CDs in last minute throes of “Cinderella”
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from December 1981.
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Pantomime, as it is produced in the U.K., is unique, - there is nothing quite like it anywhere in the world. For the benefit of all those people who have never seen one, and possibly know nothing about them, it is necessary to explain the rather unusual format.
First of all the theme is always a fairy story. Nothing unusual that, except that the male lead is always taken by a shapely young woman, - in this instance Carol Ann Paget-Brown. The leading lady, however, is played by another dolly-bird, Wendy Daykin. The comedy lead in pantomime is invariably a woman, and the role is always played by a man.
In the case of Cinderella, of course, the ugly sisters are played by men and Clive Munyard and Alan Brooks have the coveted. roles in this production. This ends the role swapping, except perhaps for the animal. most pantomimes have an animal of one sort or another and Cinderella goes all out and has a horse, a dog and a cat. Chris and Don Beacock who play the horse and Pat Stapeley and Martin Couch who take the parts of the cat and dog are all hoping for the cool weather to continue as animal costumes are not the most comfortable or cool outfits even under good conditions. Another feature of pantomime is local jokes, despite the fact that the story takes place in mythical locations. Don't be surprised, therefore, if you hear the names of people and places in Cayman brought into the script, - this is an essential part of pantomime.
Other important ingredients of pantomime are audience participation and spectacle. The latter can be assured by the fact that Peter Phillips is building the sets. This time he is constructing three sets which, for the Town Hall, is an absolute triumph, particularly as there are actually five scene changes.
One wonders what fantastic things could be done in a real theatre when so much can be done in the Town Hall. Tickets are on sale outside the Bank of Nova Scotia Building for the seven-performances starting on January 7th. Apparently many people have already taken advantage of the suggestion that tickets for the show make good Christmas presents.
