Well what can I say another fantastic panto performance at the Kirk. We have been coming to the Pickering Panto for many years and we really do look forward to it every year. This year was no exception and as we were that eager to kick the January blues we booked for opening night.

This years production is Aladdin and directed by Pickering impresario Luke Arnold, we have been to all his productions and they never fail to impress. Neither did first night!

What a fantastic production, from the moment the lights went down and the band started the overture we both knew we were in for a superb evening of entertainment. Clive Wass the resident Musical Director has this year collated an extremely talented group of musicians to form the musical accompaniment.

As the curtains opened we were immediately taken to the Market Place in Old Peking, the set team once again have created a spectacular set each scene hand painted and the covered in props. The costumes to are really worth a mention the chorus and principals had some beautiful and very colourful costumes throughout with Widow Twankey’s costumes breathtaking.

And so to the performers, it was lovely to see that many in the cast have stayed with the society from last years production and many reprising similar roles. It is difficult to pick out individual perfumers as the whole cast and enable were fantastic. It was lovely to see younger members of the company Millie Fisher, Jack Dobson and Will Smithson taking principal parts and developing their performance skills. John Brooks who is a relative newbie is back onstage and seems to have cornered the role as the ‘panto villain’ again this year creating a fantastic character in the evil uncle Abanazar. Society members Rachel Anderson and Paula Paylor this year take on a new challenge as a dippy comedy double act, both bringing their characters alive with lovely characterisation and comic timing. The title role once again taken by Danielle Long and reprising the role of principal girl is Courtney Brown who has been away from the stage for a few years but the energy between these two players was still as electric as it was many years ago when we first saw them as principal boy and girl. Linda Tester also has found her niche in the company playing the Empress of China, though not the ‘panto villain’ but a very strict parent she still managed to coerce the audience in booing and hissing her performance.

Finally mention must go to the Pickering Panto stalwarts Marcus Burnside and Stephen Temple these two players have been the backbone of many of the pantomimes we have seen at Pickering over the years. This year in their respective roles as Widow Twankey and Wishee Washee they are the glue of the production bringing constant hilarity, and pace to the show.

The pantomime was everything we have come to expect from Pickering Musical Society and more and we would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. I think some tickets are still available although we were told that many performances are already sold out.

A Walker