Panto brings festive cheer to children’s wards... Oh yes it did!

There were smiles on faces and lots of laughter on our children’s wards today, thanks to Starlight’s Christmas Panto.

Children, relatives and staff were treated to a performance of Sleeping Beauty by the interactive theatre group, The Panto Company, as part of an eight week tour of the country’s hospitals and hospices.

The pantomime was staged in the Activity Centre on level 12, Derriford Hospital, exclusively for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, a national charity that provides entertainment in hospitals and hospices and grants wishes for seriously and terminally ill children.

The panto’s four actors danced, dazzled and sang. Heather Foster, who plays Aurora and the Queen in Sleeping Beauty, said: “Starlight’s Christmas Panto is designed to be really engaging and entertaining for the children and we hope that the performance at Derriford Hospital gave the patients a good dose of fun! From their beaming smiles, it certainly looked as though they were enjoying the show!”

Joanne Cross, Play Specialist at Derriford, added: “The Panto has become a highlight of our festive calendar and we always look forward to their performance. Play and distraction can significantly help to reduce the amount of pain and anxiety children feel as they undergo treatment and today’s performance really helped to put a smile on the faces of many of the children who are currently with us.”

For more information on the Starlight Children’s Foundation visit www.starlight.org.uk