At one town’s panto this year theatre-goers are in for double trouble as not one, but two dames will be treading the boards.

Parkwood Theatre’s stalwart dame, Joe Meloy, will be returning for a sixth year as one of the ugly sisters in Maidstone’s Hazlitt Theatre festive production of Cinderella.

He said: “You’ll be getting two dames for the price of one.”

Meloy will be playing Donna, one of the two ugly sisters, alongside Adam Borzone as Bella, in the theatre’s 10th annual pantomine, which launched at Maidstone Museum on Tuesday (Sept 17).

He added: “It’s double trouble. You’re getting more for your money and I think we are going to work really well together.”

And he said he’s excited for his first year as a villain as he won’t need to hide his bad mood when he arrives for work.

“I can just turn up for a work in a vile mood and spit venom at anyone who walks in and it’ll just add to the role,” he joked.

Asked if there were any modern twists and turns for the younger generation, he said: “I haven’t seen the script yet, but you have to move with the times in panto and have modern references.

“It’s no good having a joke about someone from 1995 who nobody knows.”

And he said there’s always room for a little something just for the grown-ups.

“I always love saying a joke that goes over the children’s heads because that’s what it’s all about. Entertainment for the whole family.”

Also coming back will be David Zachary as Buttons and Stuart Ash as Dandini, who will be making his eighth appearance in a Maidstone panto.

The Hazlitt’s general manager, Martin Cleverley, said the regular panto favourites are becoming well-known faces in the town.

“People always ask why we don’t have a celebrity in our productions but that involves a great deal of cost.

“I would rather look for quality in our performers rather than just a celebrity I have to pay £50,000.

“Their faces get known around here.”

Cinderella tells the classic tale of the put-upon younger sister who spends her days sweeping the floor and clearing up after her ugly sisters only for a visit by a magical Fairy Godmother to transform her bad fortune and send her to the ball, where losing her glass slipper as she races home leads her to find love.

With a cast also including Prince Charming, played by Alex Blin, Sarah-Rose Denton as the Fairy Godmother and Hayley Johnnston as Cinderella, the Christmas spectacle is filled with comedy, smash-hit songs, and a whirl-wind romance.

To book tickets click on this link.

Kent based charity Slide Away, which provides bereavement support to children and young people up to the age of 18, their families and those who care for them, is the theatre’s nominated charity this year.