Dick Whittington and His Cat: Gantry Youth theatre, Southampton, January 13

IF YOU can't afford to see the real Lily Savage in this year's Mayflower panto, Gantry Youth Theatre has come to the rescue.

For, in a cheeky reference to the Scouse "blonde bombsite", star of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the city's main theatre, the amateur youth group has included a send-up of the larger-than-life character in its own panto.

The group, made up of six- to 18-year-old actors from the Southampton area, will be getting into the festive spirit with their traditional version of Dick Whittington and His Cat at the Gantry Arts Centre from Thursday.

Featuring a cast of 21 and plenty of singing, dancing and even explosions, the production has proved one of the group's most ambitious projects to date.

"I deliberately chose a traditional style of panto," says director Matt Fletcher.

"I looked at a lot of different scripts and chose this one because it was the most traditional and the most true to the original Victorian story.

"We have hammed it up a little, though, with some modern jokes - for instance, our dame is playing it as Lily Savage."

The show has been in rehearsal since September - the equivalent of a whole school term - and has demanded total commitment from everyone involved.

"For me as a director, it's been more difficult than a straight play, because I'm having to deal with singing and dancing and we've also got pyrotechnics and radio-controlled things."

Matt isn't giving too much away about the explosions, except to say that they somehow involve an oven.

"It's more complex technically than anything I've done before, but it's been hysterical to rehearse.

"We are finding so many jokes within the text and adding some of our own as well."

Dick Whittington and His Cat is at the Gantry Arts Centre, Southampton from Thursday to Saturday, January 13.

Tickets are sold our for the January 13 performance but are still available for the others.

For more information, call the box office on 023 8042 2099.