Girls enjoying a song and dance over panto

Chorus girls Millie Cunliffe, Emma Dunn, Rachel Hollister, Amy Hart.

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THE chance to star in Oldham’s renowned panto caused a stampede among chorus girl hopefuls — attracting more than 150 applicants.

And Oldham Coliseum bosses hope they have unearthed some stars of tomorrow among the 18 successful candidates, who starred in Saturday’s opening night of “Aladdin”.

Realising that no pantomime is complete without an energetic troupe of chorus members, the Coliseum’s creative team set out in September to find talented youngsters eager to tread the boards.

The prospect of appearing in a locally celebrated, professional pantomime attracted a huge response and those chosen, aged between nine and 14, were raring to start rehearsals.

There is said to be great camaraderie among the girls, who got a taste of what it’s like to be a professional actor by learning 11 show-stopping numbers and the direction of crowd scenes in only three weeks.

Undeterred by the intensity, many of the group now want to study performing arts to enable a return to the Fairbottom Street theatre in a lead role.

They have varied experience, ranging from newcomers to girls who have appeared in several pantomimes.

Emma Dunn (14) said: “I’ve never danced before. I’m a gymnast and I agreed to accompany my friend to the audition for moral support, I was persuaded to give it a go and I ended up getting in!

“There is a huge buzz about the building and we are extremely excited, after all our rehearsing we couldn’t wait to get out there.”

Amy Hart (14) said: “I have watched the pantomime since I was young and I noticed that the chorus were involved a lot, it looked really fun and I thought that I’d like a go at doing it.

“The experience has lived up to my expectations but there’s a lot of work that goes on before the performance.

“It’s great, we get to perform 40 shows, on a large stage in front of hundreds of cheering people and everyone in Oldham knows about the pantomime.”

The chorus members have already developed a critical eye, with Millie Cunliffe (13) saying: “The choreography is very strong this year as there is a theme throughout. The opening and ‘One Night in Bangkok’ are my favourites; as the opening has to grab the audience’s attention and I enjoy Bangkok because we have to transform into our own character to convey the oriental theme.”

Rachel Hollister (13) added: “The actors are really nice and they work well with us, they are a lot of fun!”

Aladdin, directed by Kevin Shaw, runs until 10 January.