MEMBERS of St Annes Parish Operatic Society are celebrating after winning a string of prizes in the North West National Operatic and Dramatic Awards.

Actress Karen Deakin took the first award for her performance as Aladdin in last year's panto, while fellow performers Irene Phillips and Catherine Braithwaite, won prizes for the most entertaining performance and the best supporting actress, respectively.

Overall, the society scooped the award for the best staged production for their performance of South Pacific.

Delighted member Pam Eve said: "We were thrilled to bits. These awards are the amateur equivalent of the Oscars and we have never won so many.

"And when we heard we had got the prize for the best staged production we were over the moon.

"We had all put a lot of work into South Pacific. People were very keen.

"We had a lot of talent in the show and lots of hard work going on behind the scenes from the technical team, the back-stage crew and the wardrobe department.

"It all came together, we had full houses and it was very, very successful."

Building on their current successes, members are now busy rehearsing for the Christmas pantomime, Alice in Pantoland.

Pam said: "It is a completely new pantomime, so it has been tremendous fun doing it.

"We're hoping it's going to be just as successful and popular with audiences as South Pacific."

Tickets for Alice in Pantoland, which is being performed at Lowther Pavilion from December 29 to January 3, are available from the ticket secretary on 721422 priced at £4.50 for adults, £3 for children. Group discounts are available.

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