Bere Ferrers Church Hall resounded to boos at the baddies, cheers for the goodies, and groans at bad jokes last week, when Bere Ferrers pantomime was finally able to go ahead.
Having followed the twists and turns of covid, it had taken a long time to reach the performance, which had originally been scheduled for January. The four performances from March 17 to 19, including a Saturday matinee, saw the church hall packed with enthusiastic audiences for this popular local event.
Organisers said this had been a true community event as people had pulled together to ensure the pantomime could take place despite the difficulties of the last year.
In this version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the bears’ house is in Bere Ferrers, close to a circus that is almost bankrupt, sited in the playing field.
Lord Percy, the ring master, presides over a ramshackle troupe of acts including teleporting squirrels, mime artists, a knife thrower and Huey the human cannonball. Unknown to them, their salvation will come in the form of a lithium mine underneath the circus field.
The baddies, Lady Raven and her sidekick Egor, do their best to make off with the lithium for themselves but are thwarted by the three bears, and the money goes to Goldilocks, who will ensure the circus has a safe future.
Cast members were: Lady Raven, Helen Smith; Egor, John Chadwick; Dame Dolly Diva Dolorous, Harriet Ellis; Jack Dangerfield, Claire Wingfield; Goldilocks, Debbie Kirkham; Harry, Margaret Willmott; Megan, Judy Lambley; Professor Philious Fossilfind, Mary Barnaby; Huey the Human Cannonball, Douglas Hinge; Lord Percy, Roger White; Papa Bear, Bob Neal; Mama Bear, Tricia Kent; Baby Bear, Pat Moss; Ticket Collector, Chris Grove; Circus Folk / Ravenettes, Christine Poole, Jill Guy; The Sassy Siblings, Joe Wingfield, Eva Parfitt; Mime Artists, Albert Parfitt, Ewan Rogers.
Those other than the cast were: Director, Doug Hinge; Assistant Director, Harriet Ellis; Prompts, Jane Hamlyn and Ann Jeffries; Props, Sue Chadwick with John Gallagher, Dave Kent; Accompanist, Ann Parsons; Design and Sets, Bill Stables, Rosie Hinge, Bruce Horner, Virginia Grose, Maggie Miller, Pat Moss, Pauline Rowe; Lighting, Anthony Plumridge and Alan Willmott; Sound Effects, Ann Parsons, Rosie Hinge; Wardrobe, Tricia Kent with Sue Chadwick, Caroline Clark; Make Up, Dinah Holloway, Laura Osborne; Stage Hands, Rosie Hinge, Virginia Grose, Mary Sargeant, Chris Grove, Ann Jeffries; Ticket Sales, Margaret Willmott; Front of House, Kerrie Willmott; Poster, Programme and Tickets, Rosie Hinge; Choreography, Debbie Kirkham.
