Overstrand prepares panto to help Nelson’s Journey children’s bereavement charity
Overstrand panto preview - Roger Kimp as Saggy, Kay Abel as princess Kay Sera and Guy Bartlett as Princess Pit. - Credit: Archant
A panto hatched in a pub is getting ready to play to packed houses and raise funds for charity.
Overstrand panto preview - Robina Hood played by Fiona Davies - Credit: Archant
Overstrand's pantomime made its debut last year when a small drama group formed among pub regulars decided to stage a panto to showcase their new-found skills .
Overstrand panto preview - Max Murphy as the Jester - Credit: Archant
It raised £2,000 for the children's bereavement support charity Nelson's Journey, which it is backing again this year.
They sold out the single night they had planned, so did an extra one - and this year are expanding to three nights, and the 60-seater village hall is expected to be a sell-out again.
Scriptwriter and director Maggie Midgley said the 25-strong cast was a mixture of some people with am dram experience, and others with none - and drawn from backgrounds as diverse as insurance, physiotherapy, artists and pensioners.
'They are fantastic and we have a so much fun at rehearsals in the pub,' she said.
The story is 'very loosely' based on Sleeping Bewty, but has lots of local twists, a large helping or artistic license, tongue-in-cheek humour, and a generous sprinkling of silliness and songs, backed by a four-strong orchestra pit.
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The show by the White Horse pub Thespians also manages to work in Robina Hood (Fiona Davies) and her Hoodies robbing the Sheriff (George Turner), along with some Ugly Aunts - Saggy and Princess Pit (Roger Kimp and Guy Bartlett), fairies (Madeleine Hudson and Di Rolph), and a jester (Max Murphy). Bewty is played by Carole Walker
There is even an appearance of the infamous East Anglian spectral hound Old Shuck (Bill Wallace), said Mrs Midgley.
She used to teach drama at Sheringham High School and was involved wit the panto there - and earlier in her life was part of a professional comedy revue performing sketches around the country.
The show opens on Thursday February 20. Curtain up, if there was one, is at 7.30pm.
Tickets, adults £5, children £1, are on sale now from the White Horse and Overstrand Village Stores.
The White Horse is also offering pre and after panto suppers for £8.95.
The meal will be available from 5.30pm – 7pm and again from 9.30pm. Booking is essential
The pantomime will bring to a close fund raising for the White Horse charity of the year Nelson's Journey, which has already received some £3,000 from the pub during 2013.
