After decades without a pantomime, the East Sussex village of Northiam will once again
have a comedy dame, a village idiot and all the traditional panto characters treading the
boards at the village hall this year.
The hilarious, high-octane performance of Dick Whittington in December will see well-known local people, including the former village postmaster, taking key parts, with a 14-year old rising star acing the role of Alice. The production is being stage managed and choreographed by two former West End stars, and spectacular costumes are being handmade especially for the show, so it has all the makings of a panto to remember.
A new drama group for the village, Northiam Players, was set up for the panto by Mike
Sargeant, himself an experienced actor. “Northiam is such an active, sociable village with a full events calendar, but the one thing that’s been missing for a very long time is a panto – so we decided that this year, we would revive the tradition in style.”
Mike, who is directing the panto, spent a long time researching Dick Whittington scripts,
before settling on one written by award-winning writer Alan P Frayn. “Alan is one of the
country’s most popular panto writers and his script has the perfect combination of
slapstick humour, tongue-in-cheek asides and local references – adults will get just as
much fun out of it as kids, so it’s perfect family entertainment,” he says.
Dick Whittington will take place at Northiam Village Hall, Frewen Close and there will
be three performances, on Friday December 12 at 7.30pm and on Sunday
December 14 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children (aged 10 or under) from:
* Eventbrite.co.uk (search for Northiam Panto), small booking fee applies
* Jempson’s Local, Northiam
* Christine’s Coffee Morning on Friday November28, Northiam Village Hall
* Box office at Northiam Village Hall on Thursday December 4 and Thursday December 11 from 2pm till 4pm
* NBS Craft Fayre, Northiam Village Hall, Saturday December 6, from 10am till 2pm.
Image Credits: Sarah Giles .