The Sword in the Stone

Twice a year, DDAOS come together months in advance to prepare for a pantomime in Winter and a musical in Spring and they work tremendously hard with vast casts needing guidance in acting, movement and music. Scenery needs to be designed and created, with costumes which have to be spectacular, with sound and light which must be perfect, with parents to be soothed and cajoled and everything to be just right for opening night. They certainly pulled it off with this Year’s production. As a force for good, with everyone involved, from the cast and chorus to the President and backstage team, to the ladies on the door to the organiser of the raffle, deserve the heartiest congratulations and thanks from the community for bringing so much joy.

This year’s pantomime, The Sword in the Stone is newly written by Kevin Purves. As co director  with Hannah Renton, it was entirely delightful, ingenious, hilarious and enchanting. The story and the characters were adorable, even the villains. With clever direction and choreography, the cast had no weaknesses. DC as Dame Gristle Larkin and Carol Robson as Moaraga held centre stage  and excelled throughout. Fiona Drewery as the Prime Minister and Alex Wilson as the gloriously leaf-covered Big Arth, also deserved huge credit in their roles.  The enthusiastic youngsters in the cast captivated their enraptured audience.

Logan Robertson  playing Mank was completely convincing as the long-limbed, big-booted and soft-hearted henchman of the evil scheming Moaraga, while Jamie Mein gave an extraordinary, bobbing performance as King Olaff Nolaff, who was like a playing card come to life. 

Fi Beal as Fairy Fairy and Maddie Kitchen as Fairy Sweety were charmingly downbeat and very funny, as was Ravey, the ‘black parrot’, brought to life by an all but invisible Lynn Gray. In the smaller roles, Mhairi Reid, Lily-Rose Joyce and Joe Davies brought real pizzazz to their characters, while the three young leads – Alexa Mackenzie as Kay, Ailsa Renton as Arthur and Isla Gourlay as Princess Arthura – all inhabited their roles excellently and brought great energy, charm and skill to the stage. With several faces familiar from last year’s production there seems to be a developing pantomime troupe of considerable weight and talent. A special mention for the wonderful woodland scenery, painted by someone who really knows their trees.

With almost full houses and bags of enthusiasm for all four performances the Duns community clearly looks forward to and loves the pantomime season, and quite rightly. This was a brilliant, sparkling production which reflects a lovely light, not only on those responsible for the show but on the community itself. 

Congratulations to everyone involved.

A Sign-ificant first for Duns Operatic Society by Hilary Scott, (Berwickshire News 23 November)

A pantomime in Duns is to feature a British Sign Language Interpreter at a matinee performance in what is believed to be a first for the Borders.

Inspired by two young cast members who are deaf, Duns and District Amateur Operatic Society have put signing at the heart of this year’s Christmas pantomime, ‘The Sword in the Stone’. Thanks to the generosity of Berwickshire Housing Association, the theatre group has funding for a British Sign Language Interpreter for the matinee show on Saturday  2 December.

Treasurer for DDAOS Hazel Brydon said: “We are also very proud and hugely excited as we believe we are the first society in the Borders to have a show signed. 

Maddie, playing Fairy Sweety in this year’s pantomime, is loving being involved. Her hearing loss was diagnosed when she was two years old. She wears two hearing aids and uses a combination of speech, signing and lip reading to communicate. Hazel added: “Maddie would struggle to follow a pantomime or anything similar without signed interpretation or a loop.

The second cast member, Flo, was born with moderate to severe hearing loss.

With her bone bridge implants her hearing is very good but in noisy, crowded spaces she struggles to follow conversations. Her mum, Fiona, said: “She doesn’t sign, as we were told she wouldn’t need to, but as she has got older, we have had the realisation that it would really help her if she could sign. For her own deaf identity, the value of events like the BSL interpreted show are so important, particularly in areas like Berwickshire where any type of diversity isn’t so visible.”

Writer and director Kevin Purvis said: “As a society we want our productions to be accessible to the whole community. this includes those taking part as well as those watching. We pride ourselves as being an inclusive group. This year we hope that the addition of a BSL supported performance will enhance the production for players and audience. 

It’s an inspiring change that make the tradition of pantomime more inclusive.

Follow-up to this report by President of DDAOS 

Meghan McArthur was inspirational as the BSL Interpreter for the matinee performance of Sword in the Stone on 2nd December. She attended rehearsals beforehand and was very well prepared. She even dressed the part to fit in with the cast and was very energetic and enthusiastic while signing throughout the performance. Several hearing audience members commented that they had really enjoyed her signing at the performance, and they felt she had really enhanced the whole experience. More than a few said they enjoyed watching her because she was so expressive.

We don’t know if there were any deaf people in the audience. However, we feel it was a very worthwhile exercise as it sends a very strong message out to the community that DDAOS is inclusive and actively working to meet the needs of different groups. We are determined to offer a BSL signed service at future performances, and we will continue to spread the word in the deaf community. We are very grateful to Berwickshire Housing Association for their sponsorship. 

 

 

 

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