant hand. The animals outside try to get her out of the house by throwing rocks at her, which inexplicably transform into cakes when they land in the house. Alice eats one of the cakes, which causes her to shrink to a small size. She wanders off into the forest, where she meets a Caterpillar sitting on a mushroom and smoking a hookah (i.e., a water pipe). The Caterpillar and Alice get into an argument, but before the Caterpillar crawls away in disgust, he tells Alice that different parts of the mushroom will make her grow or shrink. Alice tastes a part of the mushroom, and her neck stretches above the trees. A pigeon sees her and attacks, deeming her a serpent hungry for pigeon eggs.
Hello and welcome!
Archive pages are here for information on past shows. We try to keep the discritpion, cast and production pictures here so our patrons can get an idea about past productions.
Since we have only worked on this feature in recent years, some historical data was lost in time. IF you have pictures or cast information on past shows… share it with us and we will try to update it..
  • Suitable for:

    ALL AGES!
    Parental Guidance may be laughed at.

  • Panto

    Audience likely to get involved!
    Not very serious, Super FUN,
    RISK of shouting & laughing
    Chance of belly-busting...
    likelihood of zany jokes...

  • Relaxed Performance*

    *Click the title to read more about "Relaxed Performances"

Audience Reactions:

Sinbad 2017

Langley’s Ellie King, dubbed the queen of pantomime, is breathing her own wicked sense of humour and mirth into a production of Sinbad, The Pirate and The Dinosaur, which sets sail this week on a sea of hilarity.

Entertainment

Sinbad 2017

Sparkling, magical, family fun awaits when we join Sinbad and his wacky crew in an hilarious adventure on the high seas. Complete with toe-tapping music, corny old jokes and an annoying Princess, this hilariously funny show is where you can say farewell to BC's favourite Dame, Alan Cedargreen as he hangs up his wooden spoon for good.

Theatre

Beauty and the Beast 2016

True traditional British pantomime, including lots of music, corny jokes, special effects, spectacular costumes and all the special magic you’ve come to expect from the Christmas pantos of The Royal Canadian Theatre Company. There is always a happy ending – what more could you want?

Melanie Minty

Snow Queen – Katharine Grace

We enjoyed this so much!
  • Katharine Grace

Snow Queen – Katherine Grace

We saw (The Snow Queen) at Surrey Arts Centre and soooo good.
  • Katherine Grace

Snow Queen – Heather Booth

The girls have been asking about this since last year’s performance. 😍
  • Heather Booth

Cast:

The Crew:

Kerri is an Director, Actor, Costumer, Producer and sometime Dramaturg as well as being an Instructor at Trinity Western University. She has an MFA in Acting from CalArts in Los Angeles. Directing credits include Blithe Spirit (RCTC), The Snow Queen (TWU), Henry V, (Pacific Theatre – Stones Throw)), and Much Ado About Nothing (Shadows & Dreams). Kerri is the resident costumer for RCTC and is also one of the co-founders of Shadows & Dreams Theatre Company. In January she will be directing a collection of new plays at TWU.
Electrician by day and Assistant Stage Manager by night, Jason Bunch has become an important part of the Royal Canadian Theatre Company. Jason started by watching pantomimes, then helping backstage and is now completely immersed himself into the drama world thanks to his fiancée, Crystal Weltzin, and his now panto family. Jason is very excited for everyone to see the hard work he and the crew have put into building this production.

Well, it’s been quite the year! And while it feels like a century since we’ve seen people live in a social setting, we’re glad to be back! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Geoff began his musical career as a wobble board tuner, but soon graduated to washtub bass enthusiast. In several years since that humble start he has moved, nay leapt, from instrument to instrument as though the floor of the orchestra pit were lava. Now, finding himself balanced precariously upon the keyboard, Geoff brings you tonight’s performance. Previous musical compositions include the catchy “Whoops, It’s A Snail!” and the stunningly original “Total Eclipse of the Spleen” from Not Up My Trousers, Vicar!
This is Sheila’s 29th season with Geoff and Ellie King. She is thrilled to be here again to help bring the magic of panto to you and your family. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Nigel began his technical career with a critically-acclaimed turn as ‘Tree’ and ‘Candy Cane’ in “Hansel and Gretel” at age five. More recently (and relevently), he has designed lights for dozens of productions around the Lower Mainland, including many for RCTC and for Peninsula Productions. He is one of the founding members of Shadows and Dreams Theatre Company. He is also on the board of Monster Theatre. In real life, Nigel is a computer programmer, and, oddly enough, does this for “fun”.
  • Jean ‘Mac’ Blackburn
  • Aeron Elcheshen
  • Cayleigh Elcheshen
  • Danny Haasdyk
  • Danny Haasdyk
  • Charlotte Haasdyk
  • Amanda Haggett
  • Tonia Jurbin
  • Wayne Lam
  • Amrit Kaur Rai
  • Jujhar Chahal
  • Mad Hatter shoes Donated by Staffbase
  • SAMC Theatre

Here we are again! It was a very weird last year not spending December in the theater. Those of you who have been here before have seen my daughters grow up on this stage. Panto is part of their regular routine. They can’t remember a year without Panto and the friendships that have lasted over the years. So when it was determined in the summer that Panto was a go, it was very exciting. Covid necessitated a different way of putting things together. We invited back any of our Panto regulars who were available (We certainly miss those who weren’t!) and filled in the gaps with some wonderful new faces. And now we’re together again with all of you. The cast, crew and I hope you have as much fun as we did, getting to play again. So boo the bad guys, cheer the good guys and let us know if there is anything behind us! Welcome back. We missed you so much!

Ever since I was a small child the tale of Alice in Wonderland has been one of my absolute favorites; from Alice’s tumble down that long rabbit hole to a world where a grinning Cheshire cat can dispense advice and a Mad Hatter hosts tea parties the story holds something magical for the imagination! After a brief hiatus from the stage in 2020 it is our great pleasure to bring to you the Royal Canadian Theatre Company’s version of “Alice” the Panto. Directed by Kerri Norris and returning to the stage with our beloved Panto Players, this is indeed a holiday treat and feast for the senses. The Royal Canadian Theatre Company is a not for profit registered Society and we would like to thank our many dedicated hard working volunteers, sponsors and you our audience without whom none of this would be possible. As always, I invite you to come out and play with us…now on with the show!

Production Pictures: