Miss Cheshire makes her acting debut in Chester theatre director’s new panto

Dec 3 2009 Chester Chronicle

TWO rising stars of the stage from Cheshire have teamed up for panto this Christmas.

Reigning Miss Cheshire Catriona Cameron has joined forces with Chester-born Stephan Bessant for a production of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad which is about to tour the West Midlands.

Stephan and Catriona met back in summer 2008 and when it came to Stephan casting the role of a beautiful princess (in disguise as a slave girl) there was only one choice to make.

Stephan was brought up in Vicars Cross, and attended Bishops High School in Chester before he moved to London for drama school.

He studied at Webber Douglas Academy in Kensington until he graduated with honours in 1997, and was lucky to have a busy acting career since including theatre work in London’s West End, and various TV and films roles, recently being nominated for best actor for his role in John Godber’s Teechers.

He is now director of Sideways Theatre which is staging The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.

Catriona takes the role of Jelhipop (the beautiful slave girl who holds a secret) and also doubles up as a tribal warrior; and Stephan plays the dual roles of the baddie Alicante and the dame Fatima.

Stephan opened his own theatre company two years ago to provide quality theatre, and drama workshops, and to provide actors with good work.

Over the last two years Sideways has also become well respected in children’s theatre and mainstream theatre, and recently produced a sell out one man play with Stephan.

Although she lives in Runcorn, Catriona also received her initial theatre training in Chester, studying dance and drama at the Hammond School before gaining a place at the prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (also known as the Paul McCartney Fame School).

She graduated this year with a Masters degree in acting, and is making her professional acting debut with Sideways Theatre Company.

Catriona said: “It's great to be on tour with Stephan, we just keep chatting about our favourite places in Chester, I feel like we're bringing a little part of Cheshire to the Midlands.

“The play is fantastic, when I first got the script I read it on a train and laughed out loud so much that the people next to me actually moved - it was a bit embarrassing but I couldn't help it, Stephan's writing is just so funny.

“I hope that maybe we can bring the show back home to Cheshire at some point next year. I'm looking to find a local venue that might like to run it.

“Although it's a pantomime it's not particularly a Christmas show so could be performed at any time of the year.

“It would be wonderful to showcase the work of Cheshire born writers and actors within their home county.”