Dunchurch Pantomaniacs celebrate 25 years

BACK in 1990 a group of Dunchurch villagers decided they wanted to put on their own panto.

Fast forward a quarter of a century of some are preparing to mark the silver anniversary of the Pantomaniacs with their latest show Goldilocks and The Three Bears which opens for a nine-show run at the Village Hall next Thursday.

Little Miss Muffat was the first to be staged by group at their original home, the WI Hall. It featured a cast largely made up of the Dunchurch Festival Committee who had been inspired to tread the boards after going to see an amateur panto in Braunston.

Ann Wright, who was the committee's secretary at the time, told us: "We thought 'we could that' and decided it would be a good idea to put on our own show.

"We had a lot of help from the late Ray Allen who is better known for Rugby Theatre and put up a flyer in the village asking people to come along and we had a really good turnout, it was phenomenal.

"The WI Hall was cosy to say the least. There was very little changing facilities.

"What were the changing rooms only had space for the two principal actors and everyone else had to either dress in the kitchen or in the corridors. The cast were running down the outside of the hall to get back in and on stage.

"The stage was so small it felt like the audience we part of the show. With how things are now with health and safety we probably wouldn't be able to put the show on in such conditions."

Previous productions have included Alice In Wonderland, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty as well as less conventional ones such as Old Mother Hubbard and Calamity Jane.

Each has raised money for village causes or with local people in mind; the first year supported a cancer charity after a young girl from Dunchurch was diagnosed with cancer. In total around £40,000 has been raised.

The cast of the anniversary show stretches across the generations, ranging from an 85-year-old who has been with the group since the start to the four-year-old granddaughter of director Sue Protheroe - another long-serving member.

Mike Judge, who staged managed the first show, is also still involved as are three generations of the Wright family with Ann returning to the stage in a five minute cameo after several years behind the scenes alongside her daughter and grandson.

"We thought it would last for a year or two, we certainly never thought we'd be still be going 25 years later," added Ann.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears, also featuring Ant and Dec, a mad professor and buttercup the cow, runs from Thursday, January 23 until Saturday, February 1 with tickets priced at £7 adults, £6 OAPs and £4 for up to 16s. A gala opening night includes a meal with tickets priced at £15.

They are on sale from Wanda Fashions on The Green in Dunchurch or by calling . Show times are online at dunchurchevents.org.

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