Gingerbread Man

It may have been cold outside, but there was a warm welcome at Upchurch Village Hall on the opening night as the audience arrived to be greeted by members of the Upchurch Players for their 32nd annual pantomime ‘The Gingerbread Man’.  An original script by Kay Wright, who’s tagline for this year’s pantomime was “Think you know the story? Think again!”. As we settled into our seats, we were reminded this is pantomime, so relax, loosen all tight clothing and raise the roof! As the house lights dimmed you could genuinely feel the excitement in the village hall as the stage curtains opened and we were transported into pantoland.

We were greeted by the Mayor of Candy Cane City and then Mother Hubbard’s Tearooms, where we were introduced to the locals who were eagerly preparing for a “Bake Off” to impress a Royal visitor, HRH the Queen of Hearts. Special recognition to the choreographer and cast for including ‘sign language’ in the opening musical number. As you can expect from an established pantomime society, audience participation was encouraged, with opportunities to join in and boo the Wicked Woodland Witch and shout out “He’s behind you!” when the Grumpy Bear appeared. There was more than a baker’s dozen with Pat Adams, the Baker providing the comedy and Mother Hubbard’s flirting and innuendos to audience member (Danny). Sometimes the ‘laugh out loud’ moments are not scripted, like when the young person shouts out “egg him” from the audience and the cast improvising when a character wasn’t quite ready to appear on stage from a quick change!

The Gingerbread Man included many familiar nursery rhymes and fairy tale characters as well as the unexpected ‘Bake Off’ judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry. The story included Mother Hubbard’s son, Tom, aka the gingerbread man, receiving a Paul Hollywood handshake for his courage when asking for help. And there was a familiar reference to the BBC’s Eastenders when the Wicked Woodland Witch confesses she is the mother to Jack B Nimble and Jack B Quick “You ain’t my Mother - Yes I am!” Cue the doof-doofs.

Before we knew it, we had joined in the ‘Sing-a-Long’, attended the wedding celebrations and it was time to leave pantoland and head out into the cold night full of festive cheer. Pantomime is all about family entertainment and a traditional tale between good and evil. Congratulations to the cast of 21 with many doubling up as other characters. Everyone appeared well rehearsed with little evidence of first night nerves and most importantly, having fun. Special recognition must also go to everyone involved offstage for costumes, set, prop design, lighting, sound and the colourful backcloths. 

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