It takes a village…
We started work on this pantomime in February 2024
It really has been a mammoth exercise. The first task was to get the doors to backstage open which involved clearing and cleaning a room that had been untouched for the best part of 20 years. So that first wave of volunteers were fundamental: Jon Riley and Tom Jones always turned up, never afraid of getting their hands dirty, also Susan, Stefan, Fiona, Claire, Colin, Mick, Micha and others…they were all absolute grafters!
Of course nothing is ever straightforward. The door was 2 metres above the floor and would need a staircase to access it. That’s where superstar Keith Andrews and his fab team including Marcus Andrews and David Knight stepped in. These guys worked so hard over several days and we now have backstage access at the club once again.
Whilst the building team were busy with power tools, Pete Brown was staring at a blank page pencil in hand, tasked with taking two great stories and mashing them up which, following the success of Cinderladdin in 2022 has become the Mildmay panto USP! I think you’ll agree that he has done us proud again, along with contributions from Dorcas Morgan, Ben Butler and Rachael Carroll.
Auditions started at the end of June. Claire Doherty jumped in and managed all of the admin. We had 43 auditionees across 4 days and later on she talked me down when I was overwhelmed by the programme admin. I needn’t have worried, that was in the safe hands of Quan Chen, and it all came together.
[Photos: Diane Bielek]
We are lucky enough to have Dorcas Morgan and Anne Marie Norman on board as Director and Musical Director / choreographer, these fantastic women have both got Theatre in their blood and like everyone else involved in this project they have volunteered their time and turned their hands to all manner of things including prop making, writing songs and script editing. Also a big shout out to Ginny Fiol who came and did character work with our cast as and when needed
It must be said that we appreciate every hour that is volunteered, and at one point I had 17 WhatsApp groups running. We have our core volunteers who have been with us from our first panto, and keep on putting in the hours, turning their hands to new skills and forging new friendships along the way. Judy Roux & Gill Whibley are two such volunteers who deserve a special mention, along with Micha Blue who has been at the club every spare hour, and Richard Boon who quietly turns up does his stint and goes, no fuss no bother.
This year its been fabulous to see our volunteers bringing their children in. Rae Whibley has done some fantastic work on the sets. And Louis Waplington Haine worked alongside his dad Jonathan Haine on sound, and Hugh Huddy and Radio Lento…whilst Katharine Fewings showed off her toadstool painting skills. Ava Tilda proved that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with her lovely photo of her Auntie Diane (Bielik) who is not only our go-to photographer for the second year running, but also showed off her sewing skills making some of the amazing costumes.
And WOW! What costumes… designed by the incredibly talented Susan Birchall who was joined by David Walls who made the sensational wigs and hats. Both were assisted by Micha Blue and the three of them ran a tight ship putting in so many hours that often they were told to go home! Of course they had a wonderful team of volunteers supporting them including Deirdre Toman, Amanda Sissons, Hannah Wilson, Ruth Gladwyn, Diane Bielik, Kelly O’Neill, Dorigen Hammond, Karen Moore and Raj Miah. Also those fabulous costumes worn by the Junior Chorus, a huge undertaking…all designed and made by Holly Berk, with additional jam tarts by Maddie Reade.
Our set team was headed up by Tim Leahey and Simon Turner and supported by Freddie Martin and Rae Whibley who did some amazing work. Also special thanks to Millie Loveday Inglis and Rowley Haynes, Andrew Myer, Anne Marie Gwatkin, Maz and Jenny .
Emmely and Jo were our papier mache experts on props, and our amazing caterpillar puppet was designed and made by Marta Alonso. Another Mother and Daughter team, Rebecca Sewell and Lilith Silver created some marvellous, quirky props, and banging fireworks. Elly Jones for her stalk talk and cheese chats and her unwavering focus on the perfect cardboard bean for the beanstalk…and talking of beanstalks, Alice would have had very little to climb had it not been for the families of Winston Road and the children at Sanbrook Nursery for making the most fabulous leaves.
I had a madcap idea that we should make all the food on the Mad Hatters table, and Team crochet was born, Martha Pym, Liz Fewings, Jean Morris, Judy Roux and Gill Whibley all stepped up to the plate (no pun intended) and would often meet up on a Sunday afternoon and crochet and knit over a glass of wine in the bar. I’m sure you wil agree the tablecloth is a thing of beauty , every single delicacy has been lovingly hand crafted, with some late contributions from Rachael Burns
Jonathan Haine our sound engineer worked tirelessly, and was at every single rehearsal making sure every boing, crash wallop and splat was on cue. And talking of cues, Kate Manning our Stage Manager held it all together, absoloutely no idea what we would have done without her, and her spreadsheets (all of them)… ably assisted by Izzy and Cecily, also second time round for them both. James Sparkle was our Lighting Designer and Deirdre Marlynn came in and ran our tech week, patted me on the back and told me everything was going to be OK just when I needed it!
Our posters and programme cover were designed by Jonathan Lennon and Kat Heaton (also on the club committee) who was on hand with suggestions and advice, and the press release written by Iain Millar and additional photos from Lorna Millbank were so welcome.
Our velvet drapes which we inherited from Acton Working mens Club have been lovingly restored and repurposed by Maz Hayes and now hang backstage looking splendid
A huge thank you to Kevin who has been at every rehearsal with his trusty camera and wonky headphones documenting literally everything, he really was a joy to have around and hopefully we will be able to see the fruits of his labour next year.
And of course, last but not least our fabulous cast, who showed real commitment, and dedication, turned up, learnt the lines, and entertained you ……they were beatified by our hard working glam team in hair and make up, David Walls, Claire Henshaw, Amanda Hall and Dorigen Hammond….BRAVO!
I have had a ball producing this pantomime, and couldn’t have done it without this AMAZING group of people!
This is Community, this is The Mildmay Community, and I am so proud to be a part of it.
Sam x
Sam Menezes