Ribble Valley author pens new panto

11:35am Tuesday 4th November 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A CHILDREN’S author has written a new pantomine to mark the 25th anniversary of a popular Ribble Valley theatrical group.

Patricia Jones, who has penned a string of detective stories aimed at teenagers, has written and produced ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Challenge’ for the Chipping Amateur Theatrical Society (CATS), which will be performed in the run-up to Christmas.

The production, featuring school children from the Ribble Valley, is based loosely on ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ - only with a new twist.

Patricia said: “It’s great to be involved in something like this and when we held the auditions recently it was like a scene out of the X-Factor because so many children wanted to be involved.”

A former headmistress at Roebuck Infants School in Preston, Patricia began writing children’s fiction 10 years ago and she has since had five books published, the latest being ‘Circles of Blood’ - a detective story set in France.

However, when she is not producing novels, the 71-year-old likes to channel her creative talents in other directions.

“I’ve been involved in a number of productions with CATS over the years,” said Patricia, who lives near Ribchester.

“Before now, we’ve done Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Pinocchio.

“I decided to base this one on ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ because children love the story and there’s a moral to it as well.

“However, my version has a slightly different twist!”

Charlie and the Chocolate Challenge is being performed at Chipping Village Hall on November 27, 28 and 29.

Tickets can be purchased at Chipping Post Office or Robinsons Butchers in the village.