Eric Potts

"Dick Whittington" - Hippodrome Theatre,  

Bristol 2010/11  

 Eric is pleased to announce that he will be appearing as Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington at the beautiful Hippodrome Theatre in Bristol this coming festive season.  The show will be produced by First Family Entertainment with whom Eric has appeared since the company's formation in 2005.  Eric is also writing the show which will star the wonderful and truly legendary Barbara Windsor as "Fairy Babs of Bow-Bells" and will also feature the huge comic talent of Andy Ford who will be playing Sarah's mad-cap son - Idle Jack.  This will prove to be the most spectacular First Family production to date with a brand new set and costumes along with new stunning special effects.   It promises to be a fantastic evening of festive entertainment with great music, loads of laughs and a few panto surprises!! 

The show runs from Dec 4th 2010 until Jan 8rd 2011. 

BRISTOL'S WEST END THEATRE - THE EARLY DAYS OF CREATION

The Bristol Hippodrome, the city’s very own West End theatre, opened its doors on the 16th December 1912 when the curtain rose for the first time on what was generally agreed to be Oswald Stoll’s most magnificent provincial theatre.

It is a superb example of the grand architecture of the late Victorian era and is one of the masterpieces of design by Frank Matcham, the most eminent theatre architect of his time.

One of Matcham’s spectacular features included the provision of a huge water tank constructed in front of the stage, which could be filled within one minute by 100,000 gallons of water, allowing the theatre to combine three forms of entertainment – stage, circus and aquatic.  To protect the orchestra and those sitting in the front Stalls from the heavy spray which resulted from some of those effects, an enormous glass screen could be raised by the single movement of a lever.                                   

A unique feature within the theatre, which unlike the water tank still survives today, is the dome in the roof above the stalls, which can be opened to reveal the sky above.  Now that the auditorium is air-cooled the dome is rarely used, but many audiences have marvelled at this event during intervals and still request its opening, which to our knowledge is the only operating dome still functioning this way in the UK.

Towards the beginning of the century, the theatre staged a variety of acts as a Music Hall.  Since then, and due to the fact that it has one of the largest theatre stages in Britain, The Bristol Hippodrome has established itself on the touring circuit for all major musical productions, thus becoming known as Bristol’s West End Theatre. 

                         ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

             "The Merry Wives of Windsor" - Stafford Castle -    

Eric has recently completed his run as Sir John Falstaff in this wonderful productions at Stafford Castle - a big thank you to all concerned and to the wonderful audiences who visited during the shows run.  The show was directed by Pete Rowe, (Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich) with musical direction by Greg Palmer.  Eric has worked with both Pete and Greg on several occassions.  Use the link below to access the Stafford Festival site for information.

                  www.staffordfestivalshakespeare.co.uk 

                                    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                      "Brief Lives" - BBC Radio Four                

Eric has recently completed recording series three of this BBC 4 Radio Drama.  He played the part of Doug McIntyre - a brash Scottish solicitor with a fondness for quoting the bard - Rabbie Burns of course.  The series will be aired weekly beginning on Wednesday 28th April at 2pm and also stars David Schofield, Emma Atkins and Tracy-Anne Oberman.  It was written by Tom Fry and sharon Kelly and produced by Gary Brown at the BBC Radio Studios in Manchester

  Eric with David, Tracey-Anne and Emma recording "Brief Lives"

                             ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pantomime Writing for the 2010/11 season.

Although barely into spring, Eric is delighted to confirm that he will be writing the following pantomime scripts for the still distant festive season:                                                                                          

                           "Cinderella" - Theatre Royal Brighton - - A Brand New Musical of this enchanting Fairytale -                                                                written with Chris Hatt.

                "Cinderella" - Riverside Theatre, Aylesbury.

                "Dick Whittington" - Hippodrome Theatre, Bristol - Starring Barbara Windsor, Eric Potts & Andy Ford.

                "Robinson Crusoe" - Regent Theatre, Stoke on Trent.

                "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" - Opera House, Manchester.

                "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" - New Victoria Theatre, Woking.

                "Peter Pan" - New Wimbledon Theatre - Starring Louie Spence.

                "Aladdin" - Empire Theatre, Liverpool

                "Aladdin" - Churchill Theatre, Bromley.

                "Sleeping Beauty" - Coliseum Theatre, Oldham               

                "Mother Goose" - Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford.

                            "Dick Whittington" - Milton Keynes Theatre

                "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" - King's Theatre, Glasgow.

                             "Pantos on Strike" - Opera House, Manchester - Starring Paddy McGuiness and Jonathon Wilkes. 

                           Further casting/production details will follow.