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CHUBBY chaps dressed as ugly women, slapstick humour, merry nonsense and an occasional dig in the ribs at the rival Dilmun Club’s expense will lift the British Club rafters this week as pantomime season reignites in the kingdom.
There will be plenty of audience participation in store for the expected sell-out audiences flocking to the shows as Manama Theatre Club, the club’s drama section, stages a family favourite, Sleeping Beauty by Alan Frayn, which opens tonight and runs until Saturday.
Evening performances start at 7pm and matinees are being staged on Friday and Saturday at 3pm to cater for families with younger children.
Rory Adamson, chairman of Manama Theatre Club which has been operating for more than 30 years, said: “The show has all the favourite pantomime gags as well as plenty of opportunities for the audience to participate in the fun.
“It has been some eight years since the club staged a pantomime and shows such as these are great opportunities for new people to get involved as there are lots of roles available.
“It is also a great way to give some children the chance to get up on stage. Most importantly, there is nothing really more British than a good old panto and a club panto really is a great community event.”
The pantomime is aimed at the whole family. Rory, a business studies and economics teacher at the British School of Bahrain, is playing the part of Fetch, one of the King’s rather simple page, and is also the show’s producer.
It is being directed by Hannah Lynch and Carrie Bell. The show, which has a cast of 15 adults and 20 children, has been in rehearsal since early September.
The adult leads are played by Jenny Cairns, Chris Woodrow, Lizzie Wahba, Palmyra Mattner, Andy Savage and Amy Tommie. They are supported by a very talented and experienced group of children including Katherine White, Peggy Halpin and Imogen Szecowka.
For the past couple of years the Dilmun Club’s popular annual ‘he’s behind you’ razzmatazz has been culled mainly because of fears of teargas floating over the audience by the poolside stage in Saar, as reported in GulfWeekly.
The club’s committee considered reviving the show after getting wind of the British Club’s plans but it did not come to fruition.
For Bahrainis who may never have come under the spell of a pantomime before, Rory explained: “A panto is normally the dramatic telling of a simple fairy tale with an awful lot added in.
“There are lots of laughs built in to appeal to adults and children alike and a host of musical numbers.
“The traditional panto also allows for lots of audience participation so we will be asking for people to ‘boo’ and ‘hiss’ at the nasty witch and join in our singing competition.
“I think pantos really do appeal to the whole family. The comedy is at all different levels and so young children can enjoy the show just as much as the adults.”
A portion of any profits will be donated to a local children’s charity. Tickets cost BD5 for members and BD7 for guests and are now on sale at the club reception in Umm Al Hassam. Call 17728245 for further details.
