The cast of Aladdin broke off from a dress-rehearsal to launch a ‘books on busses’ giveaway outside Blackpool Grand Theatre on Church Street.
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00:00 [laughing]
00:02 - Hang on, we've got a package.
00:04 - Can we just--
00:05 - Sorry, we've got to sort this out.
00:06 - Yeah, that's not--
00:07 - Packages.
00:08 - Which is such a--
00:09 [mimicking car noises]
00:12 - I've got it upside down.
00:14 Feels stupid.
00:15 - We were on the buses today
00:18 to promote a reading project for Blackpool.
00:21 - Get Blackpool reading.
00:22 - Yeah, absolutely.
00:23 - So we were there with the original story
00:27 that birthed the story of Aladdin
00:29 and the pantomime of Aladdin,
00:30 which was Arabian Nights and lots of other short stories.
00:33 So we were checking out that book.
00:35 - 'Cause what people don't realize
00:36 is most times Blackpool children
00:39 only have the inside of rock to read.
00:41 That's all they have.
00:42 And when they have a full story to tell,
00:44 it's a lot of rock.
00:45 So they'll have to do each piece
00:48 shown by the teacher like that.
00:49 So what I think the council have done
00:52 is brought books into Blackpool for the first time.
00:55 So it's all there in one, easy to handle thing.
01:00 - Less sugar as well.
01:01 - Less sugar as well.
01:02 So it's a bonus both for the reading,
01:04 for the education and for teeth.
01:06 - Yes, for dentists.
01:07 - Well, it's bad news for dentists
01:09 'cause they're not gonna--
01:10 So listen, that's the case for most of these things.
01:13 It swings, no, that's at the Pleasure Beach.
01:16 - All right, yeah, sorry.
01:16 - That's the Pleasure Beach.
01:17 You're getting totally confused now.
01:18 - Yeah.
01:19 [laughing]
01:20 Teeth and libraries.
01:21 - That is comedy gold.
01:22 That's the kind of thing we do.
01:23 That's the kind of things we create.
01:25 - But it's a story of magic and love and--
01:30 - Lamps.
01:32 - Lamps and--
01:33 - Genies.
01:34 - Silliness and genies and villains.
01:37 - Lot of washing.
01:38 - And Twanky's laundrette.
01:39 - Washing.
01:40 - Loads of washing.
01:41 - Washing.
01:42 - Some amazing kids.
01:43 - Washing.
01:44 - Doing some incredible backflips and dancing
01:45 and doing really impressive stuff.
01:49 Then we'll just come on and make everybody laugh.
01:52 [crowd chattering]
01:55 - The Books on Buses initiative is between,
02:04 a partnership between Blackpool Transport
02:06 and Blackpool Grand Theatre,
02:07 where we have a number of books,
02:09 usually correlated to the pantomime that's on
02:11 here at the Grand Theatre.
02:13 And these are placed on buses early mornings
02:15 for all of our customers,
02:17 especially school children, to read.
02:18 It's all about getting Blackpool reading,
02:20 having that chance to read on the bus.
02:22 Children and families can take these books
02:23 home with them to finish,
02:25 or maybe pop them back on the seat
02:26 for the next person to enjoy.
02:28 So anything that we can do within the community
02:30 and the social needs for the town
02:31 is something that's actually really important to us.
02:33 So getting involved in initiatives such as this,
02:35 which really do support families and children,
02:38 is something that's at the core of our values
02:40 and how we want to be presented
02:41 across the town and the Fylde Coast.
02:43 So the books will be available
02:44 from the beginning of next week.
02:46 They'll be on the buses for up to four weeks,
02:48 depending on stock,
02:50 'cause like I say, families can take these home.
02:52 But you will start seeing these appear
02:54 in your morning commutes,
02:55 and especially at school times
02:57 with school children and families travelling on the seats.
03:00 So when you're bored, pick one up and have a read.