PANTO AT THE PLAYHOUSE IS PULSATING WITH EYE-POPPING POSITIVITY;
and the plot promises to produce some particularly positive performances!
The Playhouse is, of course, in St John’ s Road, Boxmoor, where Babes in the Wood is well into rehearsal now that HHTC’ s sparkling Centenary Celebration is over.
This Christmas fantasy is slightly less well-known as a panto than old favourites like Cinderella and Aladdin. It departs from the fairy-tale story about two children imprisoned by a witch, who plans to bake them in her oven. Unsurprisingly, there are no ovens here( except possibly in the traditional, messy kitchen scene) but – surprisingly – the panto plot always seems to involve Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Indeed, Robin is the hero, so you can expect plenty of bows and arrows, not to mention green tights.
Set in Sherwood Forest and the old town of Nottingham, long before it became a city, Robin finds himself pitted against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, a money-loving despot, bent on squeezing endless taxes from the local townspeople and determined to force the beautiful Maid Marian to marry him.
Pip and Penny, the two Babes, are orphans who arrive on the scene in the care of Nurse Molly Coddle( the Dame, of course), having been left in the care of their uncle – the Sheriff! And, to make matters worse, the two children have inherited a vast fortune, which, unsurprisingly, the Sheriff wants to get his hands on.
Only Robin Hood and his followers, including( naturally) Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and Alana Dale, can Save the Day as the plot thickens.
Quite a number of the cast have only just drawn breath after making significant appearances in the Centenary Celebration. Among them, Kate Monnelly, last seen as an amorous waitress in the extract from‘ Allo,‘ Allo takes on the part of Robin, Paul Passi swops his former role as Fagin for that of the villainous Sheriff, Leanne Glover emerges from her part as the faithful henchwoman to the Vicar of Dibley to play the glamorous feisty Maid Marian and Ciaran Connors, who assembled and directed the Celebration, dons skirts and a wig as Nurse Molly Coddle!
As panto-director Dan Shirley says:“ You can expect a really star-sparkling cast. We’ ve still got a long way to go but the actors are working hard, loving the comedy in the script and looking forward so much to putting it in front of our audiences.”
Tickets are selling VERY fast for performances in the first two weekends of December, so if you haven’ t already got yours, you know what to do!
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Box Office: 0333 666 3366
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