A TOWN mayor played her surprise panto part to perfection, a theatre team has said.

Councillor Karen Hodgkinson, mayor of Mold, made history on January 19 when she became the first serving mayor of the town to join the cast of Theatr Clwyd’s sell out pantomime Dick Whittington: The Purrrrfect Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto.

The story of Dick Whittington is a firm pantomime favourite set in London where the streets are believed to be ‘paved with gold’.

This year however the setting, remaining faithful to the traditional story, transposed the action to Flintshire – and more specifically to Mold.

Dick’s battle with the rats and villains alongside some great comedy antics, resulted in Dick being awarded the great honour of becoming ‘Mayor of Mold’.

And who better to present the mayoral chain than the current mayor, Cllr Hodgkinson.

She said: “It was great fun. I was honoured to be asked by Theatr Clwyd to take part in this year’s pantomime and I was very nervous at first, especially as it was a full house.

“But after meeting with the cast and a quick rehearsal I was more at ease and delighted to go on stage during the matinee performance to present the chain to the star of the show Dick Whittington.

“Myself and deputy mayor, Councillor Tim Maunders, thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful experience that the Theatr Clwyd team had created.

“It was great to hear all the local references included in the script and the cast and crew work so hard on delivering such outstanding performances with more than 70 shows, right through from November..

“This has to be one of the highlights of my mayoral year so far.”

A Theatr Clwyd spokesman added: “The cast were thrilled to have the mayor on the stage and part of the fun.

“Cllr Hodgkinson played her walk on role to perfection.

“It was certainly an unusual event in the mayoral calendar, but a lovely moment of surprise on the last day of our panto.

“Thanks to Cllr Hodgkinson for being so brave to step onto the stage in front a packed theatre.

“Having the town as an important element in the script brought a great response from our audiences who gave her performance the cheers it deserved.”

Tickets for this year’s (2019) Rock ‘n’ Roll pantomime Jack and The Beanstalk are already in the pipeline with tickets going on sale to the general public on February 4.

Theatre members and those who attended Dick Whittington this year however can take advantage of early ticket release and prices.

For more information see Theatr Clwyd’s website: www.theatrclwyd.com/en/whats-on/jack-the-beanstalk/