THE Hunchback Of Notre Dame may not be traditional pantomime fodder, but from tomorrow Rowntree Players are applying their annual sprinkling of festive fun to Victor Hugo's literary classic.

The evil Governor LeTrump (played by Andy Welch) is in charge of Paris, leaving no room for outsiders as he reveals his five-stage plan to create the perfect city and, who knows, perhaps one day the perfect world…Mwahahaha!

However, the arrival of the travelling Cirque De Sorry threatens the discipline and drabness at the heart of LeTrump’s dastardly plans. Not only are Dame Celia Fate (Graham Smith) and her son Summer (Gemma MacDonald) causing chaos with their silly antics, but also daughter Esmeralda (Sara Howlett) will insist on dancing her way into the public’s heart.

LeTrump is not fazed, however, as his elite troupe of guards are on patrol, as played by company newcomers Steve Carter and Simon Alnaimi as Captain Obvieux and Constable Deja-Vu, joined by Players' regular Marie-Louise Surgenor, stepping into the principal boy's boots as Captain Phoebus.

The inevitable love story between Esmeralda and Phoebus is complicated by Quasimodo (Meg Badrick) escaping LeTrump’s bell tower disguised as the guards' newest recruit. Ably assisted by Suzette (Lisa Green) and Renoir (Geoff Walker), the cathedral’s statues, Quasimodo goes about saving the homeless children of Paris while campaigning to have the bells ringing again after LeTrump executed the last team of bellringers.

York Press:

Rowntree Players pantomime stalwarts Andy Welch, left, and Graham Smith

Phoebus is eventually invited into Dame Celia Fate’s inner sanctum – he only came for a chat – and is taken to meet the Ringmaster (Daisy Blue Ella) in the circus’s Court of Miracles.

Rowntree Players promise "the most colourful of song and dance numbers, the most glitter-laden of sets, the silliest of slapstick and the oldest of jokes in a traditional family pantomime at its best".

Writers Howard Ella and Andy Welch have been preparing all year for the show. “It all starts in January – at the very latest,” says Howard, who is also directing Hunchback. "By then we know which story we’ll tell and generally how we want to tell it. This year has been no exception. Andy Welch and I have been researching and writing solidly since the curtain came down on the 2015 show.”

“It’s true,” affirms Andy. “We need a good six-month run-up to the July auditions. The script takes a lot of beating into shape. Endless writing sessions ending with a push of the Delete button and a sigh of 'back to the drawing board'. You keep going then something clicks. The characters start to leap into life, you get a feel for where the story will go. That’s when the process becomes fun."

This year has been harder, however, reckons Howard. "For a couple of years Andy has been keen to retell the story of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, but in a traditional panto style. It takes a while to get your head round it. It’s panto, so in honesty the original story is more of a guide than a plot! We’ve taken it on our usual panto journey.”

That journey works, argues a very definite Andy. "It’s a great story; it has terrific relevance to our world in 2016; it’s a story everyone knows; there’s good and bad; there’s a great setting, colourful characters," he says. "It really is a natural panto story. I’m amazed I’ve never seen it done before.”

Did the writers deliberately set their show in Paris in the year of Brexit? "That was just lucky timing," admits Andy. "The idea has been developing for a few years. The fact that we have a string of European and political jokes and a show set in a bell tower with no bells ringing have just fallen in line with current events to add to the humour. Although the choosing of LeTrump as a baddy was a conscious decision – not that we anticipated the American election result!”

Topicality is writ larger than ever throughout this show. "In terms of gags, this year’s script has been the gift that keeps on giving," says Howard. "I don’t think we’ve ever had to re-write and add so many contemporary references before.”

Script written, can Howard and Andy now relax as the first night approaches? "No chance," says the director. "We’re now in the theatre perfecting everything for opening show and, of course, things change right until the last minute."

Andy agrees: "With Graham Smith as dame, they change every night! We’re constantly tweaking but come Saturday we’ll be ready to rumble and entertain York with yet another rollicking romp of a panto!”

Rowntree Players present The Hunchback Of Notre Dame at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from Saturday to December 10. Performances: Saturday, 2pm and 7.30pm; Sunday, 2pm; Monday to Friday, 7.30pm; next Saturday, 2pm, 7.30pm. Tickets are available on 01904 501935, at rowntreeplayers.co.uk or in person from the JoRo box office.