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 - not least TV cook Rustie Lee - promised. Producer Martin Cleverley said


he is “very excited” about staging the production in the town in De- cember. The traffic stopped and 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 earlier this month. 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


Charity cricket THE annual Saints v Sinners cricket match will be taking place in Mar- den on Sunday, June 25. Now in its 13th year, the fun


event will see a team from the church take on players from the Unicorn pub to raise money for charity. Last year, the game resulted in a narrow win for the Sinners so the Saints will be looking for their re- venge this year. Saints v Sinners starts at 2pm and


all arewelcome. If you would like more details


about the fixture or to find out more about how to take part, get in touch with Mike at mike.cox11@bt- internet.com.


“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


way system. It could make Christ- 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-


Graft starts at Grafty Green


WORK has begun on the housing development on the site of the former Grafty Green garden centre. The famous large greenhouses


have been completely cleared from the 5,000sq ft area to make way for the 14 self-build plots and office space. The ground has been levelled


and site infrastructure is now in place, including on-site offices. Most of the housing plots have


already been reserved. Renamed Boughton Park, the


4 Maidstone Weald June 2017


Headcorn Road scheme has been designed by the Kent-based architect Guy Hollaway and developed by Quinn Estates. Local borough councillor Shellina


Prendergast said: "Pretty much everybody was agreed that it was the best sort of development for the site at Grafty Green. "The ground there has now been


levelled and the infrastructure is going in. I also understand the sales of the plots are also going well. So it's all good progress."


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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