The History Of Lilleshall Pantomine
Puss In Boots - 2000
After the resounding success of Cinderella, revisited, the Group decided to tackle another script from our existing repetoire. After much discussion, it was decided to present Puss in Boots again.
This Show had been our very first Pantomime, all those years ago. At the beginning, we had had no staging, no scenery, backdrops etc, no props and no costumes. Everything had to be made or borrowed, including the rather wobbly stage blocks, borrowed from the local primary school. This time around, we had a stage extension, side wings, enough costumes to dress a cast three times over, extensive props and good contacts for stage lighting as well as the most important thing of all. . .experience in putting on a Show.
We knew from reviews that we had gotten a reputation in the area for creating a professional standard, for entertaining our audiences and for creating new and innovative special effects. It was with all this in mind, that we decided to revisit our first script. However, despite all the enthusiasm, this Show nearly didn't happen. It was unfortunate that a number of adults upon whom we had come to rely decided that they wanted a break from what was acknowledged as a time-consuming commitment or had reached the age where they deemed it no longer seemly to cavort about on stage.
Graham Gibson who once again had agreed to direct with Evelyn Wales returning as Producer, was really concerned that the Group would fold and Lilleshall Pantomime would fade into history. To compound the problem, so many of our young and talented teenagers were also lost this year due to the pressure of GCSE's, A'Level examinations or moving away to take up university places. This left the Group with just a few adult stalwarts and a large number of very eager young teenagers and children. This was, despite the enthusiasm of the children, hardly a sound basis upon which to cast a pantomime of the standard one had come to expect from The Lilleshall Pantomime Group.
Fortunately after a crisis meeting, several new adults were cajoled into coming forward and as a result, the Show went on!.....but it had been a close thing...Bill Workman, Ken Tomlinson, Andrew Shaw and Mark Reilly were all welcomed with open arms.
Following the successful and much enjoyed Show, a plea was sent out to all surrounding areas for more new members to join and keep the Pantomime alive and well for all! Those left in the company crossed their fingers and waited to see what next year would bring!