Published Date:
07 January 2010

By Fiona Thompson

Theatre bosses have already started taking ticket bookings for their next pantomime as they celebrate their most successful festive show.
The Gala, in Durham, has just finished its second in-house panto, Dick Whittington, which has broken a record as the venue’s most financially successful show of its own making.

Gala Director Simon Stallworthy said: “Two years ago, when we took the decision to bring our pantomime in-house, we had no idea how it would fare.

“I’m delighted that Dick Whittington has continued the trend that Aladdin started last year, and panto is now thriving at Gala.”

The 2010 pantomime, Cinderella, has already sold hundreds of tickets.
The Gala has confirmed that Fence Houses actor Donald McBride will return as one of the ugly sisters.

The team hopes to make more announcements soon about familiar faces who will make up the cast.

Mr Stallworthy added: “We’ve developed the relationship with our audience over the last couple of years and they know they’ll get a high quality show at affordable prices.

“We hope that Cinderella will deliver even more, and we promise magical and spectacular scenery, incredible transformation scenes and maybe even some live animals.”

Cinderella will run from Wednesday, December 1, to Saturday, January 8.
Ticket prices will remain at 2009 levels. To book, call the box office on 332 4041 or visit the website at www.galadurham.co.uk

www.sunderlandecho.com

By Danielle Beeton

 Singer Shaun Foster-Conley has been swamped by fan mail since becoming a star of the small screen.
The 36-year-old, who lives in Fence Houses and is originally from Red House, Sunderland, has also been constantly stopped in the street since his first appearance on the hit show Benidorm last month.

Shaun, who made his name in clubs in the North East, said: “I have had a fantastic reaction. It has been phenomenal. It’s been like a whirlwind trip.”

Shaun, who performs in Benidorm for up to seven months in a year, was chosen to be part of the ITV show by writer Derren Litten.

He plays himself and says he has enjoyed every minute of it.

The former shipyard worker, who took to the stage when he was only five with his dad Peter and his band The Apaches, said: “Derren offered to send me a copy of the show in the post but I decided to sit and watch it with my family like everybody else.

“My wife Angela was poking me and smiling and the kids were just giddy.”

Shaun, who has two children Robyn, 12, and Fraser, 11, has received emails from fans around the world, including the Al Martino appreciation society, who are big fans of Shaun’s rendition of Here In My Heart.

“They want me to go to America,” Shaun said. “I would love to go, but it’s like everything else, I’m just taking one step at a time.”

Shaun has been singing professionally for the last 16 years and has wowed audiences around the globe.

He was named North East male vocalist of the year in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and topped the bill in a “One Night In Vegas” theatre production.

He has also been named an ambassador for the city by Sunderland Council.
Shaun’s four-episode TV appearance in Benidorm will end this Friday, but Wearsiders may see him in the show again.

He said: “I cannot really say, but I’m excited.”

Tune in to ITV this Friday at 9pm to watch Shaun in action, and log on to www.sunderlandecho.com to see footage of him in the show

A singer who made his name in the clubs of Sunderland is set to become a star of the small screen tonight.

Entertainer Shaun Foster-Conley will appear in ITV’s award-winning show Benidorm and is set to appear in three more episodes.

The 36-year-old, who performs at the popular resort for up to seven months in a year, revealed that writers had been planning to include him in the script from the start.

Shaun, who lives in Fence Houses but is originally from Red House, Sunderland, said: “They approached me three years ago and said they wanted to write me into the script.

“They have written me into the third series, and I went out and filmed it and it was a great experience.

“I sing five songs in the show and I do have speaking parts.”

Shaun first took to the stage when he was only five with his dad Peter, who was in a band called The Apaches.

And for the last 16 years, the former shipyard worker has been wowing audiences all over the world with his vocal talents.

He was named North East male vocalist of the year tin 2003, 2004 and 2005, and topped the bill in a “One Night In Vegas” theatre production.

And he was crowned an ambassador for the city by Sunderland City Council – putting him alongside the likes of Eurythmics star Dave Stewart and Kate Adie.

But the dad-of-two says appearing in Benidorm is definitely the highlight of his career so far.

Shaun, who is married to Angela and has two children Robyn, 12, and Fraser, 11, said: “It was a great experience to see professional actors at work.”

Viewers can tune in to ITV tonight at 9pm.

Published Date: 09 October 2009 www.sunderlandecho.com

Aug 25 2007

Evening Chronicle

For three decades Donald McBride has been a stalwart of Newcastle’s Live Theatre, meeting many famous faces along the way. Here he talks to GRAHAM ROBSON

IT was apt that actor Donald McBride won a part in the award-winning film Billy Elliot, based as it was on a story about a miner’s son beating the odds, and emerging a star in the world of arts.

Just like Billy, Donald is the son of a miner, and instead of following his dad down the pit, forged for a career in acting.

But as Donald points out: “Some of the best jobs are the one’s you don’t do but you still get paid.”

Donald had been due to play Billy’s friend’s father.

But due to lack of filming time, his part was reduced to his voice being heard on screen.

“But I was paid, as I signed a contract,” he explains.

This month, the 54-year-old from Fencehouses, County Durham, is celebrating 30 years of treading the boards.

Along the way, Donald has acted with such luminaries as Sean Bean, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Kitchen, Jimmy Nail, Robson Green and Tim Healy.

He’s appeared on our screens in Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Our Friends In The North and Spender. He’s done an 18-month stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but mostly he’s been a stalwart of the Live Theatre.

He first discovered a love of acting when he was at school with friend and fellow actor David Whitaker.

“In my village, people viewed acting as little more than a pastime. Being an actor just wasn’t something you aspired to be. Of course, David and I had a great interest in acting, but we never said while at school, ‘we want to be actors’. It just happened,” recalls Donald. And while his mother Eva and dad Bob were not thespians, they did inspire him.

“My mother used to attend the Bankhead Methodist Chapel and do readings. I’d watch her and study the way she told those religious stories.

“Dad used to sing me those beautiful, old nursery rhymes, which had such gorgeous imagery. Some actors say, ‘oh, so and so is my biggest inspiration’, but for me it has to be religion and a stable family life.”

His father, who was a coal miner for 37 years and “quite stuck in his ways”, believed that acting would be a precarious profession and unsuitable for bringing up a family.

“That was absolutely fine,” says Donald, who never married.

“When I’m at work, the company and the show come first. Sometimes I wake up and wish I’d had children, a wife and the white picket fence, but then I look at what I’ve achieved in the theatre. Could I have done that with three children and a wife to satisfy? I don’t think so.”

While at school, Donald remembers his English teacher, Miss Anderson, directing him.

He fondly recalls how the cast had to bring props from home.

“My poor mother must have thought I was a kleptomaniac” he jokes. “Oh, but it was great fun, we dived right in. Nowadays the innocence of theatre is lost. The blockbuster and bigger budgets have killed it.”

After school, Donald enrolled at the University of Hull to study English and Drama. He’d considered moving to London to study, but his heart was in the North and he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Which might explain why he still lives in the house in which he was brought up.

After university it was time to register his name with Equity.

“They said I’d need to choose another name because Donald Reed (his real name) was already taken.”

Inspired by a song, Donald opted for McBride.

But then he later learned that the actor who had supposedly taken his name had actually opted for the name Dom Reid.

So there had been no need to change his name after all. But back to the career. Thanks to a recommendation from pal David Whitaker, he auditioned for the Live Theatre and landed his first job.

Over the decades, Donald has had parts in Shakespeare plays, comedies, drama and panto.

“Pantomime was hilarious. To perform for children was just amazing. And they didn’t care if I died on stage.” he laughs.

At Hexham one year he had to step into the shoes of actress Val McLane and had a weekend to learn the lines of the Oscar Wilde character, Mrs Bracknell.

He recalls with joy a play staged at the Live Theatre called Kiddar’s Luck in which he played a variety of characters alongside Denise Welch and Robson Green.

“We all played mothers, fathers and children. I gave a memorable performance as Mrs Buchan, who made her entrance with a jug of beer under her pinny.

“There’s nothing like hearing an audience laugh. That’s a feeling you can’t buy and hearing them clap and knowing you’ve done a good job.”

Donald’s next job is in October when he takes to the stage in Swan Song, part of the Live Theatre’s Bite Size season at Apartment in Newcastle. “It’s an excellent play and I urge people to come and see it.” he says. In the play, he takes the role of a drag queen, who does a fair imitation of Ethel Merman. So will this mark his personal swan song?

“Retirement? I hope not. I still hope to be performing in 20 years time.” he says.”

Swan Song opens at Apartment, Newcastle, at 1.30pm on October 30, and runs until November 2. It is repeated on the November 2 at 7.30pm at Queen’s Hall, Hexham. Tickets are £10, £8 concession and include a meal at Apartment performances. Telephone (0191) 232 1232 for the Apartment box office or 01434 652 477 for Queen’s Hall.

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