Goody Two Shoes

Goody Two Shoes ... a pantomime staged/performed by Wigan Little Theatre at Wigan Little Theatre, Compton Street, Wigan on Tuesday 9th December 2025.

Goody Two Shoes ...  written by the legendary pantomime genius Bill Collins! Bill sadly passed away a couple of years ago... but his legacy lives on through his pantomimes. Bill has written many panto’s, all of which are still being performed here at WLT. Goody Two Shoes tells the tale of the young ‘Goody’, a girl loved by everyone in her village! She is very excited to have been invited to attend the annual ball, but ‘Malicia the Malevolent’ our ‘villain’... takes it upon herself to harm Goody and ruin her chances of meeting the prince.  Wherever you find a ‘villain’ in panto land, ... you’ll always find a ‘Good Fairy’ to balance things up and provide Goody the chance to meet and fall in love with her prince! So, as requested we all sat back to see how things turned out for Goody!

Production Team ...  tasked with bringing this panto to stage was directing debutant Cathy Owen who in her programme notes tells us that she’d played the part of ‘Goody’ some 30 years ago (‘she must have only been two’)! Assisting Cathy was Caroline McCann (Musical Director) and Dianne Halliwell (Choreographer). Cathy and her team had gathered a good cast together, who looked well-rehearsed and as soon as those curtains parted, knew what they wanted from this production and how to achieve it!  The choreography was simple yet effective and set at levels that played to the strengths of the young dancers and from the smiles on their faces, it looked like they were enjoying everything that had been thrown at them.   Well done you three, good job!

The Cast... an enthusiastic cast of twenty-four took to the stage. We had twelve named characters, three Ensemble Members and nine Junior Dancers and included the following:
Fiona Stewart took on the role of ‘Goody’ our ‘principal girl’.
Joseph Usher played ‘Prince Valentine’ our ‘principal boy’.
Molly Strefford-Ridehalgh played ‘Fairy Harmony (the keeper of the magic slippers).
Helen Gray played the evil one... ‘Malicia the Malevolent’ (Evil Witch).
John Churnside took the role of ‘Dame Daisy Donut’ (a poor widow).
Brian Kenrick played ‘Charlie Chuckles’ (Lodger of Dame Donut).
Caitlin Rodgers played ‘Marion’ (Goody’s best friend and daughter of the Squire).
Josh Liptrott played ‘Stefan’ (Prince’s ‘manservant’) – (shared role with Nicholas Arthur Walsh). Patrick McNulty played ‘Sir Percival’ (Local Squire). Darran Robertson played ‘Basil’ (The Bayliff). Caroline McCann played ‘Helga’ and Diane Halliwell played ‘Ballet Dancer’. 
Ensemble ... Evie Fanning, Lucy Bache and Olivia Berardsworth.
Junior Dancers ... Belle Halliwell, Sophie Thomas, Lilly Ryan, Savannah Jones, Rebecca Leigh, Layla Morgan, Hope Southworth, Jess Jones & Chloe Charnock.
Having now seen the panto, there was little doubt in my mind that this was very much an ensemble production. The cast, from the off looked engaged, happy and they worked together ever so well, all adding something individually to the success of this pantomime. I’m not sure we actually had a ‘showstealer’, as stated previously, this was very much an ensemble production!  But, as you all probably know by now, I’m never one to ‘sit on the fence’ ... so, I’d like to share with you now MY FAVOURITE characters... you’ll no doubt have your own ideas, but these are mine!   So, MY favourite character had to be Helen Gray and her portrayal of ‘Malicia the Malevolent’ the ‘evil witch’! You could tell that Helen thrived on the hisses and the boo’s (hope I’ve spelt that right ... boo’s/booze who knows!). She looked completely at home in this role... loved the character she created; her facial expressions and her make up all adding to this evil character she created. Great mannerisms, her interaction with the audience, which looked effortless, was exactly what you wanted and expected from a ‘panto villain’. Loved her rendition of ‘He Put a Spell on You’ ... great vocals, plus I loved the choreography, this was a highlight for me... great job Helen, be proud!  Next favourite, had to be MY favourite Dame... the completely ‘bonkers’ John Churnside who played ‘Dame Daisy Donut’. John is no stranger to the art and mischief associated with being a Dame.  He’s lethal with either ‘water pistol’ or ‘sweets’ in his hands, how the front row feels, as he douses them with his water pistols, I just don’t know, but they keep coming back, buying the same tickets just wanting more!  Plus, his aim with those ‘sweets’ is something comparable to a set of Luke Littler darts ... 180! This guy is just ‘fun on legs’... facial expressions, he can ‘gurn’ with the best of them, his movement, his general behaviour is so funny, he demands attention and gets it ... well done John!  When you have two experienced actors, creating such wonderful characters, it’s sometimes difficult for others to get themselves noticed, but I thought Molly Strefford-Ridehalgh did a good job with the role of ‘Fairy Harmony’, the ‘Keeper of the Slippers’ and Brian Kenrick who provided us with an amusing character in the form of ‘Charlie Chuckles’, Dame Donuts lodger. Molly looked totally comfortable in her role. She had a good rapport with the audience and worked well opposite the ‘evil witch’ Malcia the Malevolent’. An observation, not a criticism ... both Molly and Helen have great voices, they sang a duet, the title of which I forget, but I just felt Molly slightly overpowered Helen to the point where Helen’s voice got lost!  For anyone singing a duet, be mindful that duets are where both performers have equal importance and both need to be heard!  Brian did a great job with ‘Charlie’, although I did feel he started a little hesitant (again not a criticism, just an observation), resulting in his diction suffering slightly! (I suppose working alongside John, I think most people may well sound hesitant!)  But, as the panto progressed, so did his character, as did his chemistry/rapport with the audience, by the end of Act 1, he was in full flow, cranking up the comedy and working the audience really well as well as working well with all the cast ... be proud both of you!

Stage/Set/Tech... a basic set was used throughout which afforded all the access and redress points required to allow the panto to flow, which it did with effortless ease. Overseeing everything backstage was John Naughton and Shelia Cleary (Stage Management) and their Stage Crew, John, Gary, John, Brian, Gary, Alex, Darren and Phil. Construction Team – Kevin, Brian, Phil, John, Ben and Gary... Painting Team – Christine, Maureen, Barbara, Patricia, Mary, Maggie, Val, Clare, Veronica and Marie all adding their contributions to both set and staging. Sound and Lighting was good throughout, a few slow mikes, but nothing that affected the overall enjoyment which and were in the capable hands of
Mel, George, Ben and Liam (Sound) – Becky, Jacob, Jess, Nathan, Isobelle and Will (Lighting)

Costumes ... as always, here at Wigan, the costumes were perfect... sincere congrats to Stacey Vernon on her efforts for pulling an effective wardrobe together.

Family Panto is all about fun, keeping it relevant and local by keeping the jokes and location references local, which was ever present. There was little or no doubt that EVERYONE on stage gave their all and the full audience reacted accordingly. Thank you so much for the invite, Susan and I thoroughly enjoyed our evening and if the hoots, hollas and applause from the audience throughout the panto and at the finale were anything to go by...  a panto enjoyed by everyone!

Have a great Christmas... see you in 2026

Stay Safe – Keep Well
Stronger together

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW – District 6 Rep

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