King's to Raise Funds for Roald Dahl Charity this Christmas

The King's Theatre will be raising funds for Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity during the 2016/17 panto season.

Each year, the venue, alongside Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and First Family Entertainment selects a charity to support over Christmas and New Year.

Ten ATG theatres across the UK will hold bucket collections at every pantomime performance. There will be a special Roald Dahl charity film shown during the intervals and the charity's mascot, Marvin the Crocodile, will be appearing at selected venues.

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity was set up 25 years ago by Roald Dahl's widow, Liccy Dahl. The charity provides specialist children's nurses and family support for seriously ill children across the UK. Today there are currently 52 Roald Dahl specialist children's nurses caring for over 10,000 seriously ill children across the UK at any one time.

James Haworth, General Manager at the King's Theatre, said: "I'm delighted that once again our traditional panto, which this year is Cinderella, will help support such a great charity. Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity is a fantastic cause and we hope this initiative will make a difference to many children's lives."

Jane Miles, Chief Executive for Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity, said, "This time of year is a great opportunity for us all to step into the shoes of children and have great fun, and what better way to do it than at a pantomime! But it's also a time to think of children who are living with serious illness, and for whom life is not so easy. That's why Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity is delighted to have been chosen as the charity partner for the ATG and FFE pantomimes this year. The money raised through this festive fundraising will help us to provide more specialist nurses to the children who need them most, and we can't thank ATG and FFE enough for choosing to support our work."

Kevin Wood, First Family Entertainment Chief Executive, said, "We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity for this year's pantomime season. Their dedicated nurses do an amazing job of caring for poorly children around the UK. I appeal to all our customers to please give generously at our theatre's bucket collections to help support the charity's ongoing work and future plans to create 15 new paediatric nursing posts by 2020."

As the UK's leading pantomime company, FFE are producing ten fun filled family pantomimes for the Christmas 2016/17 season with a star-studded line up including Michelle Collins (Aylesbury Waterside Theatre), Torvill and Dean (Bristol Hippodrome), Gregor Fisher (King's Theatre Glasgow), Jorgie Porter (Liverpool Empire), Sherrie Hewson, John Thomson and Ben Adams (Manchester Opera House), Stacey Soloman and Samantha Womack (Milton Keynes Theatre), Maureen Lipman (Richmond Theatre), Jonathan Wilkes (Regent Theatre Stoke), Arlene Phillips and Matthew Kelly (New Wimbledon Theatre) and Warwick Davis (New Victoria Theatre, Woking).

If you would like to make a donation to the work of Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity, please visit www.roalddahl.com/charity/donate or call 01494 890465.

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