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spotlight

Tauntonʼs Brewhouse Closes Major impact on local amateur societies

The  Brewhouse  Theatre,  which  has   provided  entertainment  for  the  people  of  Taunton  and  beyond  for  over  thirty-­‐five  years,  closed  its  doors  for  the  last  time  on  Wednesday  20th  February.  The  venue  was  a  favourite  with  local  amateur  societies  but  in  2009  Taunton  Thespians  relocated  its  productions  to  the  nearby  Tacchi-­‐Morris  Arts  Centre.  Mark  Dawson  explores  the  reasons  for  this  on  page  5.  Taunton  Amateur  Operatic  Society  still  performed  at  the  Brewhouse  as  did  SFD  members  Wayfarers  Pantomime  Society  whose  annual  Christmas  pantomimes  have  been  a  firm  favourite  at  the  theatre  since  1978.    The  Operatic  Society  will  be  performing  their  next  show,  The  Sound  of  Music,  at  the  Tacchi-­‐Morris  Arts  Centre.  Any  tickets  already  purchased  will  be  honoured.  Details  are  on  their  website.  Wayfarers  are  confident  that,  despite  this  major  setback,  the  show  will  go  on,  as  Terry  Wood  explains  on  page  4.  Fortunately,  they  have  sufficient  reserves  to  cover  their  immediate  financial  losses.  If  the  Brewhouse  remains  closed  their  longer-­‐term  problem  will  be  finding  another  venue  with  facilities  similar  to  the  Brewhouse.    One  other  amateur  casualty  is  the  Taunton  Scout  and  Guide  Gang  Show,  which  was  scheduled  for  April.    Efforts  are  now  being  made  to  reopen  the  Brewhouse  –  see  page  4.    

The magazine of the Somerset Fellowship

of Drama

Charity No.1084863

In this month’s Spotliight

 In  Brief             2  Committee  Cuttings         2  Letters             2  Wayfarers  still  in  the  Game       3  Why  Taunton  Thespians  left  the  Brewhouse   4  The  future  of  the  Brewhouse       4  County  Drama  Festival         5  Unsung  Heroes:  Annette  Scott       7  What’s  On           8  Ron  Robert’s  panto  reviews       10  Jane  Leakey’s  Fat  Cat  Theatre       19    

March 2013

February is a bumper month for pantomimes. Ron Robertsʼ reviews start on page 10

Photo: © Copyright Nick Chipchase  

The cast of Somerton's Pantomime Adventures of Robin Hood.

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In Brief… Fees for Phoebe Anna  Bowerman  reports  that  she  is  still  receiving  £20  cheques  for  entries  in  the  Phoebe  Rees  Competition.  Please  note  that  the  fees  are  now  £25  per  entry,  still  a  very  reasonable  charge  for  this  popular  and  important  competition.      The  entry  fee  for  all  the  major  competitions  is  now  £25  and  entry  is  only  open  to  societies  that  are  members  of  the  Somerset  Fellowship  of  Drama.  

Stop Press! The  2013  Phoebe  Rees  awards  night  will  now  be  on  Saturday  October  12th  at  The  Shrubbery  Hotel,  Ilminster  not  on  the  19th.  All  details  nearer  the  time.    

Committee Cuttings… A selection of notes from the SFD committee meeting on 19th February

The  SFD  committee  met  on  Tuesday  evening  19th  February  at  Ruishton  Village  Hall.  Unsurprisingly,  the  meeting  was  dominated  by  discussions  about  the  forthcoming  County  Drama  Festival  and  the  David  Beach  Awards  ceremony,  both  of  which  take  place  in  March.  Stage  Decorations  The  committee  agreed  to  fund  runners  with  logos  and  a  banner  to  decorate  the  stage  and  lecterns  at  the  various  awards  ceremony.  Sherry  Briggs  and  Ron  Roberts  are  organising  these.  County  Drama  Festival  There  are  eight  entries  in  this  year’s  festival  including  three  entries  in  the  Original  One  Act  Playwriting  Competition.  The  committee  agreed  to  introduce  a  new  award  chosen  by  the  audience.  David  Beach  Competition  All  the  trophies  have  been  returned  with  the  exception  of  one  which  has  been  lost  and  one  which  has  been  squashed!    Training  The  committee  is  hopeful  that  a  volunteer  will  be  appointed  as  Training  Coordinator  in  the  near  future.  

Sam  Allen

Letters No Room for a Review? I  have  been  asked  by  the  Civic  Players  committee  to  contact  you  regarding  recent  issues  of  the  magazine.  One  of  our  members  is  a  regular  reader  of  Spotlight  and  she  was  disappointed  to  note  that  although  we  had  an  adjudication  for  our  December  production  of  Unoriginal  Sin,  a  review  has  not  been  featured  in  either  of  the  last  two  editions.  Would  it  be  possible  please  for  you  to  look  into  this  with  your  SFD  colleagues  and  perhaps  print  a  belated  item  in  the  next  magazine?      

Kathryn  Steele  Civic  Players  Secretary  

 Adrian  Harding  of  Civic  Players  wrote  to  Spotlight  about  exactly  the  same  issue  in  a  letter  that  was  published  last  June.  As  editor  of  Spotlight  I  would  love  to  receive  reviews  for  all  productions  entered  into  SFD  competitions  because  I  know  how  much  readers  enjoy  them.  In  this  month’s  edition  we  have  no  fewer  than  eleven  reviews  from  Ron  Roberts,  moderator  for  the  Cinderella  Trophy  competition  but,  alas,  no  reviews  for  any  of  the  other  competitions.    Perhaps  your  letter  will  spur  other  adjudicators  and  moderators  to  put  pen  to  paper  and  write  a  review  for  Spotlight.  In  next  month’s  magazine  there  will  be  reviews  of  all  the  entries  in  the  County  Drama  Festival  as  well  as  the  remaining  pantomimes.  Please  remember  that  societies  are  invited  to  commission  and  submit  their  own  reviews  for  Spotlight  but  reviews  written  for  local  papers  cannot  be  used  without  permission,  as  they  will  be  subject  to  copyright.  

Sam  Allen  Editor  

 

What did they say…? "Acting is not a state of being ... but a state of appearing to be." - Noel Coward

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Wayfarers still in the game The Closure of the Brewhouse is not going to stop the Wayfarers Pantomime Society By Terry WoodThe  Wayfarers  are  now  creditors  of  the  Brewhouse  as  many  others  will  now  be.  The  costs  to  put  on  a  pantomime,  of  the  standard  that  The  Wayfarers  have  grown  to,  is  very  large  and  over  £40,000.  The  seating  capacity  of  The  Brewhouse  means  that  you  cannot  recover  all  of  that  cost  by  tickets  sales  if  you  have  a  one  week  run  of  10  shows.  Therefore  before  putting  on  a  pantomime  the  society  has  to  organise  its  finances  so  that  other  income  (advertising,  programme  sales,  sponsorship  etc)  make  up  the  shortfall,  assuming  a  level  of  ticket  sales,  as  it  is  unlikely  that  any  production  will  sell  out  100%.  The  Wayfarers  of  course  did  that  and  achieved  just  under  its  projected  ticket  sales  figures,  which  in  view  of  the  economic  climate  was  acceptable.  Tickets  are  initially  sold  by  Priority  Booking  to  members  and  Associate  Members  and  that  gave  us  approximately  30%  of  our  income  and  the  money  is  immediately  available  to  the  Society  and  used  as  a  working  capital.  As  anyone  who  has  done  a  show  at  The  Brewhouse  will  know  the  procedure  is  that  the  tickets  then  go  on  open  sale  at  the  Box  Office.  The  income  from  those  sales  is  retained  by  the  theatre  until  after  the  event  when  a  settlement  is  agreed,  effectively  ticket  sales  minus  hire  charges  and  any  other  Brewhouse  charges.  The  settlement  usually  works  out  at  about  50%  of  ticket  sales  at  the  Box  Office.  Unfortunately  we  are  now  still  owed  the  

settlement  payment.  Although  we  know  how  much  was  due,  the  Brewhouse  were  unable  to  pay  us.  Basic  maths  will  tell  you  that  this  is  a  reasonably  large  amount.  Fortunately,  over  the  years  The  Wayfarers  have  built  up  a  reserve  and  some  of  this  reserve  is  invested  in  long  term  charity-­‐approved  saving  schemes.  One  of  these  schemes  was  due  to  be  re-­‐invested  before  the  show  but  the  Treasurer,  wisely  decided  not  to  re-­‐invest  the  money  until  after  the  show  and  that  money  allowed  us  to  pay  our  bills  on  time.  The  Wayfarers,  therefore  are  still  a  viable  Society  and  are  committed  to  putting  on  Jack  in  the  Beanstalk  over  the  2013/2014  holiday  period.    As  yet  we  do  not  know  where  or  when  and  to  how  large  a  scale  we  can  go.  Pantomimes  with  traditional  sets  and  technical  support  require  full  theatre  rigs  so  if  the  Brewhouse  was  to  be  available  that  would  be  our  first  choice,  perhaps  instead  of  their  usual  Christmas  Show,  who  knows.  If  we  have  to  go  elsewhere  then  we  will  need  to  cut  the  size  of  our  ambitions  and  as  seating  capacities  at  all  the  known  alternatives  are  lower  than  the  Brewhouse,  income  is  likely  to  be  reduced.  Rest  assured  The  Wayfarers  are  still  in  the  game.  We  will  be  back.  Watch  our  Website:  www.wayfarers-­‐pantomime.co.uk  when  we  know  we  will  let  you  all  know.      

Terry Wood, Publicity Manager for the Wayfarers Pantomime Society, explains that the closure of the Brewhouse is not going to stop this forty-year-old society

Wayfarers on the Brewhouse stage this year with their production of Dick Whittington

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Why Taunton Thespians left the Brewhouse Drama Group relocated to Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre in 2009 By Mark Dawson Leaving  the  Brewhouse  was  one  of  those  decisions  that  you  displace  and  displace  until  the  reasons  stacking  up  to  make  the  move  are  so  insurmountable  that  you  can't  ignore  them  any  more.  The  truth  is  that  we  just  didn't  want  to  go,  it  felt  like  home.  But  you  can't  ignore  a  weekly  hire  charge  that  goes  from  less  than  £4k  to  more  than  £9k  in  just  a  few  years,  and  which  you  know  is  going  to  rise  again  by  almost  a  further  £3k  in  another  year.  You  can't  ignore  a  booking  system  that  refuses  to  allow  you  to  book  a  vacant  week,  just  in  case  an  as-­‐yet-­‐unknown  professional  act  may  come  along.  And  you  can't  ignore  the  lack  of  respect  that  allows  a  noisy  comedy  act  to  play  in  the  bar  area  immediately  adjacent  to  the  auditorium  where  you  are  playing  serious  drama.  Ultimately  I've  never  felt  that  moving  away  from  the  Brewhouse  was  anything  but  the  right  decision,  albeit  a  difficult  one.  The  philosophy  at  the  Tacchi  Morris  seems  to  be  almost  diametrically  opposite;  they  are  helpful  and  far  more  engaging.  The  lower  hire  charge  has  meant  that  we  have  been  more  able  to  

produce  shows  that  we  want  to  do,  rather  than  always  have  the  "we  must  get  bums  on  seats  at  all  costs"  mentality.  There  is  some  of  our  previous  audience,  I'm  sure,  who  have  not  followed  us  the  few  miles  out  of  town  but,  all  in  all,  it  has  been  a  much  better  experience  than  that  at  the  venue  we  left  behind.  You  should  not  think  that  we  had  given  up  on  the  Brewhouse  though.  There  was  a  regular  meeting,  under  the  name  BUG,  which  stood  for  'Brewhouse  User  Group',  which  I  continued  to  attend.  Ironically,  at  one  point,  there  were  more  representatives  of  groups  no  longer  playing  at  the  Brewhouse  attending  than  those  who  were  but,  like  I  said,  we  persisted.  I  have  just  the  vaguest  feeling  that  we  might  even  have  started  to  make  some  progress,  but  then  events  overtook  all  that  and  the  rest  is  history.  Was  the  suddenness  of  the  closure  a  shock?  Quite  a  considerable  one.  Am  I  sad  that  it  closed?  Yes,  of  course.  Am  I  surprised?  Not  in  the  slightest.  But  the  theatre  is  still  there.  All  we  have  to  do  now  is  capture  just  some  of  the  drive  that  saw  it  built  in  the  first  place.

 

The Future of the Brewhouse So  what  now  for  the  future  of  the  Brewhouse  Theatre?  Balancing  the  books  had  become  increasingly  difficult  in  the  last  few  years  as  external  funding  dried  up.  The  Arts  Council  withdrew  regular  funding  in  2005  and  Somerset  County  Council  stopped  in  2010.  Taunton  Deane  Borough  Council  continued  to  support  the  Brewhouse  with  an  annual  grant  of    £152,000  although  according  to  theatre  director  Robert  Miles  that  was  not  enough.  In  his  blog  he  wrote,  “If  Taunton  Deane  Borough  Council  had  invested  in  The  Brewhouse  at  the  same  level  as  South  Somerset  District  Council  invested  in  the  Octagon  over  the  past  five  years  we  would  still  be  open.”  Meanwhile,  Taunton  Deane  Council  has  allocated  a  one-­‐off  sum  of  £35,000,  to  help  protect  the  property  and  facilitate  the  development  of  a  sustainable  way  forward  for  the  venue.  Councillor  John  Williams  said,  “I  believe  this  demonstrates  the  Council's  

continuing  commitment  to  high  quality  arts  provision  in  Taunton  and  we  will  work  with  Arts  Council  England  and  others  in  the  cultural  and  creative  sector,  to  try  to  find  ways  forward  for  the  Brewhouse  as  a  financially  viable  hub  for  arts  and  culture  locally.”  There  has  been  some  criticism  about  the  staffing  levels  at  the  Brewhouse,  which  employed  35  part  time  workers,  and  19  full  time  staff.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  use  of  more  voluntary  workers  would  have  made  the  theatre  financial  secure.  Nevertheless,  the  employees  and  their  families  are  the  people  hit  hardest  by  the  closure.  A  group  called  Save  our  Brewhouse  has  been  set  up  and  you  can  find  out  more  about  them  on  their  Facebook  page:    www.facebook.com/saveOURbrewhouse  

Mark Dawson, Chairman of Taunton Thespians, explains their reasons for leaving the Brewhouse in 2009 and relocate to the Tacchi-Morris Arts centre on the outskirts of Taunton

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County Drama Festival Eight entries in this yearʼs festival By Philip de GlanvilleThere’s  something  for  everyone  in    this  year’s  County  Drama  Festival  at  the  Edgar  Hall  in  Somerton,  where  eight  teams  from  all  over  Somerset  will  be  competing  for  the  County  Shield  and  for  the  honour  of  going  forward  to  represent  us  at  the  next  round  of  the  AETF  in  April.  The  Festival  takes  place  over  the  weekend  23rd/24th  March.  There  will  be  two  sessions  on  the  Saturday  and  one  on  Sunday  afternoon,  to  be  followed  by  the  Award  Ceremony  at  which  the  winner  of  this  year’s  Best  Original  One  Act  Script  will  also  be  announced.  Jane  Levan,  GODA,  will  be  adjudicating  and  will  present  her  thoughts  about  the  productions  she  has  seen,  at  the  end  of  each  session.  Amongst  the  teams  are  several  of  the  County’s  most  experienced;  St  Gregory  Players,  who  were  last  year’s  winners,  will  be  back  again  to  have  another  shot  at  the  County  Shield,  along  with  CDF  regulars  Taunton  Thespians,  who  have  two  original  play  entries  this  year,  and  Troupers  

from  Frome.  We  are  also  delighted  to  welcome  back  Swan  Theatre  Co,  whom  we  haven’t  seen  on  the  Festival  circuit  for  several  years.  Joining  them  will  be  two  youth  teams  –  Taunton  School  and  newcomers  Wemo  Theatre  from  N.  Somerset,  and  we  have  a  new  group  from  Street  called  Streetwise,  put  together  by  John  McGrouther  and  Di  Dean  to  perform  another  short-­‐listed  play  from  the  SFD’s  Original  Playwriting  Competition.  As  usual  the  winning  Youth  team  will  also  have  a  chance  to  represent  Somerset  in  the  Four  Counties  Youth  Festival  which  will  take  place  a  month  later.  The  running  order  for  all  three  sessions  is  as  below,  along  with  a  brief  synopsis  of  each  play.  Tickets  will  be  available  on  the  door  @  £7  per  session,  but  it  will  be  possible  to  buy  tickets  for  two  sessions  @  £12  and  for  all  three  sessions  @  £15.  At  less  than  £2  a  play  this  is  surely  great  value,  and  a  wonderful  opportunity  to  immerse  yourself  in  a  weekend  of  amateur  theatre!

 

About the County Drama Festival The  County  Drama  Festival  is  the  longest  established  of  all  the  SFD's  competitive  drama  festivals.    It  is  for  one  act  plays  of  at  least  20  minutes  (but  no  more  than  55  minutes)  duration,  which  are  adjudicated  publically,  usually  by  a  member  of  the  Guild  of  Drama  Adjudicators  (GODA).  It  is  open  to  any  group  in  Somerset.  Original  writing  is  very  welcome,  and  Youth  groups  are  encouraged  to  take  part.  The  winning  Youth  Group  goes  on  to  represent  us  in  the  Four  Counties  Youth  Festival  in  April,  which  

is  held  in  one  of  the  participating  counties.  The  winning  team  overall  will  go  on  to  represent  Somerset  in  the  next  round  of  the  All  England  Theatre  Festival  -­‐  the  Central  Division  Final  -­‐  which  this  year  will  be  held  on  Saturday  13th  April  at  the  Merlin  Theatre  in  Frome.  The  next  round  is  expected  to  be  at  the  Athenaeum  in  Warminster,  just  over  the  border  in  Wiltshire.  This  could  be  a  really  good  year  to  do  well...  You  can  find  out  more  about  it  by  visiting  our  website:  www.somersetdrama.org.uk  

 County Drama Festival coordinator Philip de Glanville sets the scene for this yearʼs festival which takes place on 23rd and 24th March

New This Year! We are introducing, for the first time, an Audience Award which can be judged by anyone who has bought tickets for all three sessions, and will be awarded to the team whose work those members of the audience have enjoyed most. Experience from other Festivals where this sort of thing has become a popular feature suggests that quite often the audience choose a play which doesnʼt turn out to be the Adjudicatorʼs overall winner, because of course they are using different criteria to judge by. If youʼd like to be on the audience panel, all you need to do is to come to all three sessions, and ask for a voting form when you buy your tickets.

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County Drama Festival Sessions

SATURDAY at 2pm  Streetwise  MOVING  ON    by  Austin  Hawkins  Original  Play  (shortlisted)  At  last,  after  three  years  of  walk-­‐on  parts  with  her  local  amateur  drama  group,  Helen  has  got  the  big  break  she  hoped  for  and  is  playing  the  lead  in  a  major  production,  but  it  all  starts  to  unravel…  Director:  John  McGrouther    Swan  Theatre  Company  WHITE  LIES    by  Richard  James  30  years  post-­‐graduation,  four  women  gather  for  a  reunion,  allegiances  are  rekindled  and  very  old  scores  are  settled  in  spectacular  fashion  in  this  delightful  comedy.  Director:  Shirley  Bowler    Taunton  Thespians  BELONGING    by  Lyssa  Gill  Original  Play  (shortlisted)  City-­‐boy  Dave  Townsend  has  taken  on  a  job  as  grave-­‐digger  at  St  Mary’s  but  is  finding  it  difficult  to  fit  into  this  tight-­‐knit  rural  community.  Then  there  are  two  deaths  in  quick  succession  and  it  seems  he  has  no  alibi  –  yet.  Director:  Rachel  Buttell  

SATURDAY at 7pm  Taunton  School  BURN  UP    by  Derek  Bowskill  Youth  Theatre  A  highly  physical  exciting  play  full  of  rhythms  and  chants,  and  making  reference  to  racist  attitudes,  tribes,  myths  and  much  more.  Director:  Jane  Harris    Troupers  A  DAY  IN  THE  DEATH  OF  JOE  EGG  (1st  Act)    by  Peter  Nichols  Bri  and  Sheila  find  the  only  way  they  can  cope  with  the  pain  of  bringing  up  their  brain  damaged  10-­‐year-­‐old  daughter  Jo  is  to  explore  the  funny  side  of  their  experiences,  but  despite  all  the  laughter  the  cracks  in  their  relationship  are  becoming  increasingly  difficult  to  paper  over,  in  this  bleakest  of  black  comedies.  Director:  Philip  de  Glanville    Taunton  Thespians  OFFICE  ANTICS    by  Nicola  Breeze  Original  Play  (shortlisted)  It’s  Cindy  Potts’  first  day  in  the  office  of  EFG  Enterprises  and  nothing  is  going  to  plan  in  this  fast-­‐moving,  pacy  farce.  Director:  Michael  Gilbert    SUNDAY at 3pm  Wemo  Theatre  ONCE  UPON  A  CRIME    by  Mel  Tomo  Youth  Theatre  We  find  ourselves  in  a  mystical  world,  peopled  by  characters  from  our  fairytales,  where  time  has  stood  still  for  200  years,  and  now  the  city  of  Fable  has  been  blighted  by  the  discovery  of  its  first-­‐ever  murder.  But…  why  would  anyone  want  to  kill  off  the  hero?  Director:  Mel  Tomo  and  Lisa  Weir    St  Gregory  Players  A  LIMB  OF  SNOW    by  Anna  Marie  Barlow  Set  in  the  gold  rush  days  of  1890s  America:  a  couple  who  have  had  nothing  but  bad  luck  and  trouble  are  now  facing  disaster.  She  is  heavily  pregnant  and  longs  for  some  stability  in  their  lives,  but  he  still  clings  to  his  dreams  of  a  change  in  their  fortunes.  Director:  Liz  Gregory

The Edgar Hall in Somerton, which is owned by Somerton Town Council, was opened in 2009. The hall is located in the Somerton Business Park, Somerton, Somerset, TA11 6SB

 

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Annette  Scott  has  been  prompting  for  Puriton  Players’  pantomimes  for  eighteen  years  without  a  break.  She  was  roped  in  when  the  society  was  struggling  to  find  somebody  to  fill  this  key  role.  Her  brother,  Alan,  is  the  mainstay  of  the  group  and  he  led  the  others  in  persuading  Annette  to  take  it  on.  She  told  me,  “They  sold  me  the  line  that  it  was  easy,  nothing  to  it  and  this  was  literally  either  on  the  day  or  the  day  before  the  panto,  I  can’t  quite  remember  which!”  Seeing  that  they  were  desperate,  Annette  agreed  to  help  out  and  she  has  been  doing  it  ever  since.  Despite  her  baptism  of  fire,  Annette  discovered  that  she  enjoys  it,  which  brings  her  back  year  after  year.  She  said,  “I  do  enjoy  it,  although  it  can  be  quite  daunting  as  I  worry  I  might  get  it  wrong.  I  enjoy  being  part  of  the  group.  I  have  seen  many  changes  over  the  years  as  people  come  and  go  so  you  always  have  a  good  mix  of  people.”  So  where  is  the  best  place  for  the  prompt  to  be  during  the  show?  “I  stand  on  the  side,  basically  on  the  good  side  of  Alan  so  that  he  can  hear  –  he  usually  needs  the  most  prompts!    I  tend  to  stand  and  not  sit  as  I’m  in  the  wings  because  I  need  to  see  what  is  going  on  and  people  are  always  coming  on  and  off  stage  around  me.”    Prompting  can  be  a  thankless  task.  People  generally  only  notice  the  prompt  when  something  has  gone  wrong!  So  I  asked  Annette  if  she  had  had  any  embarrassing  moments  over  the  years.  She  answers  with  a  certain  amount  of  discretion.  “I  can’t  think  of  any  although  I’m  sure  there  must  have  been!  A  couple  of  people  have  told  me  they  didn’t  need  prompting;  they  were  acting  (the  famous  dramatic  pause)”  She  laughs  and  decides  to  be  slightly  less  discreet.  “I’ve  never  known  Puriton  Players  to  ‘act’!”  Fortunately,  as  well  as  those  slightly  awkward  occasions,  being  prompt  has  its  funny  side  too.  Annette  tells  a  story  worthy  of  our  ‘And  then  there  was  the  time…’  column.  “The  lens  fell  out  of  my  glasses  once,  so  I  had  to  close  that  eye  as  I  couldn’t  see  the  page  clearly.  I  also  pushed  my  finger  out  through  the  lens,  which  made  the  person  on  stage  laugh.”  She  chuckles  at  the  thought  of  it.  “And  Kevin  singing  The  Pirate  King  

still  makes  me  laugh.    It  was  so  awful  but  people  didn’t  know  whether  it  was  meant  to  be  funny  or  serious.  It  was  actually  meant  to  be  serious!  It  really  was  bad:  I  needed  the  loo  after  that  performance!”  Despite  all  the  fun  she  gets  from  being  the  panto  prompt,  there  are  aspects  that  still  get  Annette’s  goat.  “It  really  annoys  me  when  people  don’t  learn  their  words  and  it’s  frustrating  if  people  don’t  turn  up  for  rehearsals;  it  makes  it  very  difficult  to  rehearse  without  them.  I  attend  most  rehearsals,”  she  told  me,  “especially  in  the  run  up  to  the  panto  as  I  need  to  know  all  the  pauses,  running  around  and  other  moves  on  stage.    I  find  it  essential  to  attend  to  get  a  good  idea  of  the  direction.”  And  in  the  end  it  is  all  worth  it.  “It  really  pleases  me  when  a  show  all  comes  together  (which  you  never  think  it  will).  And  I  love  the  reaction  of  the  audiences  especially  if  they  have  enjoyed  it!    It  makes  all  the  effort  worthwhile.    Also,  I  think  it  brings  the  village  together  as  it  involves  the  younger  element.    I  have  made  some  very  good  friends  from  being  involved  with  the  group.”  It  is  clear  that  Annette  is  hugely  enthusiastic  about  Puriton  Players  and  the  role  it  plays  in  the  life  of  the  village.  I  wondered  if  she  had  ever  been  tempted  to  go  on  stage  herself.  “I  used  to  be  in  the  carnival  taking  part  in  the  concerts  and  the  road.  I  only  did  it  for  a  couple  of  years.  I  ’ve  never  fancied  going  on  the  stage  since  basically  I  can’t  sing  or  act  “  That  laugh  again.  “I  suppose  that  means  I’d  fit  in  well  with  Puriton  Players!”  It  is  clear  that,  despite  her  friendly  jibes,  it  is  clear  that  Annette  is  hugely  impressed  by  the  people  around  her  and  loves  every  aspect  of  village  pantomime  life.  Surprisingly,  panto  is  not  her  favourite  form  of  entertainment.  “My  favourite  shows  are  West  Side  Story  and  Carousel  but  I  like  most  musicals.”  So  it  is  truly  a  labour  of  love  taking  part  in  pantomime  year  after  year.  And  that  is  why  Annette  is  this  month’s  Unsung  Hero.

Unsung  Heroes

Prompting can be a thankless task and yet a good prompt is worth her weight in gold. Annette Scott has been prompting for Puriton Players for nearly two decades and shares her experiences with us. She spoke to Sam Allen  

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What’s On…    February    Feb  28th  –  March  2nd    GEORGIE  PORGIE  by  Paul  Reakes  Chardstock  Amateur  Dramatic  Society    Chardstock  Community  Hall  at7.30pm  with  3pm  matinee  on  2nd  March  Georgie  Porgie,  pudding  and  pie,  kissed  the  girls  and  made  them  cry  -­‐  Come  and  see  the  true  story.  Warning:  contains  kissing!  Directed  by  John  Williamson  &  Nicola  Boxell    BOX  OFFICE:  Chardstock  Post  Office  or  01460  221067    Cinderella  Trophy  entry    March    March  6th  –  9th  CALENDAR  GIRLS  By  Tim  Firth  Street  Theatre  Strode  Theatre,  Street  at  7.30pm  Tim  Firth’s  remarkable  stage  adaption  of  his  now  famous  true  tale  of  a  group  of  brave  WI  women  who  bare  all  for  a  charity  calendar  following  the  death  of  a  much-­‐loved  local  man.  Directed  by  Lois  Robinson  BOX  OFFICE:  01458  841552  www.strodetheatre.co.uk  SFD  concessions  6th  March  only  Phoebe  Rees  entry  

           

March  12th  –16th  SNAKE  IN  THE  GRASS  By  Alan  Ayckbourn  Taunton  Thespians    Tacchi-­‐Morris  Arts  Centre  Theatre,  Taunton.  Evenings  7.30pm.  Saturday  matinee  2.30pm.  A  sunlit  garden,  sisters  reunited  after  many  years’  separation,  a  former  nurse  with  a  grievance  and  questions  surrounding  a  recent  death.  From  these  ingredients  the  playwright  stirs  up  a  gripping  thriller.  The  mystery  and  suspense  is  leavened  by  his  characteristic  humour.  Long-­‐buried  family  secrets  come  to  the  surface  in  this  story  of  relationships  and  revenge.  As  night  begins  to  fall,  is  it  only  the  past  which  comes  back  to  haunt  them?  Or  is  there  something  else  hiding  in  the  shadows?  Directed  by  Mike  Linham  BOX  OFFICEs  01823  414141  or  01823  336344.  Bookings  on-­‐line  available  at  www.tacchi-­‐morris.com  Phoebe  Rees  entry.  SFD  Concessions    March  12th  –16th  ME  AND  MY  GIRL  By  L.  Arthur  Rose/Douglas  Furber,  Noel  Gay,  Stephen  Fry  (revisions)  Clevedon  Light  Opera  Club  The  Princess  Hall,  Clevedon  at  7.30pm  Costermonger  Bill  Snibson  is  left  to  use  his  wit  and  humour  to  break  down  class  divisions  between  his  London  roots  and  noble  relatives.  Can  he  fulfil  his  new  role  and  keep  ‘his  girl’…?  Directed  by  Jeff  Prescott  BOX  OFFICE:  07971  553911  David  Beach  entry    March  13th  -­‐16th    CALENDAR  GIRLS    By  Tim  Firth  Failand  Drama  Circle  Failand  Village  Hall,  at  7.30  pm  Like  hundreds  of  UK  amateur  groups,  we  want  to  share  this  extraordinary  story  inspired  by  the  real  life  unlikely  "Calendar  Girls"  of  the  Cracoe  WI,  for  everyone  affected  by  cancer.  

Directed  by:  Barry  Wiles  BOX  OFFICE:  01275  393302/219363  Phoebe  Rees  entry.  SFD  Concessions    March  14th  –  16th    DANGEROUS  CORNER  By  J.B.Priestley  Barnstormers  Regal  Theatre,  Minehead  at  7.30pm  “I  think  telling  the  truth  is  about  as  healthy  as  skidding  round  a  corner  at  sixty.”    Written  10  years  before  his  more  famous  play  An  Inspector  Calls,  this  is  the  first  of  J.B.  Priestley’s  Time  plays  and  is  set  in  the  1930’s.  It  explores  the  way  that  an  insistence  on  knowing  the  truth,  or  simply  an  unguarded  chance  remark,  may  have  on  the  future.  We  watch  as  a  group  of  high-­‐flying  friends,  spend  an  evening  together  and  are  jolted  into  revelations  of  deception  and  betrayal  by  just  such  a  remark.  Barnstormers  look  forward  to  bringing  this  play  to  you.  Its  theme  is  timeless!  BOX  OFFICE:  01643  706430  Online  ticket  purchase  www.regaltheatre.co.uk  

 March  18th  –  23rd  PLAY  ON  By  Rick  Abbot  Swan  Theatre  Company  Swan  Theatre,  Yeovil  at  7.30pm  The  "Last  Chance"  amateur  theatre  group  are  putting  on  a  play  written  by  one  of  their  members.  Inter-­‐cast  rivalries  and  relationships  together  with  an  inept  stage  manager  and  a  wobbly  set  etc.  What  could  possibly  go  wrong?  Director:  Roger  Chadbourne  BOX  OFFICE:  01935  462781/462/782    

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 March  20th  -­‐  23rd      THE  GOD  OF  CARNAGE    Written  by  Yasmina  Reza,  translated  by  Christopher  Hampton  Ilminster  Entertainments  Society    The  Warehouse  Theatre,  Brewery  Lane,  Ilminster  at  7.30pm  Before  the  play  begins,  two  children  get  involved  in  an  argument.    That  night  the  parents  of  both  children  meet  to  discuss  the  matter  in  a  civilised  way.  As  the  evening  goes  on  the  meeting  degenerates  into  the  four  getting  into  childish  irrational  arguments,  resulting  in  the  evening  degenerating  into  chaos.  Set  in  the  modern  day  this  play  was  a  huge  success  in  its  original  language,  French,  and  has  been  equally  acclaimed  in  its  English-­‐translated  productions  in  both  London  and  New  York.  Directed  by  Philip  Wells.  BOX  OFFICE:  Lanes  Garden  Shop,  17  Silver  Street,  Ilminster  or  phone  07943  779  880.    

April    April  3rd  –  6th  IOLANTHE    By  Gilbert  and  Sullivan  Milborne  Port  Opera    Milborne  Port  Village  Hall  at  7.30pm  Gilbert  and  Sullivan’s  ever-­‐topical  take  on  House  of  Lords  reform  with  fairies,  set  in  pastoral  arcadia  and  the  Palace  of  Westminster.  Directed  by  Chris  Bailward  and  Naomi  Booth    BOX  OFFICE:  07926  983585  David  Beach  entry    April  3rd  –  6th      HELLO  DOLLY  By  Jerry  Herman  and  Michael  Stewart    Weston-­‐super-­‐Mare  Operatic  Society  The  Playhouse  Theatre,  High  Street,  Weston-­‐super-­‐Mare  Time:  3rd  –  5th  April  at  7.30  pm,  6th  April    at  2.00  pm  &  6.30  pm    Dolly  Levi  is  a  widow  who  loves  to  match  make  and  bring  romance  into  the  lives  of  others  

but  primarily  her  own!  Many  memorable  song  &  dance  routines  not  to  be  missed.    Directed  by:  Ian  Doswell    BOX  OFFICE:  01934  645544    David  Beach  entry    April  30th  –  May  4th  ANYTHING  GOES  By  Cole  Porter  Tickenham  Drama  Group  Tickenham  Village  Hall  at  7.45pm  A  tale  of  romance  on  the  high  seas  with  music  by  Cole  Porter  including  hit  songs  ‘You’re  at  the  top’  and  ‘I  get  a  kick  out  of  you’.  It’s  not  a  show  to  miss!  Directed  by  Alexander  Turasiewicz  BOX  OFFICE:  TO  FOLLOW  www.tickenhamdrama.org.uk  David  Beach  entry  SFD  concessions  

 

 

Keep your What’s On notices coming. It would be great to keep publishing what is happening three months in advance to give SFD members a chance to buy tickets before they are all sold out! Send your details to: editor@somersetdrama.org.uk

Auditions  Taunton    THE  MERRY  WIVES  OF  WINDSOR    The  audition  dates  for  Taunton  Thespians’  outdoor  touring  production  of  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  are:      Tuesday  2nd,  Thursday  4th  and  Monday  8th  April,  7.30pm  at  the  Thespians’  studio  theatre  –  The  Place,  Wilfred  Road,  Taunton,  TA1  1TB.    Jane  Edwards  is  directing.  

What did they say…? "My only regret in the theatre is that I could never sit out front and watch me." - John Barrymore

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Reviews ALICE  IN  WONDERLAND By Limelight Scripts  WELLINGTON  PANTOMIME  GROUP.  Saturday  26th  January  

We  know  what  to  expect  when  we  go  to  Welly  panto.  We  have  to  park  in  a  (secret)  corner  because  there’s  rarely  a  space  on  the  street.  We  have  to  weave  through  a  throng  of  smokers  or  queuing  punters  on  the  pavement.  In  that  tiny,  crowded  foyer  we  have  to  chose  out  of  an  army  of  helpers  the  one  who  has  our  tickets.  We  have  to  do  all  that  in  good  time  because  the  panto  is  usually  worth  all  that  effort.  Seen  in  front  of  the  tabs  was  poised  a  ‘rabbit  hole’,  director  Emma  Vicarage  whetting  our  appetites.  It  ‘magically’  re-­‐appeared  UpStageRight  for  heroine  and  rabbit  to  emerge  into  ‘Wonderland’.  This  production  retained  the  wonder  and  added  graphic  storytelling  touches.  We  delighted  in  the  juniors  as  animals  dancing  with  Alice,  in  flowers  reversed  and  thus  instantly  ‘painted’,  in  a  Cheshire  Cat  projected  upside  down  onto  a  tree  and  in  a  hookah  puffing  ‘real’  smoke.  We  had  a  running  gag  of  a  variety  of  funny  walks,  including  by  the  Army  coming  through  the  auditorium  (there  were  five  of  them!)  and  UV  to  transform  the  caterpillar  into  a  butterfly.  We  even  had  a  Romantic  Duet  comically  turned  into  a  Romantic  Quartet  by  two  ‘playing  cards’.  The  zaniness  was  topped  by  the  stage  manager  coming  onstage  only  to  be  slap-­‐sticked  by  two  pies!  Alice  was  called  Alice!  A.  Cambridge  was  the  bright  and  believable  centrepiece  of  this  magical  tale,  a  sense  of  her  wonder  well  to  the  fore  and  she  sang  well,  too  boot.  Mary  Lewis  was  the  agitated  White  Rabbit,  voice  and  actions  radiating  nervous  energy.  Dame  Millicent  appeared  –  in  Wonderland!  Paul  Smith  ‘took  on’  the  audience  with  confident  comedy,  pointed  punch-­‐lines  and  sang  with  Music  Hall  attack!  Also  exacting  audience  laughter  was  Sam  Shepherd  as  the  very  bouncy  Joker,  with  confidence  squared,  manic  movement  and  leader  of  the  funny  walks.  Villains  come  in  different  guises:  ours  was  the  languid  Knave  of  Spades.  Kirk  Shepherd  was  scarily  and  conversationally  certain  of  success,  sang  well  -­‐  in  lower  key,  of  course  -­‐  and  shouted  his  laughter.  Inevitably,  he  picked  two  hapless  side-­‐kicks  in  Tweedledum(b!)  and  Tweedledee,  Broker’s  Men  David  Waring  and  Jim  Hawkins  had  a  wonderfully  impaired  grasp  of  affairs  and  comically  repeating  a  mantra  in  duet.  They  bumped  their  egg-­‐shaped  tums  

without  cracking  the  shells!  The  Queen  and  King  of  Hearts  contrasted  in  every  sense  other  than  in  complemented  comedy.  Dawn  Morton  imperious  and  with  a  screeching  laugh,  Catherine  Vicarage  amusingly  nervous  and  giggly;  the  one  big  and  the  other  tiny;  she  very  still  and  having  a  ‘bad  hair’  day,  ‘he’  bobbing  about  and  neatly  face-­‐painted.  Their  conversation  was  a  stand-­‐up  joy.  By  contrast,  our  heroine  and  hero  were  a  matched  pair!  Princess  Keira  Veysey  and  Prince  Emily  Fear  were  respectively  winsome  and  good-­‐looking,  both  with  well-­‐timed  delivery  and  both  sang  their  Romantic  Duet  tunefully  –  and  in  English.  It  was  reduced  to  comedy  by  Ace  and  Deuce,  Fiona  Hobday  and  Kathryn  Fear  were  lively  broker’s  men  who  sang  well  and  did  a  correctly-­‐paced  decorating  job.  Nicholas  Mall  provided  the  Cat’s  warm  and  caring  voice,  Alice  Thorne  the  Caterpillar’s  amusingly  unhurried  drawl  and  Adam  Sherman  was  the  delightfully  matter-­‐of-­‐fact  wizard.  The  Mad  Hatter  was  Cameron  Waygood  being  snappy  and  eager  and  Kiera  Chard’s  quick  responses  as  March  Hare  was  the  scripted  ‘bright  one’  of  the  pair.  How  DID  Ebony  Sellick’s  Dormouse  fit  so  perfectly  into  that  cup?  She  was  believably  drowsy  and  poetry-­‐perfect.  Sarah  Bradnum  as  the  SatNav  provided  posh-­‐sounding  misdirection;  Sergeant  Darren  Burns  directed  his  funny-­‐walking  soldiers  and  the  hippies  oozed  around  the  action.  It  was  worth  it!  The  car  got  parked,  the  throng  yielded,  the  army  of  helpers  were  extremely  friendly  and  the  cast  clearly  enjoying  themselves  as  much  as  the  audience.  It  was  a  long  night  but  we  wouldn’t  have  missed  it!  

Ron  Roberts  JACK  AND  THE  BEANSTALK  by Damien Trasler, Steve Clark, David Lovesy.  BURNHAM  DISTRICT  PANTOMIME  SOCIETY.  Thursday  31st  January

Life  can  sometimes  amount  to  a  gallop.  Its’  demands  this  day  included  an  optician’s  appointment  late  in  the  afternoon  in  Yeovil,  arranged  yonks  ago.  Afterwards,  we  left  with  the  rest  of  the  traffic  (!)  at  well  past  five,  eventual  destination  the  Princess  Theatre  but  with  a  prior,  personal  ‘fuel  stop’  round  the  corner  at  Shah’s.  That  establishment  long  since  established  as  a  standard  feature  of  the  annual  pantomime  outing.  We  sat  

February is the bumper month for amateur pantomime in Somerset. Ron Roberts, Moderator of the Cinderella Trophy Competition, has been busier than ever travelling round the county and providing us with his visit reports in his usual inimitable style  

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down  at  6.15pm  and  happened  to  check  our  contact  letter  and  saw  ‘7pm  panto  start’  –  panic!  The  energetic  approach  to  visual  pantomime  is  clearly  something  that  director  Lorna  Blair  subscribes  to.  Witness  the  tinies  playing  hop,  skip  and  jump  during  an  early  scene  or  all  the  youngsters  achieving  both  discipline  and  harmony  during  the  ‘Money’  song.  The  theme  continued  with  the  thumping  ‘Stripper’  music  of  the  Morecambe  and  Wise  take-­‐off  in  the  kitchen  scene.  There  was  also  an  eye  for  detail  with  the  traditional  ‘big’  musical  number  to  start  and  finish  the  first  half,  the  senior  dancers  on  their  points  in  the  ballet  dance,  the  thick  and  multi-­‐coloured  beanstalk  or  that  blackout  providing  a  dramatic  finish  to  the  rendering  of  ‘Seize  the  Day’.  Fairy  Beansprout  was  no  tendril  but  deceptively  looking  a  ‘sweet  old  lady’  with  a  non-­‐granny  attack  and  a  stage  presence!  We  sensed  that  Phoebe  Harling  would  win  even  before  Poison  Ivy  appeared.  Olive-­‐green  and  black-­‐clad  Emma  Twigg  raised  immediate  doubts  about  that  with  aggressive  scowl  and  well-­‐pointed  lines.  With  both  of  them  rhyming  their  couplets  well,  the  battle  was  joined.  On  came  Melvyn  Shepherd  as  Dame  Trott,  clearly  suffering  from  an  actor’s  worst  nightmare,  a  chesty  cold.  With  hoarse  voice  he  did  extremely  well  to  hold  the  show  together:  we  sympathised  and  admired  the  endeavour.  No  strain  at  all  was  apparent  in  Dozy  Den,  Rob  Blackmore  as  the  largest-­‐ever  linkman  and  with  the  widest,  very  beguiling,  grin.  Warm  goodwill    and  hapless  comedy  radiated  from  him  and  the  kids  loved  it.  Energetic  Em  Burland  and  Yanika  Johnson  were  inside  Buttercup,  a  cow  seemingly  happily  illustrating  St  Vitus’  Dance  –  and  could  dance,  as  well!  Lisa  Davis  gainsaid  her  stage  name  as  Idle  Jack  with  lively  strut,  bright  smile,  sharp  mind  and  a  great  thigh-­‐slap  as  Principal  Boy.  A  real  English  hero  that  strangely  became  an  American  when  singing.  Given  that  degree  of  attack,  it’s  no  wonder  that  the  Princess’  eye  was  instantly  caught.  Emma  Nicholson  foxed  us  by  being  winsome  and  delivering  sweet  reason  at  first  but  then  showing  a  feisty  nature  in  defending  her  man.  Both  principals  engaged  with  the  audience,  acting  on  display.  Joe  Tohill  was  a  very  comfortable  and  comforting  king,  regretting  the  fact  that  he  had  to  demand  rent!  He  enjoyed  himself  as  part  of  the  jazzy  cook-­‐in!  In  multi-­‐tasking  support  of  ‘his  maj’  was  his  Prime  Minister,  Alastair  Murray,  a  master  of  differing  voices,  his  natural  acting  ability  well  on  show  in  various  snippet  roles  supported  with  a  bag  full  of  hats,  a  la  the  Tommy  Cooper  routine  of  old.  The  musical  world  of  the  Giant  was  varied,  Mo  Cooper  as  Housekeeper  acting  as  she  

sang  of  the  sleeping  monster  and  Emily  Elwood  as  the  Harp  helped  his  repose  –  and  beguiled  us  –  as  she  sweetly  sang  Lullaby  Mountain.  The  awakened  Frank  Neil  was  inside  a  wonderfully  grotesque  giant’s  head  and  spoke  with  a  scary,  amplified  voice-­‐over.    ‘Mr  Shah’  was  on  our  side.  Popadoms  came  and  were  quickly  consumed.  Sufficient  of  the  main  course  dishes  was  absorbed  to  maintain  concentration,  arrangements  were  made  to  ‘take  away’  the  rest,  much  later,  we  walked  round  the  corner  and  into  our  seats  and  the  gallop  stopped  with  five  minutes  to  go!  It  was  worth  it.  

Ron  Roberts    YANKEE  DOODLE    by  Graham  Barraclough  CLOVERLEAF  PRODUCTIONS      Wednesday  6th  February  

In  these  Intros,  we’ve  mentioned  the  occasional  frisson  before  and  here  was  another  –  a  panto  not  seen  before.  Not  surprising  on  two  counts:  first  that  Cloverleaf  have  a  history  of  unusual  scripts  and  second,  Barraclough  scripts  tend  to  be  funny.  So,  we  parked  at  the  Green  Dragon  and  fed  well  on,  lo!  and  behold,  curried  lamb  chops!  Believe  it!  A  further  frisson  and  funny  start  to  the  evening.  Director  Ros  Roderigo  sought  the  maximum  amount  of  fun  out  of  this  quirky  script.  There  were  so  many  characters  on  stage  that  the  streets  of  Coombe  St  N  must  have  been  empty!  Ideas  abounded  like  the  Dame  and  Principal  Girl  doing  a  hilarious  backing  group  to  the  ‘Water’  song,  the  projected  firelight  gobo  over  the  Red  Indian  dance,  the  ‘ghost  riders  in  the  sky’  appropriately  dismounted  with  altered  words  and  the  group’s  trademark,  inventive  UV  scene  with  an  inebriated  singer  and  other  moving  parts!  Youngsters  were  conspicuously  involved  and  even  smiled  following  that  swinging  version  of  ABC  Boogie.  Louise  Knight  somehow  managed  choreographic  magic  by  ensuring  that  nobody  fell  off  that  postage  stamp  of  a  stage.      

 

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Singing  cowboy  Sol  Farr  banjo’d  us  under  way,  Rob  Stephens  gradually  picking  up  tempo  to  the  very  sure  and  funny  “Water”.  Speeding  things  along  was  Mercy  Mae,  with  the  assurance  required  of  a  Wild  West  gal.  Maggy  Goodall  had  a  drawl  that  would  consistently  stop  a  stagecoach!  Villain  Snide  Winder  was  John  Attree,  languorously  searching  for  gold.  His  “and  ha!”  ending  to  any  cackle  was  a  hoot.  Bob  Dunn  was  that  most  unlikely  of  Principal  Boys  dressed  in  cowboy  chaps!  As  Donny  Doodle  with  a  break  in  his  voice,  he  wandered  about  looking  for  ‘water’  with  Sol  but  mainly  haplessly  wondering  ‘what  happened’!  Lola  La  Goon  was  a  busty  chanteuse  in  the  person  of  Dave  Goodall.  With  good  timing  and  phrasing,  ‘she’  was  the  calm  centre  of  the  tornado  and  ‘chanteused’  her  way  through  ‘Copacabana!  (Told  you  script  was  quirky!)  Wilma  and  Wanda  reluctantly  aided  dad  Snide,  a  giggly  pair  this,  Kelly  Boyland  and  Abbie  Dunn  who  acted  well  singing  ‘Man,  I  feel  like  a  woman’  and  were  determined  to  be  hilariously  OTT.  Neil  Lane  was  a  man  of  two  parts,  relishing  both  oily  Italian  and  greasy  Mexican  alike  –  and  we  relished  him.  Elvis-­‐out-­‐of-­‐hiding  and  grizzled  Marvin  were  definitely  not  twins,  but  they  were  as  tall  as  each  other  seeing  as  how  Martin  Wale  played  both.  The  one  in  white  jump-­‐suit  groping  in  dark  glasses,  the  other  looking  as  if  he  smelt  of  old  mine  shafts!  Richard  Roderigo  was  suitably  inscrutable  as  the  Indian  Chief  –  and  certain  of  his  origins,  since  he  sang  to  that  effect!  The  talking  he  left  to  Mini  Skirt,  an  eager  Abbie  Cousins  in  a  suitably-­‐modified  squaw’s  frilly  shift.  With  good  timing  she  ‘took  on’  the  audience  –  and  won!  The  quartet  of  Louise  Knight,  Sandra  Pittwood,  Tracey  Rodgers  and  Helen  Rose  as  GhostBUSTies  made  the  most  of  their  song,  their  physical  enhancements,  a  manic  bit  of  Guggenham  Star  and  their  rap  was  pure  Stand-­‐Up.  The  next  ‘star’  was  Tinkerbell,  Maggie  Griffiths  a  late-­‐script,  comic  cameo,  brightly  punchy  and  a  soprano  song.  Also  a  star  and  frequent  mirage  was  young  Beckie  Orchard’s  cat  purr,  meow,  song  and  dance  well  in  place.  Other  supporters  were  Brenda  Steel  (shop),  Dom  Wilshire  (lifeguard),  Nanette  Wale  (cook),  Jackie  Cobbledick  &  Sally  Ryall-­‐Fletcher(saloon  girls),  and  youngster  mirages  Mia  Wootten  (sang  well  as  Annie),  Delilah  Salway-­‐Roberts  and  Nell  Wallbridge.    Yankee  Doodle  was  far  removed  from  New  England,  being  a  rootin’,  tootin’,  hootin’  piece  of  thoroughly  enjoyable  nonsense  in  some  ‘dry,  dusty,  desert’  out  in  the  West.  Dry  and  dusty  certainly  didn’t  apply  to  this  wet-­‐tearfully  funny  and  not-­‐so-­‐dusty,  total  entertainment.    

Ron  Roberts  

 SNOW  WHITE    by  Doreen  Moger  BARRINGTON  PLAYERS  Friday  8th    February    

There  must  be  many  village  pantomimes  that,  like  Barrington,  have  been  entertaining  their  communities  for  years  but,  sadly,  have  not  sought  to  join  the  panto  ‘family’  that  exists  within  the  Fellowship.  We  enjoyed  a  panto  here  some  years  ago  and  praised  it  in  Spotlight  to  the  Somerset    public.  Was  it  modesty  that  explained  the  subsequent  absence  from  ‘the  lists’?  A  rejoining  Society  is  a  joy.  Something  new:  at  ‘curtain  minus  five’  the  house-­‐lights  briefly  went  down  to  half  and  the  ‘house’  at  the  bar  instantly  sought  their  seats.  Director  Bryan  Hallett’s  experience  was  well  to  the  fore  as  in  the  youngsters  trooping  through  the  auditorium  singing  the  opening  number  or  the  crowd  looking  left  as  Snow  White  entered  stage  right  with  a  loud  “AHEM”.  Background  mood  music  made  the  mirror  magical,  scenes  dovetailed  without  hiatus  and,  by  contrast,  the  Prince  comically  posed  on  first  entrance  –  hero  ‘sent  up’!  Attention  to  detail  delighted:  the  bashful  lovesick  boy  with  a  rose  for  SW;  the  dust  leaping  out  of  the  wizard’s  closed  tome;  dwarfs(sic)  all  jumping  in  unison  at  each  sneeze;  lillies  for  the  presumed  funeral  and  that  overt  but  effective  transition  of  villain  to  toad.  Villain  earlier  did  invade  stage  right,  though:  was  that  misplaced  enthusiasm  or  a  directorial  ‘tut’?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Revelations  abounded  and  started  with  Wot!  What?  Well,  Wot  was  a  young  linkman  with  attack  squared  –  and  then  some!  An  actor  plus,  Angus  Crosbie  worked  the  audience  with  excellent  cue-­‐bite  and,  fleetingly,  a  talking  hand-­‐puppet  rabbit.  What?  Not  one  linkman  but  Joel  Baker  to  boot  as  energetic  Lester  the  Jester,  physically  and  verbally  comic  and  with  irresistible  smile.  Mummsy  Mrs  Murgatroyd  arrived,  Ian  Smith’s  Dame’s  happy  embrace  of  the  audience  was  mutual,  his  acting  skills  apparent  in  every  gesture.  Sue  Applegate  seemed  type-­‐cast  as  villainous  Queen  Eldread,  speech  patterns  and  body  language  purveying  seamless  venom,  mistress  of  the  ad  lib  and  total  quasher  of  hecklers!  The  Wishing  Well  Fairy  was  Claire  Hart,  a  no-­‐nonsense  PG-­‐minder  in  a  ‘telling-­‐it-­‐as-­‐it-­‐is’  manner.  Her  charge  was  Rosie  Blows  as  the  eponymous  heroine,  Walt-­‐Disney-­‐winsome  with  a  sparkling  smile  and  an  actor’s  delivery.  She  posed  prettily  too,  matching  Keiron  Wilce’s  Prince,  he  of  the  ‘demonstration’  stance  and  comic  pause  for  applause.  Their  light,  true  voices  were  well  matched  in  the  romantic  duet.  Colin  Strickland’s  King  was  wonderfully  bumbling,  an  empathetic  soul  due  to  his  non-­‐stop  worries.  The  

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magic  Mirror’s  function  was  to  dole  out  bad  news  but  it  had  a  heart!  Felicity  Murray  did  so  in  sepulchral  tones  well  matched  to  the  message  of  doom.  So  the  Queen  summoned  emissaries.  First  came  Peter  Card’s  Wizard,  hugely  enjoying  his  comically  big,  stumbling  entrance  through  the  audience  and  involving  hapless  members.  A  kinky  character  who  advised  evil  magic  to  be  induced  by  spelling  an  agent’s  name  backward.  Hence  the  comedy  wrought  out  of  Hannah  as  the  agent.  Allison  Kelly  had  instinctive  comic  timing  and  a  cleverly  changed  voice  once  infected  by  the  spell.  Finally,  two  effective  gangs,  regrettably  too  numerous  to  name.  All  twelve  dwarfs  were  actors  and  all  relished  their  moment  and  funny  one-­‐line  gags.  They  were  kept  ‘strictly’  busy  by  ‘Bossy’,  the  appropriately  named  Rosanna  Strickland  (sorry,  couldn’t  resist)!  The  juniors  were  scampering  animals  or  six  fairies  and  one  elf!  What  a  cracking  show!  The  County  Council  were,  unannounced,  repairing  the  cracks  in  the  Langport  bridge  which  seemed  designed  to  thwart  our  getting  there  on  time.  So,  a  swift  wade  through  the  waterlogged  Levels  was  induced  and  we  were  there  with  five  minutes  to  spare.  It  was  worth  the  detour!      

Ron  Roberts    TREASURE  ISLAND    by  Chris  de  Vere  Hunt  PORLOCK  PANTOMIME  &  DRAMA  SOCIETY  Saturday  9th  February    We  have  memories  of  being  dug  out  of  the  snow-­‐and-­‐ice-­‐filled  Porlock  Village  Hall  car  park  but  the  reasons  this  time  for  seeking  a  slot  in  the  pub  opposite  was  two-­‐fold.  First,  they  had  promised  to  be  showing  the  5pm  rugby  match.  Second,  that  we  always  eat  there  before  watching  the  pantomime.  Thus,  we  were  anticipating  enjoying  two  fine  local  products.  The  ‘social  occasion’  nature  of  a  Porlock  panto  was  underlined  by  the  opening  event  being  the  audience  singing  ‘happy  birthday’  to  one  punter.  Director  Chris  de  Vere  furnished  her  own  funny  script  with  good  panto  practices  like  snatches  of  music  to  cover  scene  changes,  the  stage  bathed  in  green  for  a  doom-­‐laden  prediction,  or  bathed  in  strobe  lighting  for  the  fight.  We  saw  good  grouping  on  that  tiny  stage  and  touches  of  physical  humour  like  the  Morecame  and  Wise  exit  or  a  character’s  ‘spitting’  reinforced  by  a  hidden  waterpistol!  Audience  participation  was  rife  including  all  of  us  ‘blowing’  three  boats  ashore  after  the  shipwreck.  Nobody  slept!  Nautical  King  Triton  soon  dispelled  that  happy  mood  with  vehemently  proclaimed,  green-­‐lit  gloom,  

Howard  Mountfield  an  instant  villain,  grey-­‐painted  and  wide-­‐eyed  with  guttural  declamation.  Opposing  him,  with  sweet  reason  were  white-­‐lit  Tina  Chiswell  and  Daisy  Smith  as  hi  daughters  Ariel  and  Marina,  magnificently  rigged  as  psychedelic,  rainbow-­‐harlequin-­‐patterned  mermaids.  Polly  Perkins  was  the  Dame  of  the  piece,  Steve  Sanders  with  good  timing  and  very  confident  of  his  chat-­‐up  lines.  He  effectively  acted  his  way  through  ‘Big  Spender’!  Principal  Boy  Jim  Perkins  must  have  inherited  confidence  from  ‘his’  mum!  Tasha  Smith  very  comfortable  with  clear  speech  and  an  engaging  smile.  ‘He’  ended  up  engaged  to  his  Principal  Girl,  pretty  and  word-­‐perfect  Beth  Boardman  as  Tammy  Trelooney.  Her  dad  the  Squire  was  Patrick  Daley,  smoothly  making  the  transition  from  po-­‐faced  start  to  warm  personality  finish.  Next  came  two  types  to  relish.  Billy  Bones  was  a  vibrant  herald  of  doom,  a  con  brio  character  who  stopped  the  show.  Bill  Lemmey  sang  well  with  manic  moves  and  brought  the  house  down.  (This  was  contrary  to  his  off-­‐stage  form  as  the  local  vicar!)  Then  Visually  Impaired  Pugh,  with  sun-­‐glasses  and  white  staff,  Kay  Wright  tapping  ‘his’  way  into  some  members  of  the  audience,  cackling  grimly  away  and  searing  the  memory  of  those  on  the  receiving  end.  Opposing  forces  in  this  treasure  hunt  were  the  coastguards  and  the  pirates.  The  former  were  of  the  stealthy  and  quiet  mode,  led  by  Annie  Smith  as  Lieutenant  Pigsley,  amiably  backed  by  Chief  Boatman  Brian  Palmer  and  supported  by  Junior  Guards  Emily  Baker,  Jessica  Osterlind  and  Louie  Chiswell.  The  pirates  were  happy  Amy  Webber  as  Israel  Knuckles,  Gaby  Routley  wore  the  hat  as  Jolly  Roger  and  Harry  Smith  was  the  diminutive  motor-­‐mouth  Mr  Marrow.  Eventually  rejoining  them  was  Jon  Kemp  as  Long  John  Saliva  who  was  certainly  long,  looked  smelly,  had  an  accent  as  broad  as  a  bus  and  worked  the  audience  well  enough  to  be  a  linkman  manque.  His  sidekick  was  Sharon  Smith  as  Woody,  a  five-­‐foot  parrot-­‐with-­‐an-­‐attitude  and  a  cheery  smile  below  the  beak.  Candy  Bright  played  Dr  Liversausage  as  a  precise-­‐mannered  ship’s  medico  to  Kay  Wright’s  Capt  Smellitt,  she  of  the  measured,  pompous  authority.  Lily  Bampton-­‐Wilton  was  the  island’s  inhabitant  as  rapid,  word-­‐perfect  Ben  Grunge.  Both  local  products  were  indeed  thoroughly  enjoyable  this  one  fine  day.  Both  were  observed  from  well-­‐placed  vantage  points.  Both  were  carefully  prepared  and  well  served  up.  What’s  more,  Wales  won.  A  fine  day  out.  

Ron  Roberts  

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ROBIN  HOOD    by  Bradford  and  Webster  SOMERTON  DRAMATIC  SOCIETY  Monday  11th  February    

The  two  pantomime  societies  nearest    our  home  have  something  else  in  common  in  that  both  have  junior  sections.  Martock  Young  Players  have  a  weekly  meeting  throughout  the  year:  Somerton  Youth  Drama  have  monthly  sessions  and  both  groups  teach  theatrical  basics.  The  steady  stream  of  young  talent  available  come  annual  panto  time  is  legendary.  We  went  two  miles  up  the  road  happily  anticipating  the  first  tranche  of  this  year’s  crop.  

 The  sleeping  Soothsayer  unobserved  by  most  of  the  gathering  audience  was  the  first  example  of  director  Ian  Hurdman’s  sure  touch  making  the  most  of  the  dramatic  content  of  this  slick  script.  Scenes  dovetailed  well  throughout  and  enabled  changes  of  pace  without  undue  sacrifice  of  time.  Audience  participation  was  rife.  Their  answer  to  a  ‘postage  stamp’  stage  is  a  sloping  ramp  which  served  Dame  and  Villain  to  get  scarily  amongst  the  audience!  Full  marks  for  that  modified  bench  with  the  bogus  leg  and  for  the  humorous  traipse  around  slim  wings  to  get  to  the  picnic.  All  was  jolly  until  the  principals  embraced  in  full  view  of  the  audience  –  aaarrrrgh!  Generations  of  past  brilliants  spun  in  their  graves!  But  that  was  not  the  reason  for  imprisoning  Maid  Marian  in  that  cleverly  simple  cage  with  the  even  more  clever  twin,  flaming  torches  up  above.  Pure  panto.  The  Sheriff  of  Nottingham  is  a  huge  presence  in  panto-­‐land  and  Greg  Phillips  more  than  lived  up  to  the  name.  His  entrance  through  the  auditorium  was  an  avalanche  of  energy  and  he  made  sure  that  we  hated  him.  Physicality  continued  as  he  walked  his  pleasant  baritone  solo  amongst  us,  flinging  his  arms  about  and  –  incidentally?  –  striking  yours  truly  on  the  shoulder!  An  actor  at  the  top  of  his  game.  Nanny  Nora  was  also  a  big  person,  Ian  Vardy  bosom-­‐enhanced  and  four-­‐square  solid  as  minder  to  Maid  

Marian.  Josie  Mitchell  was  our  sweet  heroine,  beguiling  until  challenged  and  then,  look  out,  dead  feisty.  Sang  her  solo  with  feeling.  She  soon  attracted  Robin,  cheery-­‐smiling  Ed  Bassett  as  a  male  Principal  Boy  but  none-­‐the-­‐less  capable  of  a  great  thigh-­‐slap.  His  chum  Much,  the  Miller’s  Son  was  bouncy  Francis  Crawley,  attacking  humour  from  all  sides  with  his  linkman’s  double  greeting  as  a  running  gag.  The  Enchantress  of  the  Forest  was  somewhat  classical,  a  sort  of  Greek  Chorus  figure  that  was  almost  above  it  all,  such  was  Patricia  Allen’s  calm  assurance.  By  contrast,  Chris  Scriven  woke  from  her  Soothsayer’s  pre-­‐panto  kip  to  cackle  and  screech  with  the  best  of  witches.  She  crabbily  opposed  Enchantress,  not  least  in  an  amusing,  one-­‐note  ‘Anything  You  Can  Do  …’!  Nickett  and  Scarper  were  a  close-­‐knit  team,  Toby  Weech  and  Heather  Bassett  seemingly  born  to  be  comic  Broker’s  Men.  Excellent  cue-­‐bite  and  harmony  in  song  were  their  trademarks.  The  five  Merry  Men  enjoyed  their  sparse  cameos:  Amelia  Noonan  a  bouncy  Scarlet;  Luke  Brickley  a  cool  Little  John;  Colin  Francis  a  hungry  Friar  Tuck,  then  a  bent  Mr  Dribble  and  finally  a  straight  King  John;  Joe  Griffin  growled  as  Will  Stutely  and  Phoebe  Swinson  sang  sweetly  as  Alana  Dale.  The  six  hoodies  were  present  as  apprentice  outlaws  and  ‘second-­‐row  forward’  chorus  and  the  ten  Dibbles  were  shrill  school-­‐kids  and  general  talents  on  call.  Everyone  on  that  stage  sang  their  hearts  out.  

 Talent  was  indeed  on  display  and  not  merely  from  the  juniors!  There  were  almost  more  cast  than  the  twelve  feet  by  ten  stage  could  hold.  Drama  training  will  show:  no  youngster  attempted  to  upstage  any  of  the  adults  –  they  merely  relied  on  their  talent!      

Ron  Roberts    

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SNOW  WHITE    by  Ben  Crocker    COASTLINE  PLAYERS    Tuesday  12th  February    

It  is  always  difficult  to  judge  how  long    it’s  going  to  take  to  get  from  our  home  to  the  Coastline  panto.  We  compete  with  heavy-­‐duty  Street-­‐bound  traffic  on  the  light-­‐traffic-­‐designed  ridge  road  between  Ashcott  and  Bridgwater.  We  queue  along  the  Motorway.  We  then  –  like  everyone  else  –  think  that  Berrow  will  never  appear  as  we  pass  farms  converted  to  holiday  camps  or  leisure  parks,  a  seemingly  never-­‐ending  coast.  As  we  progress,  we  know  that  the  cast  is  already  made-­‐up  and  waiting  and  raring  to  go.  It  took  more  than  an  hour  -­‐  but  we  had  allowed  enough  time!  We  had  a  fight  and  animals  and  chaos,  all  happily  programmed  by  director  Anne  Allen  and  her  nine-­‐year-­‐old  ‘assistant’  producer  Archie  Difford  (kids  are  good  at  animals  and  chaos)!  We,  the  audience,  were  involved!  Induced  to  join  in  ‘The  Bright  Side  of  Life’,  some  of  us  managed  to  whistle;  we  marvelled  at  the  chase  of  principals  round  those  tiny  wings  by  the  man-­‐sized  bear;  we  cheered  the  mega  thump  of  a  villain  by  the  diminutive  heroine;  we  laughed  at  that  set  gag  of  the  puppy  that  ‘flew’  back  to  the  wings  –  it  always  works!  No  wonder  the  cast  smiled  a  lot,  particularly  as  we  ended  with  the  swinging  EVERYBODY  from  the  Blues  Brothers,  the  entire  cast  in  dark  glasses!  Apprentice  Fairy  Goodheart  was  eagerly  warm  and  welcoming,  Sam  Nicol  cheerfully  admitting  that  she  was  still  a  learner  and  might  get  it  wrong.  We  didn’t  care  and    she  was  soon  buttressed  by  Linda  Bond,  bustling  with  endeavour  as  teacher  Wonderwings.  We  needed  both  since  the  opposition  was  formidable:  Robin  Hewlett  as  the  grim-­‐faced  mirror  Speak  True  spoke  with  a  faint  but  spooky  echo  to  Queen  Caligula.  Claire  Hunter  was  sharply  vicious,  had  an  actor’s  timing  and  gesture  and  that  great  cackle  was  part  of  the  master-­‐class  in  venom.  Black  Wing  was  her  toadying,  willing  agent  of  doom,  all  evil  glee,  animated  face  and  expressive  eyes.  The  two  sang  well  their  duet  of  (rather  black)  ‘Dreams’.  Isabell  Wooley  made  a  wonderfully  vulnerable  and  winsome  Snow  White.  Her  lively  face  conveyed  emotion  well  and  her  songs  were  full  of  the  ‘aaaah’  factor,  being  light  and  sweet.  It  was  well  matched  in  Katrina  Doyle’s  Prince,  their  duet  touching  enough  to  keep  the  audience  kids  rapt!  A  Principal  Boy  with  a  bright  smile  and  bouncy  manner.  Dame  Dolly  Dumpling  was  big-­‐voiced,  radiant-­‐smiling  John  Robinson  who  arrived  amongst  us  with  characteristic  impact.  In  a  reversal  of  tradition  he  

collected  sweets  FROM  the  audience  and  re-­‐distributed  them!  Continuous  hilarity  delivered  with  comic  body  language.  By  clever  contrast,  Amber  McHale’s  Danny  Dumpling  was  played  as  gauche  and  rudderless  with  a  ‘marble-­‐in-­‐the-­‐mouth’.  They  made  a  balanced,  comedic  pair.  Hardly  ever  balanced  were  the  bouncy  Broker’s  Men  Bogwort  and  Stinkwort,  Phil  Crossland  and  Pat  Harris,  the  one  with  a  lisp,  the  other  very  loud  and  missing  teeth!  Good  physical  comedy  and  cue-­‐bite.  This  script  gave  the  dwarfs  plenty  to  do  and  say.  Top  Dwarf  was  Joe  Bell,  very  articulate  and  bossy  when  needed,  he  marshalled  his  troops  with  a  certainty  well  above  his  thirteen  years!  The  rest  looked  bright,  paid  attention  to  each  other,  spoke  their  lines  with  feeling  and  were  word-­‐perfect.  They  were  Kait  Jarvis  (12),  Missy  Hicks(9),  Lily  Kilduff(10),  Emma  Hick(13),  Sophie  Worgan(7)  and  Poppy  Kilduff,  aged  a  mere  6!  The  coastline  never  seems  as  long  on  the  homeward  journey,  does  it?  On  this  night,  we  found  that  the  time  passed  quickly  as  we  remembered  the  many  ‘best  bits’  of  the  evening.  The  run  took  rather  less  than  an  hour!    

Ron  Roberts    JACK  AND  THE  BEANSTALK    by  Alan  P.  Frayn    C.A.R.D.S.  Wednesday  13th  February  

We  like  going  to  any  panto  –  that’s  a  ‘given’,  virtually  part  of  the  job  description!  We  particularly  like  going  to  a  CARDS  panto  because  there  is  (again)  a  great  village  atmosphere,  there  is  (again)  a  nurturing  of  young  talent  and  there  is  a  habit  of  taking  pains  to  decorate  the  entire  Village  Hall  in  tune  with  the  pantomime.  Furthermore,  the  Blackbrook  Inn  is  just  half  a  mile  and  four  corners  away  and  are  newly  part  of  a  national  two-­‐for-­‐one  club  that  we  found.  Job  done!  Director  Chris  Roberton  used  resources  well  to  the  huge  delight  of  the  audience.  The  crowded  village  hall  had  been  transformed  into  the  inside  of  a  medieval  chamber  and,  when  the  tabs  opened,  we  looked  out  at  a  village  green  with  a  maypole  dance  in  progress  and  tinies  playing  ring-­‐a-­‐ring-­‐o-­‐roses  alongside.  We  watched  in  UV  light  as  the  beanstalk  grew  up  into  the  rafters  and  saw  it  transformed  into  a  structure  that  easily  supported  the  Principal  Boy.  The  juniors  danced  a  sweet  ballet  much  appreciated  by  the  Brownies  in  the  front  rows.  The  latter  were  also  presented  to  the  rat  at  the  end  of  the  clever  variation  on  the  ‘ghost’  set  gag  –  it  was  the  rat  that  ran  away!    

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As  previously  observed  in  these  columns,  Fairies  come  in  all  sorts.  Lisa  Whaites  as  Sugardust  was    of  the  sweet  and  gentle  variety,  her  word-­‐perfect  couplets  spreading  reassurance.  We  needed  it  because  the  twin  effect  of  the  giant’s  voice  and  Kelle  Hebron  as  villainess  Picalilli  was  scary.  She  was  positively  evil  but  captured  hearts  when  she  sang  Skyfall.  Rob  Chilcott  as  her  sidekick  Rancid  was  also  forceful  when  not  showing  a  tendency  to  good  comic  timing,  a  plastic  face  and  a  catching  smile  –  get  it?  Dame  Dotty  Dimple  filled  both  stage  and  hall,  big  voice,  big  fixed  smile.    In  trad  panto  fashion  she  failed  to  get  much  change  out  of  her  sons  Simple  Simon  and  Jack.  Sally  Baughurst  as  the  former  made  a  clattering  entrance  and  provided  continuous  energy  for  the  rest  of  the  evening  –  and,  of  course,  beans  for  mum.  Hannah  Carolan  as  Jack  was  the  quintessentially  good-­‐looking  hero,  very  relaxed  and  as  ‘he’  set  about  saving  and  wooing.  The  focus  of  the  latter  was  Princess  Primrose,  Chloe  Hector  of  the  sweet  smile  and  couth  speech  who  soon  succumbed  to  the  charm.  Their  Romantic  Duet  was  pleasantly  harmonious.  Broker’s  Men  Snatchett  and  Scarper  were  like  two  peas  in  a  pod.  Stacey  Allwood  and  Katie  Symons  matched  each  other  in  well-­‐coordinated  moves,  facial  expressions  and  timing.  Their  ‘WhoopDeDoDah’  song  with  the  youngsters  was  fun.  Also  in  energetic  voice  was  the  ‘Tragedy’  quartet  delivered  by  Jack,  Athena  Bellringer  as  Humphrey  the  ‘correct’  court  herald,  the  director  as  the  appropriately  authoritative  King  and  Fredarica  Gilbert  as  the  mummsey  queen  who  kept  the  King  firmly  under  her  thumb.  Sharon  Francois  and  Susan  Parker  hid  inside  the  droop-­‐eyed  Buttermilk,  who  bowed  nicely  on  being  introduced,  kicked  buckets  on  time  and  understandably  shivered  at  the  prospect  of  being  in  a  pie.  Jake  Potter  scampered  at  speed  as  Rat  and  Natasha  Francois  sang  as  a  sweet  harp.  Gary  Symons  wearing  a  great  giant’s  head  and  enormous  boots  sensibly  propped  himself  against  the  scenery  during  the  walkdown.  The  carvery  at  the  Blackbrook  is  always  good,  is  inexpensive  and  at  2for1  even  cheaper!  That  was  the  first  joy  of  the  evening.  The  second,  inevitably,  was  the  pleasure  of  seeing  youngsters  from  aged  4  upwards  clearly  enjoying  themselves  in  performance,  singing  their  hearts  out  and  very  rarely  bumping  into  the  furniture!  They  would  inevitably  go  home  after  a  performance  thinking  that  that  was  a  job  well  done.  Agreed!      

Ron  Roberts    

SLEEPING  BEAUTY    original  script  by  Lin  Hook    PURITON  PLAYERS  Thursday  14th  February    

Valentine’s  Day  and  a  dilemma!  Do  I  take  her  ladyship  out  for  the  traditional  candle-­‐lit  dinner  or  do  my  duty  and  cover  the  panto.  On  the  basis  that  I  have  never  ducked  a  duty  we  booked  in  at  the  Puriton  Inn  near  to  the  village  hall  and  looked  forward  to  the  panto  as  post-­‐prandial  entertainment!  This  home-­‐grown  script  by  director  Lin  Hook  was  beautifully  set  and  dressed  and  took  note  of  standard  panto  ingredients.  We  had  the  cast  in  amongst  us,  we  had  chaos  in  the  chase  scene  and  a  transformation  (mini  linkman-­‐to-­‐hunk).  Lin  brought  her  own,  different,  touches  to  the  story  like  the  bewigged  footmen  to  assist  the  cast  down  off  stage,  display  panels  to  house  the  fairies’  backing  group,  non-­‐P.C.  Broker’s  Men  and  a  polystyrene  wedding  cake  to  withstand  the  slosh.  The  House  Number  was  a  manic  version  of  that  South  Korean  comic  nonsense  Gangnam  Style.  We  were  glad  to  sit  back  down.  A  script  written  for  the  Players,  obviously,  because  not  one  Fairy  but  four,  an  abundance  of  riches.  Boss  Florentina  oozed  authority,  Dottie  Hardman  with  measured  couplets  and  a  funny  song  contest  with  the  villain!  Fairies  Stardust,  Pink  Floss  and  Green  Moss  were  a  formidable  force.  Joh  Debenett,  Jen  Lloyd  and  Tina  Stone  all  with  non-­‐stop  smiles,  very  articulate  and  the  former  flightily  flouncy  to  boot.  Opposing  them  was  Carabosse,  sexily  dressed  in  red  and  black,  colours  of  danger  and  doom.  Sophie  Hunt  Davidson  strutted  her  haughty  stuff  and  happily  sneered  at  the  audience.  It  was  difficult  to  feel  threatened  for  long  since  her  side-­‐kicks  were  Julian  and  Lesley,  both  camp  and  a  reminiscent  tribute  to  radio’s  ‘Round  the  Horn’  of  old.  John  Rowland  and  Ben  Wyatt  invariably  bounced  on  and  boldly  posed!  We  enjoyed  them.  Alan  Scott  is  an  old  hand  at  creating  an  impact,  being  big  and  energetic.  Nanny  Annie  was  effortlessly  comic,  ingredients  being  a  lugubrious  face  and  splendid  timing.  His  ‘Pussycat’  duet  with  the  pushy  

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Chancellor  seemed  nothing  to  do  with  the  plot  but  a  joy  nonetheless.  The  latter  was  energetic  linkman  Sam  Lewin,  a  natural  MC  and  pointing  his  comic  lines  well.  Also  working  the  audience  like  a  pro  with  sky-­‐high  confidence  was  Peter  Pumpkin.  This  Junior  linkman  was  Jacob  Addis,  a  natural  comic  who  introduced  the  running  gag  of  the  audience  waving  our  invitations  whenever  ‘the  party’  was  mentioned.  This  paragon  was  a  mere  ten  years  old!  Colin  Burnap  was  a  jolly,  whirling,  bustling  and  round  King  who  found  joy  in  everything  including  in  his  Queen  Tamsin,  Lisa  Maguire  was  all  manic  movement,  joyful  screech  and  gleeful  attack.  By  contrast,  Amber  Stone  as  Princess  Aurora  was  sweetly  demure  but  feisty  enough  to  add  to  the  running  gag.  She  sang  with  a  light,  tripping    voice  which  matched  that  of  her  beau,  Rebecca  Miller  as  tall,  well  spoken,  upright  Prince  William.  James  Presley  as  ‘his’  sidekick  Harry  was  a  gruff  but  couth  equerry  with  an  eye  for  the  girls.  Jenna  Debenett  and  Ellie  Picton  as  Fairies  Dust  and  Christmas  were  keen  apprentices  at  the  feet  of  Florentina.  Warm  support  came  from  Charlie  Dolman  (groom  and  nanny),  Dave  Clarke  (hunk)  and  a  raft  of  juniors,  regrettably  too  numerous  to  name,  but  given  the  chance,  spoke  well.    

The  Inn  was  kind  to  us:  doors  open  at  6  and  our  meal  promised  for  ten  minutes  later!  They  did  us  proud  and,  well  fed,  walked  out  with  a  rose  and  five  minutes  to  go!  Glad  we  did  both  because  it  was  a  whizz  of  a  show.  No  Valentine  jokes  mind,  but  there  again,  there  were  no  candles  at  dinner  either!        

Ron  Roberts    

SNOW  WHITE    an  original  script  by  David  Rossington  SHEPTON  MALLET  THEATRE  GROUP  Friday  15th  February    

One  of  the  joys  of  having  been  in  this  job  for  a  while  is  tracking  the  changing  fortunes  of  member  groups.  The  loss  of  the  Amulet  caused  some  grief  to  SMTG,  not  only  through  missing  the  long-­‐familiar  performance  space  but  also  for  having  to  induce  their  tardy  audience  to  move  to  a  new  space.  It  was  thus  a  continuation  of  that  joy  to  hear  of  the  near  sell-­‐out  of  this  show.  Scriptwriters  who  direct  their  own  shows  naturally  do  tend  to  milk  the  most  out  of  the  material  and  this  was  certainly  the  case  with  David  Rossington.  Amongst  other  things  to  admire  was  the  eerie  surruration  of  strings  whenever  the  villainess  was  speaking,  chorus  sections  greeting  each  other  during  the  opening  number,  the  running  gags  of  (first)  the  spotlight  being  in  the  wrong  place  whenever  the  narrator  came  on  and  (second)  the  escalation  of  wrong  seats  ending  in  a  throne.  The  hand-­‐puppet  dog  was  a  whizz  with  the  kids  and  the  co-­‐ordinated  timing  of  its  bark  in  response  to  audience  prompting  was  impressive.  We  enjoyed  the  counterpoint  singing  of  the  youngsters  in  ‘One  at  a  Time’  and  seeing  a  properly-­‐Tudor-­‐tunic-­‐dressed  Principal  Boy.  The  Stop  Press  item  for  the  traditional  song  of  local  news  was  the  ever-­‐present,  wacky  Gangnam  Style.  All  done  in  precisely  two-­‐and-­‐a-­‐half  hours.  Such  attention  to  detail.    One  expects  a  Narrator  to  be  clear-­‐voiced  and  Rachael  Bartlett  disappointed  nobody!  BBC-­‐measured  when  reading  but  very  lively  when  dragged  into  the  action.  The  Good  Fairy  was  sweet  and  caring  and  word-­‐perfect  throughout.  So  was  Carol  Howarth,  either  as  the  statuesque  Lady  Lawdown  or  the  imperious  Witch,  the  latter  with  acting  ability,  a  great  laugh  and  good  singing  voice.  She  talked  down  to  The  Mirror:  Grant  Downton  was  having  none  of  it,  scripted  to  be  refreshingly  lippy  and  casually  street-­‐wise.  She  got  more  change  out  of  Stu  and  Sue,  Glyn  Webster  and  Chris  Jones  vaguely  reminiscent  of  Abbot  &  Costello,  the  one  lanky  and  the  other  bubbly.  Their  duet  fitted  their  act  as  two  halves  of  a  comic  whole.  Also  purveying  laughter  with  well-­‐pointed  lines  and  comic  body-­‐language  was  Aaron  Moulder  as  linkman  Jester  Jim.  He  sang  his  solo  with  Music  Hall  attack  and  handled  the  puppet  ‘Woof’  so  as  to  match  the  slapstick  effect  of  forerunners  like  Basil  Brush.  Brian  Jeffery  as  the  dame,  Governess  Gertie  reminded  us  of  Old  Mother  Riley  in  both  dress  and  dry,  throwaway  delivery.  Georgia  Veale  as  Snow  White  was  Disney-­‐perfect  

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and  she  charmed  us  with  a  great  smile.  Acting  skills  well  to  the  fore,  the  ‘aaah!’  factor    captured  the  hearts  of  dwarfs,  audience  and  Prince  Dominic  alike.  Kimberley  Bartlett  had  the  proper  stance  and  bearing  that  we  expect  of  a  Principal  Boy.  Hannah  was  played  by  Hannah  Purnell  (locally  written  –  or  what?)  the  Royal  Housekeeper.  A  bright  presence  and  as  sharp  and  precise  a  stand-­‐in  Chancellor  as  one  would  wish  for.  Quite  right  too,  keeping  in  place  the  director(!)  as  the  happily  bumbling  King.  The  seven  dwarves  were  individually  charmingly  articulate  and  corporately  confident  singers  in  the  appropriate  ‘One  of  Us’.  The  chorus  were  enthusiastic  throughout.  The  school  is  well  ‘flagged  up’  opposite  Phillips  tyres  in  the  High  Street  but  as  a  structure  it  obviously  ‘grew  like  Topsy’!  The  narrow  route  from  road  to  hall  door  is  round  several  punter-­‐crowded  corners  to  a  full(!)  car  park  but  we  managed  to  tuck  in  behind  the  flats  van.  The  show  was  well  worth  the  effort.                                  

Ron  Roberts    BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST    an  original  script  by  Christina  Benson    WINCANTON  AMATEUR  DRAMATIC  SOCIETY  Saturday  16th  February    

We  travelled  to  The  Memorial  Hall  with  light  hearts  and  happy  anticipation  because  WADS  had  ‘rested’  last  year  and  in  the  previous  year  had  to  withdraw  through  no  fault  of  their  own.  A  welcome  return.  We  got  there  and  found  that  punters,  rather  than  pay  a  formal  entrance  fee,  were  being  requested  to  give  donations  on  leaving.  The  given  reason  being  that  a  regional  magazine  had  been  misinformed  that  the  show  was  cancelled  and,  as  an  act  of  public  service,  had  published  so.  A  good  crowd  had  gathered.  We  all  jumped  a  bit  when  an  extremely  loud  flash-­‐bang  got  proceedings  under  way.  Director-­‐cum-­‐scriptwriter  Christina  certainly  believes  in  audience  participation  and  had  a  mixture  of  the  traditional  and  the  new  to  achieve  it.  Good  use  was  made  of  the  auditorium  aisles,  none  better  than  when  the  Beast  on  first  entry  growled  its  way  forward  (traditional)  or  all  of  us  finding  out  the  name  of  the  punter  to  our  left  and  shouting  it  out  on  cue  or,  again,  standing  up  and  cheering  to  restore  Tinkerbell  from  a  swoon  (both  new)!  There  were  also  nice  presentational  ideas  like  a  gauze  mid-­‐stage  behind  which  stood  a  character  symbolically  incarcerated  or,  at  the  

walkdown,  the  villain  in  delicate  chains  and  the  happy  couple  being  showered  with  confetti.  It  is  always  a  joy  to  find  that  youngsters  trusted  with  a  major  role  do  it  well.  Two  fairies  fitted  that  accolade.  Amanda  Graffham(15)  was  Fairy  Nuff,  confident,  very  ‘with  it’  and  purveying  in-­‐your-­‐face  common-­‐sense  and  singing  well.  The  other  was  Tinkerbell,  who  had  comically  wandered  into  the  wrong  panto!  Chelsea  Judd(13)  also  utterly  confident,  clearly  enjoying  herself  on  stage  and  we,  in  turn,  enjoyed  that  tuneful  rendering  of  ‘Wish  Upon  a  Star’.  Becky  Guest  had  clearly  been  directed  to  present  a  Beast  as  loud  and  cold-­‐natured  as  the  story-­‐line  demands  and  an  effective  job  she  made  of  it.  So  much  so  that  the  dance  between  B&B  was  tense  and  the  eventual  transformation  poignant.  Bella  was  the  Beauty  and  believably  vulnerable,  Chloe  Plummer  with  clear  diction  and  sweet  singing  voice  captured  our  hearts  as  well  as  that  of  the  Beast.  Chris  Hill  as  Belle’s  father  Marcell  was  articulate  enough  to  energise  the  pub  clientele  as  to  her  predicament  and  challenge  someone  to  do  something  about  it.  Gayston  the  suave  villain  responded,  attracted  more  by  money  than  glory,  Adam  Holland  played  him  growly  and  with  a  good  scowl!  Serving  up  some  verbal  light  touches  around  the  growls  was  Dawn  Henson  as  Wally,  a  chirpy  neo-­‐linkman  sidekick.  Also  feeding  in  humour  were  the  Dame  and  the  Broker’s  Men.  Mike  Benson  as  Dame  Poopalot  (well,  really!)  adopted  a  chatty  style,  a  bustling  walk,  worked  the  audience  and  delivered  an  excellent  comic  version  of  ‘I  Am  Who  I  Am’.  Estee  and  Lauder  provided  the  energetic  knockabout  and  standup,  Jo  Graffham  doing  very  well  after  only  a  brief  rehearsal  period    and  Steve  Bennett,  a  natural,  effortless  comic.  Their  non-­‐sexy  dance  was  a  hoot.  Also  raising  chuckles  was  Heather  Neal  as  The  woebegone  Cow,  cleverly  scripted  as  a  running  gag,  carrying  a  series  of  humorous  signs.  Maggie  Benson  was  Mrs  T  –  for  teapot  –  a  warm  individual  and  cosy  enough  (sorry,  couldn’t  resist!).  This  script  did  not  give  teacup  Pip  (Codessa  Benson),  flaming  Mr  Can-­‐del  (Siobhan  Domoney)  or  grandfather  clock  Mr  Chime  (Jayne  Bentley)  much  to  say  but  they  said  it  efficiently.    That  show  should  not  have  been  provided  on  the  basis  of  “what  did  you  think  it  was  worth?”    It  was  good  entertainment  and  well  worth  six  pounds  of  anyone’s  money.  Any  punter  that  had  been  charged  as  much  to  get  in  would  have  felt  that  it  was  money  well  spent.  

Ron  Roberts  

 

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Jane  Leakey  is  an  avid  thespian.  She  has  been  involved  since  childhood  and  is  active  in  the  Taunton  Thespians  as  well  as  St  Gregory  Players.  She  also  makes  a  living  from  making  and  performing  with  puppets  both  in  the  theatre  and  in  such  esteemed  establishments  as  the  Natural  History  Museum  and  the  Science  Museum.    I  asked  her  how  she  first  became  involved  in  the  theatre.  “I  started  acting  aged  nine.”  She  told  me.  “We  were  at  school  and  the  teacher  got  us  to  make  up  little  sketches,  which  we  practised  in  the  playground.  I  played  a  robot  monster  and  all  I  had  to  do  was  lie  on  a  table  and  keep  sitting,  scaring  those  around  me.  I  was  surprised  and  delighted  to  find  that  the  audience  laughed  each  time  I  did  this  and  was  then  hooked.”  But  Jane’s  love  of  acting  was  nurtured  by  parents  who  also  loved  the  stage  and  exposed  her  to  the  delights  of  the  theatre  at  a  very  early  age.  “My  parents  were  also  involved  in  the  early  stages  of  the  Brewhouse  Theatre  in  Taunton,  

often  performing  front  of  house  duties.  So  every  other  week  I  experienced  the  wonderful  privilege  of  sitting  at  the  back  of  the  auditorium,  watching  everything  from  ballet,  opera,  plays  and  musicals.  My  parents  also  took  me  to  see  the  greats  including  Max  Wall,  Jimmy  Edwards,  Dora  Bryan  and  Hinge  and  Bracket.”  And,  of  course,  Jane’s  love  of  theatre  took  her  into  the  world  of  amateur  drama  where  she  has  been  acting  with  local  groups  for  years.  She  also  directs  and  writes  plays.  Jane  told  me,  “I  wrote  and  directed  The  Christmas  Quest  for  St  Gregory  Players.  I  shall  be  performing  Snake  in  the  Grass  with  the  Taunton  Thespians  in  March  at  the  Tacchi  Morris.”    

Jane Leakey is a well-known performer on the amateur stage in Somerset. But there is a creative side to Jane that not everyone who sees her on the stage knows about. Here we explore Janeʼs successful career as a puppeteer and find out about her journey from rural Somerset to some of the countryʼs most revered institutions.

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Jane  started  her  own  puppet  theatre  company  fourteen  years  ago  in  1999.  “I  formed  Fat  Cat  Theatre  Company  after  touring  with  various  theatre  companies.  I  wrote  my  first  play  which  featured  many  weird  and  wonderful  creatures  including  an  operatic  octopus.  I  realised  that  the  only  way  to  perform  these  characters  was  by  using  puppets.  So  I  made  them  for  the  show,  including  an  anaemic  vampire  bat  called  Vinne.  (‘I  bit  my  tongue  once  and  fainted’)”  Jane  has  some  amazing  puppet  creations  and  I  wondered  where  she  got  them.  I  should  have  known  better.  She  is  proud  of  the  fact  that  they  are  all  her  own  work.  The  variety  of  the  creatures  she  creates  is  amazing  and  I  wondered  how  long  it  takes  to  make  each  one.  “It  is  hard  to  say  how  long  it  takes  to  make  each  one.  Part  of  the  process  involves  research  and  thinking  and  experimenting.  Sometimes  I  will  make  something  and  realise  that  it  doesn't  operate  properly  so  then  I  have  to  take  it  all  apart  and  start  again.”  Of  course,  it  is  not  just  a  question  of  making  the  puppets;  it  is  also  about  developing  the  storylines  and  the  staging  for  each  one.  “I  will  research  and  write  a  script  and  then  work  with  a  professional  director.  We  will  see  what  works  and  then  I  will  do  a  rewrite.  I  usually  end  up  with  

about  seven  rewrites  and  also  during  this  process  I  will  make  the  puppets.”  But  making  puppets  is  not  just  about  how  they  look  and  the  character  that  they  will  be  given  by  Jane;  it  is  also  about  the  practicalities  of  the  art  form.    Jane  explains,  “It  is  not  just  a  case  of  the  puppets  looking  good  but  also  they  have  to  be  comfortable  to  operate  and  also  easy  to  put  on  and  take  off  as  I  am  often  operating  two  at  a  time.”  And,  of  course,  like  all  great  exponents  of  their  art,  Jane  makes  it  look  so  easy.    But  as  well  as  looking  good,  she  also  has  to  create  an  individual  and  identifiable  character  for  each  puppet,  and  this  is  where  her  skills  honed  on  the  amateur  stage  really  stand  her  in  good  stead.  “The  characters  are  usually  easy  to  find,  it  is  as  though  they  present  themselves  to  me  before  I  have  even  made  them.  I  will  usually  visualise  a  face  and  a  voice  at  the  same  time  and  it  just  goes  from  there  really.  It  is  the  same  when  I  write  a  script  –  I  find  it  really  easy  as  I  can  hear  the  characters'  dialogue  in  my  head.  All  I  have  to  do  is  write  it  down.  All  my  puppets  have  different  voices  and  accents.  For  example,  Jack  the  rat  is  from  London,  Harry  the  heron  from  Grantham  and  Patrick  the  fox  from  Ireland.”  It  is  a  long  way  from  the  Tacchi  Morris  Centre  and  Jane’s  home  in  Bawdrip  to  the  Natural  

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History  Museum  and  I  wondered  how  that  had  come  about.  Jane  told  me,  “I  made  my  debut  at  the  Natural  History  Museum  last  autumn.  Each  week  I  receive  a  newsletter  from  Puppeteer's  UK,  which  includes  jobs.  So  I  applied  for  the  job  of  puppeteer  at  the  museum  and  after  an  interview  and  15  minute  audition  was  successful  in  gaining  the  position.”  And  that  has  led  to  other  opportunities  for  Jane  and  her  coterie  of  puppets.  As  a  result  of  her  involvement  with  the  Natural  History  Museum,  the  V&A  want  to  commission  a  puppet  show  to  fit  around  one  of  their  exhibitions  and  the  Science  Museum  have  asked  her  to  make  some  of  their  props  for  their  Educational  Department.  Jane  told  me,  “They  want  me  to  make  a  frog  at  the  moment.”  All  of  this  fits  neatly  with  Jane’s  abiding  passion  for  wildlife.  She  said.  “Some  of  my  puppet  shows  cover  Natural  History,  with  an  emphasis  on  British  wildlife.  An  Otter's  Tale  was  originally  commissioned  by  Natural  England  and  I  regularly  perform  at  Shapwick  Heath  Nature  Reserve.”  

 And  Jane’s  wildlife  knowledge  comes  from  first-­‐hand  experience  from  around  the  world.  “Monkey  Business  was  written  as  a  direct  result  of  one  of  my  passions:  I  have  worked  with  gorillas,  monkeys  and  chimpanzees  in  Cameroon  and  in  Namibia  nursed  a  baby  baboon  in  my  bed!  I  have  also  looked  after  rescued  elephants  in  Thailand  and  cheetahs,  lions  and  leopards  in  

Namibia.  I  am  also  a  semi  professional  wildlife  photographer  and  have  had  exhibitions  of  my  work.”  Jane  is  clearly  multi-­‐talented  and  hugely  enthusiastic  about  what  she  does.  And,  of  course,  it  all  fits  in  with  her  love  of  amateur  drama  too.  “When  I  wrote  The  Christmas  Quest  for  St  Gregory  Players  I  also  wrote  in  lots  of  puppets.  So  I  taught  the  group  how  to  make  puppets  and  also  how  to  operate  them.  I  also  directed  a  UV  scene  where  a  giant  dragon  flies  through  the  air  and  also  included  a  shadow  puppet  scene  at  the  end  of  the  play.”  The  production  was  very  well  received.  The  Somerset  County  Gazette  called  it  “a  spellbinding  evening.”  And  Jane  and  her  puppets  are  still  active  in  the  world  of  Somerset  amateur  drama.  “I  have  been  asked  to  make  a  cockatoo  puppet  for  @2K's  production  of  ‘Allo  ‘Allo  and  have  also  made  puppets  for  the  Wayfarers  and  IES.”  The  joy  of  listening  to  Jane  is  that  it  is  clear  that  this  is  all  a  labour  of  love.  “I  love  what  I  do  –  not  only  do  I  perform  puppet  shows  but  I  also  run  workshops  –  special  FX  makeup,  puppet  making,  mask  making,  model  making,  drumming,  drama,  film  making.  I  work  with  so  many  different  people  from  all  walks  of  life  including  children  with  autism,  ADHD  and  physical  disabilities.  One  day  I  might  be  performing  Bully  Off!,  my  interactive  puppet  show  about  bullying,  the  next  I  will  be  performing  Monkey  Business  in  someone's  front  room  for  a  children's  birthday  party.  I  just  want  to  keep  on  doing  what  I  do  -­‐entertaining  people  and  especially  making  them  laugh,  sharing  my  love  and  passion  for  all  animals,  especially  primates;  communicating  with  and  entertaining  as  many  people  as  possible.  That  is  my  mission.”  And  we  hope  that  she  continues  to  be  successful  –  and  involved  in  amateur  drama  –  for  a  long  time  to  come.

   

You can see Jane on stage at the Tacchi-Morris Centre in Taunton Thespianʼs production of Snake in the Grass by Alan Aykbourne from 12th to 16th March 2013. @2kʼs production of ʻAllo ʻAllo will be performed at the Tacchi Morris Arts Centre, Taunton from 7th to 11th May. Details of both productions are in Whatʼs On on page 8. You can find out more about Janeʼs Fat Cat Theatre Company if you visit her website on: www.fatcat-theatre.co.uk You can see some of her amazing wildlife photographs by visiting: www.redbubble.com/people/apeart

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