shy and beautiful princess, or a sailor whose name is Sinbad? If so, now's your chance.

The BMDS will be holding auditions for the annual Christmas pantomime this coming weekend, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

on Sunday.

Mr. Warren Cabral, who has written and will direct this year's offering of Sinbad the Sailor, is hoping that as many Bermudians as possible will take part.

"The play is set in the Middle East and has an Arabian setting, but there is a strong Bermuda element, with some Bermudians who invade the scene and cause havoc,'' he explains. He will not disclose just exactly what these Bermudians get up to as "that would spoil the fun'', but he promises plenty of `Bermudjan' dialogue and jokes that will add a local twist to the magical goings-on amongst the Middle Eastern potentates.

"I am looking for anyone and everyone, Bermudian and non-Bermudian and we need people from 10-years-old upwards,'' he says.

The pantomime, which will run at City Hall from December 10-19 (with a Saturday matinee) calls for a cast of more than 30, with 13 principals and a chorus that will be expected to sing and dance.

Mr. Cabral says that Sinbad the Sailor will broadly follow the lines of traditional English pantomime, with a man taking on the role of the Dame (Sinbad's mother), and pop songs providing musical interludes throughout the play. The Principal Boy, however, will be a boy -- unlike England, where this role is always taken by a girl.

Sinbad the Sailor will be the third of Warren Cabral's plays to be produced on the Bermuda stage. The first was Good Friday and his double bill of Family Affair and Forever Yours had a successful run at Daylesford earlier this year.

After winning a scholarship to Upper Canada College, he obtained a degree in modern languages from McGill University. He then won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University, where he read law at St. Edward Hall. He is now a corporate lawyer with Appleby, Spurling & Kempe.

While at Oxford, Mr. Cabral was the treasurer of the Oxford University Drama Society and while he waiting to be called to the bar, he directed his own Oxford theatre company.

Since returning to Bermuda, he has acted in several productions, including young Charlie in Da, Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and he directed The Little Foxes earlier this year.

"Writing pantomime is a real change of pace for me,'' he says. "I thought Sinbad was a good story when I saw the film several years ago. I wanted to direct it, but I couldn't find a script -- and that's when I decided to write it myself.'' That task has taken the young lawyer/writer six months to complete. "I couldn't remember the exact plot and spent many afternoons browsing through the bookstores trying to find a copy of the story, but with no luck. Then a friend in Toronto pointed out that Sinbad the Sailor formed part of the Arabian Nights, and I realised I had all 12 volumes in my living room all the time.'' But when he found that the complete story of Sinbad's adventures took up one entire volume, he decided it was too cumbersome to alter and cut, "so basically, I wrote my own version and it became my own creation. Then it was edited by my very talented wife!'' Since then, Mr. Cabral has had to make further technical revisions. "I soon found out that some of my ideas about stage sets and costume changes were a little ambitious. My fantasies had just taken off, but then I had to come back to earth and face some practical realities.'' This has been accomplished with the help of his technical assistants, such as producer Kate Weber, costume designer Elizabeth Wingate, and set and lighting designer, Peter Woodhouse.

Musical director John Woolridge will be in charge of the live band and the choreography is under the direction of Jeanne Legere assisted by Dee Edmunds.

"It's going to be very demanding -- but lots of fun, I hope, for the cast.

The sets are going to be wonderful and Elizabeth has some amazing ideas for costumes, especially in her treatment of the `ape' people. Then we have a singing camel. We need two people for that -- one to talk and sing and the other one to bring up the rear!'' Audition pieces are available at Daylesford and may be picked up any evening after 5.30 p.m.

PANTO QUEST -- Sinbad the Sailor has been chosen as this year's Christmas pantomime and Mr. Warren Cabral (above), who has written and will direct the show for BMDS, is looking for Bermudians to join in the fun.