Diocese of Portsmouth

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    Community pantomime thrills audiences

    Category
    General
    Date
    9 Dec. 2019
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    FIFTY actors thrilled their audiences with a colourful community pantomime on a pre-Christmas weekend.

    The Leigh Park and Warren Park Community Players staged “Dick Whittington and his Cat” to more than 300 people over three performances inside St Clare’s Church, Warren Park.

    The story took us from Dirty Nell’s Tavern in London town to Neptune’s Kingdom under the sea, and included pearly kings and queens, a plague of rats, tattooed pirates, an array of sea creatures – and the vicar, the Rev Jonathan Jeffery, as the pantomime dame, Sarah the Cook. The production featured ever-changing colourful costumes, smart choreography and soaring soloists. 

    It was the fourth year in a row that the group had staged a Christmas production. Previous productions included a staging of the Nativity story with real animals, as well as other traditional pantomime stories.

    Writer and director Carolyn Owens had been rehearsing with the 50-strong cast since September, and the production was billed as a chance for local residents to see their friends, neighbours and family as never before.

    The Rev Jonathan Jeffery as the pantomime dame, Sarah the Cook
    King Rat marshalls a team of rats to infest London
    Sultana Pavlova, ruler of the island of Rumbaba, hears from those shipwrecked on her island
    An all-singing, all-dancing finale to the show

    Emma Hartnett, who worships at St Francis Church, Leigh Park, was acting in the play alongside seven of her eight children, aged from four to 16.

    “Last year, I did hair and make-up and my children were acting in the pantomime, but this year they persuaded me to act as well,” she said. “I like it because it’s so laid back. Rehearsals aren’t really strict and everyone has fun, so it doesn’t feel like you’re rehearsing.

    “It’s great to be able to do this with the family, and we’ll want to be involved next year. There’s a real sense of community when you’re doing something like this.”

    And Alisha Brooker, 15, and her sister Darcy, 10, joined the team after watching the pantomime “Aladdin” last year. Alisha played the part of Sultana Pavlova, ruler of the the island of Rumbaba, and her sister played three parts, including dancing the hornpipe.

    “When I saw it last year, the whole she-bang was amazing,” said Alisha. “I do drama at school, so I wanted to be involved. And it was great to have such an important part.”

    And Darcy said: “It was hard work coming to rehearsals, but I only missed one.”

    For more photos of the pantomime, click here

    St Clare's Church, Warren Park

    St Clares Avenue, Warren Park, Havant, Warren Park, PO9 4JX

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