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News


downsmail.co.uk Ugly sisters kick off panto fun


IT may only be May – but it’s already pantomime time at the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone. Cinderella has launched,with fa-


miliar faces returning and some star names promised. Producer Martin Cleverley said


that ”household names” would be announced over the next few weeks. The traffic stopped in Maidstone


and passers-by posed for selfies outside the Earl Street venue when the show’s Ugly Sisters unveiled a giant glass slipper. The enormous propwas commis-


sioned by the Hazlitt and made by theatre students in Sussex, and shipped in to Maidstone thisweek. It turned heads when it was wheeled into the road for a photo- shoot with the Maidstone Ugly Sis- ters of No Mercy, played by Stephen Richards and Adam Bor- zone.


Adam is returning to the Hazlitt


after a successful run in last Christ- mas’s panto Sleeping Beauty, which starred Louisa Lytton, from EastEnders. Stephen is a sought-after panto “sister” and he said: “I’ve never been to Maidstone before – this is my first day. “My first impression is…the one way system. It could make Christ-


McCann ban


A DRIVER who was caught at the wheel while disqualified has been spared prison. Jerry McCann was sentenced on


April 25, 2017, atWest Kent Magis- trates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and fail- ing to provide a blood specimen. The court heard that in March


this year, the 23-year-old, of Pear- son Close, Maidstone,was stopped in a Citroen Berlingo in Sutton Road, Maidstone. Magistrates sentenced McCann


to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, banned him for a year and ordered him to carry out un- paid work.


“It can be gruelling with three


shows on some days so you need something to help you through – and the audience here is amazing and provides that boost. “Playing The Dame is different to


this role.Adame is a cuddly auntie figure that kids would not mind getting a squeeze from. “But being an Ugly Sister, you


get to be vile and the audience love it. You get to be rude to the audi- ence, to the other characters and it is great fun being nasty.” And Mr Cleverley added: “The


Autumn Anderson (8), fromWest Malling, meets the ugly sisters


mas interesting. It’s my sixth year in panto and this will be a new ex- perience. Everyone in Maidstone has been so lovely and I like the tra- ditional theatre venue. “The Ugly Sisters are there to


cause carnage. We interrupt the story-telling, have fantastic outfits, and bawdy mischief in our attempt to get Prince Charming for our- selves and leave Cinderella on the scrapheap.


“I love being a villain and a dame.” But for Adam it is a return to his


old stomping ground. He said: “It was so much fun so


when Iwas asked back I jumped at the chance. “The audience was great and for


many children it is their first time in the theatre and hopefully will encourage them to come back over the years.


Ugly Sisters bring colour and a sense of wickedness to the show with plenty of audience interaction. Stephen has ‘sistered’ all over the country and Adam is returning after last year’s success. “We have a strong cast, including familiar faces Craig Anderson who played Jingles last year and Matthew Pennington who will be Dandini. “And we will be announcing


some celebrity names over the next fewweeks. It’s very exciting.”  Cinderella runs from December 1 to 31. Tickets are available on 01622 758611 or from the website www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk.


Police target speeding drivers


NEARLY 1,000 motorists were caught speeding in Kent during a seven-day police campaign. Officers hit the county’s streets on


a road safety blitz between April 17 and 23. The most serious offences – some


81 – ended with drivers facing court, receiving a penalty notice or being ticked off. Kent Police worked with partner agencies including the Kent and Medway Safety CameraPartnership and Kent County Council to target speeding drivers. During theweek of action, 81 traf-


fic offence reportswere generated – 77 for excess speed, two for no seat-


Castle gardens in miniature


GARDENERS at Leeds Castle will be turning their world “inside out” for the popular Chelsea Fringe this year. Amini version of the castle’s


WoodlandWalk, Lady Baillie Mediterranean Garden, the Culpeper Garden, and aminiature maze of cress will be brought indoors – squeezed inside a garden shed – for the event, which runs from Saturday, May 20 until Sunday, June 4. The festival centrepiece will also


8 Maidstone June 2017


showcase information about notable plants at Leeds Castle and signpost visitors to where the full size gardens can be found in the grounds. Also for the Fringe festival – from


May 24-31 – the castle’s horticultural team will give talks on the history of the gardens and day- to-day maintenance, with useful tips for visitors. Entry to the festival is free for


those visitors holding annual tickets.


belt and two for no insurance. A further eight speeding drivers


were reported forsummons– mean- ing they may face court – and four received graduated fixed penalty no- tices.


Police issued 169 verbalwarnings


to speeding motorists and two vehi- cleswere seized for having no insur- ance. The Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership detected 955 speed offences. Research shows that 95 per cent


of all collisions on Kent’s roads are due to driver error, and speeding increases the chance of death or se- rious injury significantly. In the UK, from October 2015 to


September 2016, 1,810 peoplewere killed and 25,160 people were seri- ously injured in crashes. In 2016 therewere 49 fatalities on


Kent roads compared to 57 in 2015. Chief Inspector Tony Dyer, of


Kent’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “I hope this campaign drives the mes- sage home and those who fail to learn the lessons will be penalised. “Communities list speeding as


being one of the most important is- sues for police to tackle and we have listened and are doing some- thing about their concerns. “Motorists should drive to the conditions of the road. A speed limit is exactly that, not a target.”


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