The Tighnabruaich Players served up their seventh winter pantomime to packed houses in Kames Hall over two days last week.
The group relaunched in 2016, and their Christmas panto has become a fixture in the village calendar. The villagers like any form of comedy, but their firm favourite is a traditional pantomime.
This year, the subject was Robin Hood – quite topical in a world where ordinary people are feeling a financial squeeze – but this is pantomime, and there is always a lighter side to look at.
Kames Hall was buzzing with excitement as the curtains parted and an over-eloquent poet set the scene, silhouetted in a single spotlight.
But, in no time at all, the whole stage was flooded with light and the audience was treated to a vibrant tableau of dazzling costumes which turned into a catchy opening number that got everybody’s toes tapping.
From then on, it was a series of set-piece comedy routines and humorous banter, woven in to the well-known legend.
The cast included three children from the primary school, who stole the show with their enthusiastic portrayals of a nobleman’s page and the King’s two nieces. They had all followed the traditional path of being in the audience, then in the pantomime chorus, and now as actors with major speaking roles.
Watch out for them as they go on to professional theatre, which they are clearly capable of.
The tale of Robin Hood is more than just a bedtime story. It is a celebration of community spirit, and the timeless values of justice and kindness.
On the Friday afternoon, there was a matinee that was attended by more than 60 children and staff from Tighnabruaich Primary School, as well as a similar number of older villagers who did not want to face the appalling weather that had been forecast. Everyone got the pantomime message, and there was a lot of boisterous cheering and booing of the various characters. The children soon got the hang of it, and they joined in with gusto.
The village pantomime is often the first exposure that children get to theatre, and Tighnabruaich Players do everything they can to make this a memorable occasion for our young people. Everyone of them had their own ticket, and received a special programme that not only gave all the usual details of the cast and the backstage staff, but also containing puzzles and drawings for them to do when they got home. We saw several of the adults having a go at the crossword.
The action saw the ‘good team’, with a lot of witty banter on the one side, and the ‘bad team’ on the other side with some clever comedy routines that showed them to be evil but incompetent.
When the two sides came together we had the chance for good to triumph, but there were a lot of plot-twists on the way. There was the obligatory haunted bedroom, which gave the audience their best chance to shout excited warnings to one group, and to hiss and boo the other. There were probably a lot of sore throats for a few days.
But the main spectacle was the energetic singing and dancing on the stage. Many of the larger-than-life characters had the audience joining in with the plot, shouting out the traditional responses and joining in with the singing. The players just hope that the teachers will be able to convince the children that it is only this way in pantomime. Telling Hamlet that there is a ghost behind him isn’t always appreciated…
As well as the special matinee, there were performances on Friday and Saturday evening. Both to packed houses.
Despite the awful weather, the audience was willing to turn out to support our community hall, and they were rewarded with a couple of hours of entertaining escapist fun.
As the final curtain closed, it was clear that the performance would be remembered fondly, a highlight of the holiday season that brought the community together in celebration and cheer.
The question on everyone’s lips as the audience left, and the cast removed their make-up was – What will next year’s
show be?
