Snow White
A pantomime by John Beeteson
Friday 28 January 2005 - Saturday 29 January 2005
& Friday 4 February 2005 - Saturday 5 February 2005
Faringdon Junior School, 26 Gloucester Street, Faringdon SN7 7HY
Directed by Karen Whiffen
Musical Director: Chier Chang
Performances start 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Doors open 30 minutes earlier. Each performance lasts approximately 2½ hours. Matinées on Saturdays only.
Tickets: £6. Concessions £4. Tickets were available from White Horse Country Wear, 6 Cornmarket, Faringdon.
Winner of the ODN Panto Festival 2005
The poor downtrodden folk of Faringdon are frightened away from their dancing by the arrival of the wicked witch Queen Wormelda. (Boo). Not only has she cast her spell over the King and married him, she has magicked our hero Billy Biggle’s into a bottle. Luckily the good hearted King Woodynut makes her release Billy, who overhears Wormelda’s plan to kidnap the orphan baby Prince of the next door Kingdom.
Billy rushes to save the baby Prince and enlists the help of Tiggles the tiger who’s on his way back to the jungle having finished his degree at Oxford. Tiggles tells Billy to hide the Prince with his circus friends.
Meanwhile the Queen claims the throne and with an evil spell imprisons the King inside a mirror. She asks the Looking-glass “Who in this land is the fairest of all?” Of course the answer is the Baby Princess Snow White, who is brought on by nurse Desiree Lallybody, a scatty woman of indeterminate age with somewhat dubious dress sense.
You’ll need to be prepared to shout at the top of your voices as Billy and Tiggles recruit everyone to help protect Snow White. Billy’s plans to be an actor and Tiggles’ plans to return to the jungle are soon to be sidelined by the need to protect the growing Prince and Princes.
Time passes rapidly in panto-land and we are soon transported to Snow White’s eighteenth birthday. It is a sad day for her because the Queen is unkind. Help is at hand as the nurse sings about her misspent youth and Billy and Tiggles introduce Snow White to the grown up and dashingly handsome Prince Boldligo in his red nose circus clown disguise. The villagers celebration is brutally cut short as the Queen angrily rushes in.
On the Mirror’s assertion that that Snow White is now the fairest in the land the Queen rushes off to find some simpletons to do her evil deeds. Poor Velda Vixen, Silas Sly and their friends are soon rounded up and magicked into becoming her robber gang with the aim of kidnapping Snow White.
They are soon to be thwarted as our heros rescue Snow White from the robbers and leave her in the cottage of the eight little people. The robbers meanwhile pretend to the Queen that they carried out her wishes. The eight little people look after Snow White but whilst they are away she falls prey to an itinerant fruiterer. The Queen tricks Snow White into eating a poisoned apple and the robbers imprison her in the castle.
To the delight of the villagers Allyoop the circus ringmaster and Pepe Mint agree to put on a show to entice the Queen out of her castle. She is lured away and our heros are free to attempt a rescue.
Can Snow White be saved? Will the King be released from the Mirror? What is in store for Nurse Lallybody, Billy, Tiggles and the gang? Come see the show!
Photographs by Joan Lee
Cast (in order of appearance):
Queen Wormelda - Sarah Varnom
King Woodynutt - David Field
Nurse Desirée - Simon Wisbey
Billy Biggles - Grace Logan
Tiggles - Lindsay Kendrick
Princess Snow White - Kathryn Whiffen
Prince Boldligo - Lauren Anderson
The Robbers: Velda Vixen - Lois Wells
Silas Sly - Katie Dyet
Nathan Sluggit - Josh Osment
Midgy Itchin - Tom Kennedy
Bizzy Lizzie - Grace Anderson
Wizzy Wazzy - Tara Whenray
The Little People: Dow - Huw Lewis
Footsie - Oliver Billson
Nikkei - Matthew Mountford-Lister
Nasdaq - Rowan Twine
Hang Seng - Jack Porter
Dot Com - Jake Thorpe
Euro Bond - Hazel Wells
Inflation - Joe Benson
The Circus: Allyoop (Ringmaster) - Rob Thorpe
Pepe Mint (His Assistant) - Sophie Russell
Joey (Clown) - Simon Faulks
Charli (Clown) - Jamie Rogers
Mopp (Clown) - Billie Geehan
Oli (Clown) - Katie Goodwin
Chico (Clown) - George Morton
Lulubelle (Circus Announcer) - Esmée Barwood
Leonardo (Circus Announcer) - Laurence Cain
Marvello (Strong Man) - Tim Fuller
Sylvester (Sword Swallower) - Elliott Coard
Tilly (Tightrope Walker) - Miriam Wells
Village Dancers - Charlotte Cockcroft; Sarah Coward; Rosie Fowler; Becky Hodgson; Lucy Hodgson; Beth Jones; Grace Robinshaw; Jennifer Whiffen; Rosie Woods
Acro-Magic (Acrobats) - Hannah Billson; Marta Dyet; Kate Mitchell; Bethan Murphy-Hand; Alice Stephens; Charlie Thorpe; Michaela Williams; Tamara Williams
Robbers Gang - Elliott Coard; Matthew Cockcroft; Hannah Lardner; Becca Wisbey
Circus Horses - Rebecca Lock; Amelia Naylor; Catherine Smith; Catherine Walden; Jennifer Whiffen; Rebecca Whiffen
Circus folk - Natasha Cain; Ben Scotcher-Lane; Jamie Townsend
Orchestra:
Piano - Chier Chang
Flutes - Rebecca Whiffen; Alison Jerome
Saxophones - Alison Jerome; Debra Warner
Clarinets - Debra Warner; Ellie Morton
Bass Guitar - Cleve Forty
Rhythm Guitar - Richard Lock
Drums - Luke Gerry
See programme for further details.
Production No.148 - 6 shows were performed over 4 days.