The Dolphins Dramatic Society will be performing their annual pantomime at the Tetbury Goods Shed in late November.

The amateur dramatic society have been entertaining audiences in the Cotswolds for over a century and hopes are high that their latest production – Beauty and the Beast – will prove another successful production to add to the long list of plays the society has performed.

Terri White, who joined the Dolphins Dramatic Society 16 years ago, says she still gets the same feelings of excitement she experienced before her very first show.

She said: “Beauty and the Beast is such a wonderful story, we’re all so excited to be performing it. We auditioned way back in August and rehearsals began on 1st September. This year I’ll be playing the role of an evil witch. I cannot wait for opening night.

“We’ve assembled a great cast - Helen Ryder will be playing Belle, Steve Scott will be the Beast and Alex Ball is playing the Prince. They have such a wonderful stage presence which has shown up in rehearsals.

“I have to say the whole cast gets on so well. Everyone is so supportive and encouraging. Rehearsals are a lot of fun because the whole team are so energised and enthusiastic. There’s been a few moments where we’ve had to pause rehearsals for a few minutes when everyone gets the giggles, but rest assured that won’t happen when we’ve got an audience watching us, hopefully they will be the ones laughing!”

The opening night on Thursday 22nd November will be an extra special occasion as the older people of Tetbury will be in attendance, thanks to the support of the Tetbury Lions who provide help and funds to those in need in the local community.

Terri continued: “The Dolphins are extremely grateful to the Tetbury Lions who, each year, organise and pay for the special evening at our pantomimes for the older people of Tetbury. Their wonderful support makes a world of difference to us. It’s a real treat to see the smiles on the faces of all the people who wouldn’t be able to attend were it not for the help of the Tetbury Lions.”

Terri has been involved in dozens of plays over the last 16 years, her love of performing remains as strong now as her first audition.

She added: “I adore acting. There’s that feeling of elation when everything goes to plan. It’s lovely hearing feedback from the audience, often lots of people will stay behind and congratulate us, that’s always great, it makes all the hard work worth it.

“There’s 30 members in the society at present. For this production there’s just under 20 members involved, whether that be in an acting or backstage capacity. Our doors are always open though and we’re particularly keen to hear from any men who would like to join us, we seem to have a disproportionate number of women at the moment.

“This year’s pantomime is a bit different as our usual performance venue is out of order so we’re going to be performing at the Tetbury Goods Shed which is exciting.”