Hurst Pantomime Group performed their tenth production to sell-out audiences last week, gaining glowing praise all round.
A Lad in the Wild West told the classic Aladdin story but set in Nevada for a cowboy-themed twist.
Featuring not one, but two pantomime horses, and a large cast of adults and children, it proved to be a very entertaining outing for young and old alike.
Director Hannah Guile said: “We are so proud that we achieved our objective of giving the people of Hurst and the wider community something to look forward to and enjoy, and a way out of the really difficult past two years.
“It’s not been an easy road to get here, with the challenges of rehearsing and performing under covid restrictions, but everyone involved has been incredibly supportive of the additional measures we’ve had to take.”
I attended with family members who ranged from eight to 78; its Saturday evening show had something for everyone to enjoy. My son loved the slapstick humour and audience participation, while his grandma tapped her toes to the excellent mix of classic and modern musical numbers from the band and giggled at the more adult jokes that went over his head. A perfect combination.
It was inspiring to see some of the main characters played so expertly by such young, talented actors – AJ Saliba, 15, playing Al and Hannah, 18, playing Jasmine alongside her directing role. The impressive vocal talents of both actors made for some stunning duets.
Experienced principals Joe de Mounteney and Keith Milner had us in hysterics and booing loudly respectively at their portrayals of Dame Twang and villain Big Bad John, while Hope Lawrence’s Jeannie brought some marvellous Wild West sass to the traditional role.
We were so impressed that there were so many children in the cast, some as young as eight, all who seemed to be having a ball up on stage.
Watch this space for some future stars of pantomimes to come.
The performance ended with Hurst Village Hall erupting into a rousing sing-a-long finale with the audience on their feet to both join in and give a well-deserved standing ovation.
The whole evening absolutely flew by for us, despite being over two hours long, and we loved every minute.
The show had such a fantastic feel-good factor – we left with big smiles on our faces, concluding that a night of music and laughter was just the tonic needed for a dark January evening.
Vikki Randles
