ACTOR Antony Bessick, increasingly well known for his regular appearances as Coronation Street cabbie Vernon Bradshaw, co-stars in this year's Bolton Octagon production of The Firebird.

The play, described by Antony as a "magical fairytale for all children aged five to 85 years old" features acting, dancing, song and puppetry.

Here, the Bolton actor, who celebrated his 37th birthday on opening night on Friday, described how rehearsals for the Christmas show went.

MONDAY: A busy day today and a productive one! We started rehearsal as usual with an extensive physical warm up, particularly important today as we were beginning with one of the show's dance routines. It is the moment in the story when we first encounter the Firebird as she whirls around the stage in a blaze of colour, dance and song.

Nuria Benet who plays the Firebird, is Spanish, and brings a distinctly flamenco feel to what promises to be a spectacular routine. Choreographer Matthew Bugg is doing a fantastic job and performing a virtual miracle in making me and my two left feet look like we know what we're doing!

After lunch (mandatory greasy spoon for me) it is time for director Sue Reddish to crack her artistic whip as we begin to work on the characters in the story. All of the six actors in the show play more than one role, from prince to peddler, and witch to tsar, and it is important that we create distinctively different personas for each one.

This in-depth work takes up the rest of the day. I am achy . . . and must have lost 2lb today! Come seven o'clock I wind my weary way to Moor Lane bus station and my trusty 582.

Tuesday: Ouch! I'm aching in places I didn't know I had muscles. Thankfully so are most of my fellow thesps, so I feel a little better. The day kicks off with more movement and the pace seems to go up a gear. I must call my agent . . . I'm sure there was nothing in my contract about sweating! One o'clock...aah, lunch...Greasy spoon.

More detailed work throughout the afternoon concentrating on the relationships between the various characters and making them real and believable. I play Tsar Saltan and the evil Koschei The Deathless.

These are both powerful beings in their own right and I want to make sure I am able to make them substantially different enough from each other. I would hate the audience to think "same person, different wig"!

Wednesday: Slept badly last night! I dreamt I was chasing a brightly coloured parrot through the desert whilst singing The Firebird song. I woke up and couldn't get the lyrics out of my mind. Oh well, at least I know the words now! I arrive at rehearsal feeling tired, but less achy today. Then I notice that Mat has an evil glint in his eye . . . doh!

More movement, more lifting of the Firebird, more sweating. Actually, though I joke about it, it's vital that we are extremely well rehearsed in all aspects of the show's movement and dance routines. The actors need to be able to trust each other implicitly and this can only be achieved through constant practice.

Lunch. Bliss! Baked potato with cottage cheese? A light chicken and pasta number perhaps? Nah. . .Greasy spoon.

By the end of the day we are really beginning to get on top of the songs... which is just as well, as we have been invited to perform one of them at the switching on of Bolton's Christmas lights tomorrow! I think I lost another 2lbs today.

Thursday: My aches have aches today! Thankfully the morning gets off to a fairly sedate start. I spend some time working with a prototype of a puppet that I will operate for part of the show. I haven't done any puppetry before and am looking forward to it. Especially the chase scene which takes us all over the stage and around the auditorium!

Lunch...Cholesterol! We spend much of the afternoon working on the songs again, particularly the Peddler's Song that we will be performing on the town hall steps.

At 5.15pm, dressed as Russian peddlers, we make our way to Bolton Town Hall. We are a little nervous as we have no control over the performing environment and must be prepared for anything. Just before we are due on stage we are told there is only one hand-held microphone available between the six of us. Oops! This means that the harmonies will be lost and will generally make things rather tricky. Thankfully a second microphone is offered. Great!

We end up singing most of the song in darkness but there is a great crowd gathered and the atmosphere helps lift us! Back to the theatre, back into our civvies... Pub! Lost another 1lb today.

Friday: Bus stations can be bleak, foreboding places at night and Moor Lane at seven o'clock on a cold Bolton evening is no exception. I stand there now awaiting the 582, scribbling in my diary and fending off various interruptions: "No sorry mate, I can't sell you a ciggie, I don't smoke"; "Sorry I haven't any spare change mate, no" etc. It's been a good week and I think it's going to be a great show . . . I feel it in my achy bones!

Writer Neil Duffield, who also wrote The Snow Queen, has made sure that it has all the ingredients for an exciting and fun-filled festive frolic! Heroes and heroines, goodies and baddies and magical mayhem. I enjoy doing Christmas shows and am having a great time working on this one. I love working at The Octagon.

The Firebird runs at The Octagon, Bolton untio Saturday, January 18. Tickets are from 01204 520661.