Kames pantomime draws full house

KAMES Village Hall was packed to capacity last weekend as audiences flocked to this year’s eagerly awaited annual pantomime.
The 2025 production, Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates by Steve Shaw, brought together a lively ensemble of local adults and children to retell the classic tale with the usual dose of panto mayhem and humour.
The story followed Captain Robinson Crusoe as he once again set sail in search of treasure, much to the exasperation of his long-suffering fiancée Polly Perkins. In true pantomime fashion, Crusoe didn’t make the journey alone.
Along for the adventure were Polly, her formidable mother, Crusoe’s hapless brother Billy, Billy’s girlfriend, a gang of villainous pirates, the chief and inhabitants of a local island village, and even a gorilla named George.
Predictably, chaos unfolded, much to the delight of the packed audiences, who cheered, booed and laughed their way through the performance.
This year, as last, the colourful and characterful costumes designed and made by Brigid McBride, assisted by Su Thompson, gave a vibrancy to the production, against the scenery and props created by the wealth of local talent in the village, notably Janna Maxfield and Liz Burkinshaw.
The Tighnabruaich Players’ musical offering continues to entertain under the excellent leadership of musical director Graeme Parkhill, and the enthusiastic singing and choreography had some enthusiastic audience members jumping to their feet and joining in.
The company put on three performances over the weekend. As usual, the children of Tighnabruaich Primary School came to the hall for the Friday matinee, accompanied by staff and teachers and a few people who didn’t want to brave the predicted cold, rainy evening.
A spokesperson for the production said: “Our children are experts at panto now, and swiftly got into the swing of hissing and booing the pirates, and yelling ‘It’s behind you!’, to Robinson Crusoe and his rather slow-witted crew. We are a small company, but an enthusiastic one, and the cast and crew all worked miracles to bring together a highly entertaining show, which elicited much positive feedback.”
Both Friday and Saturday’s evening performances were sell-outs, and the cast was grateful for the audience’s reaction, which brought out the best in them and kept them going, even as some of their voices failed.
The spokesperson added: “On the Saturday night we had a new member of the cast; as stalwart Monya Wren had lost her voice, Hazel Parr was drafted in at the last moment as Monya’s voice. It added a few extra laughs.”
The Tighnabruaich Players have a number of fresh events planned for 2026, but for now are happy to sit back, take their Lemsips and start getting ready for Christmas.