Follow the yellow brick road! Panto fun comes to Eccleshall
Audience members young and old were encouraged to follow the yellow brick road this month, as panto fun returned to a Staffordshire town after a very long break.
Just over the Shropshire border, the town of Eccleshall, near Newport and Stafford, was treated to a fabulous display of am-dram with a local production of The Wizard of Oz.
Staged by Eccleshall Community Amateur Dramatics (ECAD), the family panto ran at the town's community centre for three performances from January 15 to 16. And make no mistake, the production was wonderfully wicked from start to finish.
A classic tale of finding your inner strength, ECAD's telling of The Wizard of Oz focussed on the journey of the delightful Dorothy and her dog Toto as they sought to find their way home from a strange land. But not to back to Kansas, oh no. In an endearing twist – and the kind that community theatre can utilise with abundant charm – our Dorothy, played by local business owner Lesa Le Monier, was an Eccleshall girl.
Making friends along the way with a scarecrow in need of a brain, a tin man who only wished he had a heart, and a lion looking to find their courage, Dorothy and Toto led their merry band to the Emerald City to seek the help of its mysterious wizard. Yet all the while they were forced to contend with the wrath of The Wicked Witch – bent on revenge after the death of her sister, accidentally caused by Dorothy and Toto's arrival in the magical world.
In a word, the show was fantastic – overflowing with talent, and far beyond the level of production anyone would naturally expect from a community panto staged in a small town.
The cast were superb, the stagecraft was slick, and most importantly of all, each and every person involved brought a great spirit of fun to the show that shone out from the stage and was reflected right back at them by the audience.
ECAD was first established in 2019 and the group quickly took off. Though of course, the pandemic put paid to any performances in 2021. With this it was great to see the return of veteran company members such as Pauline Hardy, Nicola Rose and Kate White to the stage.
"It's wonderful to all come together, all different types of people, and make some really good new friends, and most importantly, have fun," said Kate, who took the part of Glinda.
New friends were indeed made, with the fantastic addition of new company members this year, including father and daughter powerhouse duo Rob and Charlotte Davies who played Tin Man and Lion respectively.
"I had a fab-u-lous time," said Rob. "It was a bit difficult rehearsing because due to Covid we didn't have the whole cast together until the dress rehearsal. But it's been great. Finally getting on stage was a huge relief!"
"It was amazing," added Charlotte, who immensely enjoyed performing alongside her dad. "I've never shared a stage with him before so it was really heart-warming," she said.
While smiles from every seat filled the room, pride resonated powerfully from ECAD director Rebecca Green, who couldn't praise her friends and cohorts any higher.
"It's been amazing to see how much they've all come together and supported each other to put on a great show for the community," she said. "I'm so proud of each and every one of them. Every single person has done amazingly well."
When asked what is next for the group, Rebecca was pleased to be able to look forward to what will hopefully be a busy future for ECAD, and perhaps even an ambitious take on a Christmas action classic.
"We've got a show that we'll be doing later this year at The Royal Oak in Eccleshall, which will be a murder mystery. And then hopefully we'll be back here with another panto next year," she said. "I've heard mention of Die Hard: The Musical, but I'm not too sure about that! Maybe another classic panto instead!"
