After our recent trips on the high seas and (almost) into outer space,  Ottery Community Theatre members decided it was time to go back to a traditional story for this year’s panto.  Chairman Laurie Palmer was one of those who accepted the challenge, and his version of the mother of all pantomimes,  Mother Goose, was this year’s offering, performed in the Institute from January 18th -  21st.  

A very noisy and appreciative first night audience  were entertained by all the usual characters, including a pair of very sensible good fairies and a scary demon king attended by mischievous but good-hearted imps.  Dame Matilda Gooseberry and family  - lovely daughter Sweetly and bolshy son Barry - were supported by  a lively cast of villagers as well as the famous dancing goose!  Wealthy Squire and Lady Richman and their henchmen Ron and Don  tried hard to be bad while adding to the comedy.  In the meantime young Gregor Richman slapped his thighs, fell in love with Sweetly, and all (of course) ended happily.  Among the familiar faces, we were very pleased to welcome several new performers to the cast this year.

Adding to the fun were our superb panto band, led this year by Paul Bridgman.  Perhaps it was inevitable that the audience would be asked to join in with The Birdie Song, and they did so with great enthusiasm.  Admittedly some of the jokes were at least as old as the story itself, but the traditional tale of Greed versus Good lent itself well to some very topical comments on banks and money.

If you missed out on the fun, or would like to be involved next time, look out for our next production Spirit of Ottery, which will be launched in February, with performances in May, when audiences will be guided on  a time-travelling tour of  Ottery’s history.  Look out for information in the local press or on our website, www.otterycommunitytheatre.co.uk  or find the event  The Spirit of Ottery - The life and times of a not so sleepy little town... on FaceBook.

Norma Palmer