Hospital staff decide to play doctors and nurses (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Hospital staff decide to play doctors and nurses

11:39am Tuesday 15th January 2008 in

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CONSULTANTS, doctors and nurses swapped their hospital theatre for a town centre theatre as they put on their annual panto.

More than 400 people turned up at The Haymarket to see The Sound of Mucus - a medical twist on the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

Current and former members of staff from the hospital, Overton Rugby Club players and firefighters from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service sang well-known songs such as How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria and My Favourite Things.

Both matinee and evening shows were played to packed audiences in the theatre.

Julie Jones, the producer and scriptwriter of the pantomime, who has organised the show for the past five years, said: "I have taken it from nothing really. Each year, I have learned something. It is quite stressful, but it is worth it in the end."

Last year, the pantomime raised £4,500 for charity. Organisers hope to raise a similar amount this year, with tickets for the evening performance selling out in one day.

Money raised from the shows will go to the anaesthetic department and palliative care service at Basingstoke hospital, and the Basingstoke and Alton Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre.