Panto, a laugh and a salutory warning

Panto is now finished, and while it was very enjoyable, I can't say I'm not glad to be getting on with the old routine. Here is a photo of nearly all of the cast so you can see how many costumes were needed. (The lady in the front left was the dragon, and didn't need to be dressed till after the interval and Jess was in the changing room, probably plugged into her DS or whatever, and didn't hear the call!) The show was very well received, and most people's highlights were when Kalifa got splatted by eagle poo (porridge) and DD and Russ's song 'Be Prepared' from 'The Lion King'. Both were show-stopping!

And here is the laugh - the Dame and Kate doing the crossword together in the dressing room! All the Dame's costumes were very heavy and hot, so Dickie took the opportunity to strip down to his 'undies' in between scenes. (Ian was just waiting for the Crusaders' Arabian market scene!)

And the warning? Jane (make-up artist) and I took the opportunity for a little quilty talk while the show was running. She was concerned about her ever increasing scrap bag, and I suggested the Bonnie Hunter scrap-users system. She was so impressed, that in the time between the matinee and evening performances, she started to cut her scraps, and cut the end of her left index finger off! It was bleeding so profusely that she ended up in A&E! Luckily, they dressed it for her, and she was back at her post for the evening performance. What a trouper! It just goes to show, rotary cutters are very sharp!

Camelot the Panto

I have been working hard on assembling the costumes for 'Camelot - the Panto'. I volunteered to do the job to help out our good friend Dawn, without considering the fact that it was a cast of thirty, with some people having two, three or five different costumes! I haven't had to make them all as we have a costume store which has had some items in it, but I've had to make more than I wanted to! (Obviously, I'd rather have been quilting!)

On the far right are the maidens (costumes from the store with added head dresses).
On the right is DD as Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's evil sister, with costume from store with added sleeves and belt.

Here is Igraine, Arthur's mother, with costume from the store, retrimmed, with added sleeves, belt and head dress.




Now for some of the men. Three Black Knights, with dyed tunics and made hoods. (Richard forgot his belt that day!)
Merlin, in a costume from the store and made scabbard for his i-wand.

On the right are the baddies - The Black Wurst and his sidekick Frank Furter, with made costumes. (When I showed the director the costumes, which have the German eagle appliqued on them, he said, 'Oh, I thought crossed sausages would have been good.' I managed to refrain from hitting him, just saying that appliqued brown sausages would have been hard to make realistic, and there was a danger of them looking like something very unsavoury. He had the good grace to agree!)

And here are some more knights, with a mixture of costumes left over from Robin Hood and some made by me. I'll post some more pictures after the final two performances today. Oh, no she won't! Oh yes I will!

Nearly there

The last week has been a bit manic, with panto costumes to finish. Since I last posted, I've made five knight's tunics and dyed them grey, sourced boot covers, crowns and sequins, collected walk-down costumes from the hire shop, added hooks and eyes for security, press studs for modesty, lowered necklines, highered hems and sewn up splits. Oh, and fetched bloomers, stripey socks, stuffed fish and sausages from our store.

But yesterday I found time to border and layer my first challenge UFO!

The green border isn't quite as lurid as that, and I'm very pleased with it. I've already started quilting it, and will have to get a move on if I'm to finish it before the end of the month. I can't work on it tonight as it's dress rehearsal, but hope to sneak a bit of time tomorrow!

Panto? Oh yes it is!

This week has been very hectic as I've been front of house manager for our local drama group's pantomime, 'Sinbad'. This involves organising a team of helpers to take tickets, show people to their seats, answer general questions, make sure people are safe and find two first-aiders for each show. Since we had audiences of about 300 for each performance (Thursday, Friday, Saturday matinee and evening) there had to be four people available, apart from the box office, which is quite a lot of people to find over four shows.

In case any foreign readers aren't too clear about panto, here's a user's guide.

Pantomime is a British Christmas tradition, a show which is suitable for the whole family. The stories are usually taken from a small list of possibilities, Snow White, Aladdin, Mother Goose, Dick Whittington, Cinderalla and Robin Hood being probably the most favourite.

The cast lists for each are pretty prescriptive. First there is the principal boy (the prince or hero figure) who is always played by a young lady. Here is Sinbad, beautifully played by Becky. The fishnet tights, short costume and boots are a staple of principal boys throughout the land.

The principal girl is actually played by a girl, and in our show, Princess Jasmine was the lovely (but feisty) Ailish, here relaxing between scenes.

Then there is the dame. This is usually the principal boy's mother, and always played by a man. Here is Fatima Sinbad, played by my favourite dame, Dicky. The dame is not at all effeminate, but just a man in a dress (and fake boobs) and Dicky pulls this off effortlessly!

Every panto has its villain. Here is the evil sorceror Nastase, played by Russ. He was so scarey, that four small children had to be taken home in the matinee as they were so frightened of him!

To balance the moral scales, we have the forces of good, represented by Floribunda, played by Anne-Marie. (In case you're wondering, good always triumphs over evil in the end!)

Pantos are full of comedy, usually the silly slapstick kind and there are usually several comic characters whose speciality is to make the audience laugh. the two Lauras are playing slave girls who are always vying with each other to get get a man. Despite their youth, they had great comic timing.

They eventually ended up with the two silly fools, Mustapha and Hassan (or Colin and Keith) as panto is great for pairing people up in matrimony. The last scene is always a wedding scene. I hope Keith manages to get the blue makeup out of his moustache before work on Monday!

The foil to the dame was Ali, played by the veteran of silly fools, Andrew, looking particularly dashing here in his naval outfit.


The princess's mother was played most regally be Becky B.


and the visir (with another painted moustache) by Richard.
A special feature of panto is the requirement for audience participation. The villain expects to be booed and hissed at every appearance, there are lots of opportunities to shout 'Oh yes he is' or 'Oh no he isn't' in response to the characters, and always a scene when there is a ghost or monster behind one of the characters which the audience have to spot, and warn the character by shouting 'He's behind you!' Towards the end of the show there is always a sing song, where the audience join in a song (the words are provided on a board) which turns into a competition between the two halves of the auditorium, always ending in a draw.

I'm not sure whether my explanations have made it clearer or just sound completely ridiculous. Trust me, if you get the chance to go to a panto, go, and you'll have a great time!