The Story behind the Show
The idea of performing a Crawley panto was conceived in the Summer of 2013 by Sally Wood of the Fox & Hounds pub, who has many years of experience in professional and amateur drama productions. Other community members came on board to support Sally and bring the production idea to life, with a”Crawley Players” organising committee of Sally together with Joy Baker, Helen Dollin, Gemma Farrand and Theresa Foote. The village community met in September, where they were introduced to the pantomime idea and we were delighted to hear that many residents were eager to attend auditions and provide back-stage support.
Sally directed the show with cast members practicing each week since October 2013. The actors who took part in the performances ranged in age from 2 up to 77 years, and we even celebrated our pianist, Peggy Keeley’s, 85th birthday over the performance weekend – presenting her with a cake & flowers from the pantomime team. Many of the children from the village were either key cast members or mice or frogs!
For the performances, the village hall was transformed by a host of keen villagers and included a new stage built by local company, HomeLodge.
The show’s profits will be partly offered towards the Crawley Village Hall, who have provided the hall free of charge for rehearsals and the performances, as well as retaining some of the profits for another ‘Crawley Players’ production!