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I enjoyed this script right from the first page. It is one of those that jumps up and makes me want to direct it myself as well as play a few of the characters. It is a nice complete story about Maid Marion who is to be married to the evil and nasty Sir Symon Scowl, and rather than being kidnapped and sitting in the changing rooms for vast swathes of the Panto, she appears regularly as she befriends Robin Hood and his Merry band of men.
The Dame, Nellie Scarlett, is a well written character, with warmth and kindliness and a huge amount of comical spirit. Cheese and Crackers, the Sheriff's Hench men, are great roles for the comedians of your group as they are really funny and will get the audiences going with their stupidity and clumsiness.
Holly Jockey Sticks, the Fairy Godmother is a nice role for the poetically minded with some nicely written poems to get ones teeth into This script also has a great opportunity for a Panto horse - as long as it's well directed and rehearsed it should be excellent. I usually find that the least rehearsed character in many pantomimes is the animal element. This part should be rehearsed more than the ordinary characters as synchronicity in movement is most important to get the audience on side with the animal for believability. I have found in the past to get the animal to rehearse alone can sometime seem like banging ones head against a brick wall. The 'Merry men' characters are well written into the fabric of the panto and are individually good roles to get ones teeth into, especially Friar Tuck! Alan A Dale is another good role for a musically adept person who is able to strum a stringed instrument with just a modicum of dexterity.
There is a great fight scene at the end, which will be greatly appreciated by the audience if it isn't rushed. There are some wonderfully humorous lines throughout the play which as long as the director makes sure the cast know what they are saying and why, and gets the timings right the audience will be greatly entertained.
I would recommend this script to any theatre company to produce, small or large. It has been written in such a way that it can be set with very little difficulty if space is restricted. There is plenty of opportunity for songs and dances, especially a 'Morris Dance' which could be great fun. I can already see Cheese and Crackers getting bludgeoned to kingdom come with the Morris dancers' staffs. With good choreography, this could bring the house down. - - - - - John Hicks - Amateur Stage.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | |
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