| Blunderbore, the Giant (heard but not seen) | Stephen Dallyn | |
| Dame Trott | Gary Swindle | |
| Doyle, the Oil Baron | Mark Chapman | |
| Dr Proctor, the medicine woman | Sylvie Beckett | |
| Fleshcreep, Blunderbore's henchman | Gary Herring | |
| Goose, that lays the golden eggs | Phia Scott | |
| Harp, magical | Fiona Hobdell | |
| Jack Trott, our hero and son of Dame Trott | Chloe Wellman | |
| Jill Doyle, oil baron's daughter | Eliza Bennett | |
| Lasso, ranch hand | Clive Bordoli | |
| Mable, stable hand | Grace Murrell | |
| Mrs Blunderbore, the giant's wife | Annie Walker | |
| Narrator, an actor, retired | Martyn Peters | |
| Rawhide, ranch hand | Chris Moss | |
| Rodeo Ron, Doyle's sidekick | Wendy Freeman | |
| Saddle Sam, Doyle's sidekick | Yvonne Featherstone | |
| Storekeeper | Jessie Sparkes | |
| Ulez the cow | Sammy Milne and Theo Holden | |
| Chorus | Evie Gardiner, Gabe Holden, Grace Johnson, Linda Peters and Sheila Wright-Anderson | |
| Dancers | Isla Campbell, Ivy Campbell, Amelia Clear-Jeeves, Evie Gardiner, Theo Holden, Grace Johnson, Sammy Milne, Jasmine Moss, Queenie Rawlins and Jessie Sparkes |
| Technical | Alan Hardy | |
| Technical Assistant | Charlie Eite | |
| Choreography | Susy Puckett | |
| Assistant Choreography | Helena Crabb assisted by Jess Sherlock | |
| Wardrobe | Katherine Clayton | |
| Wardrobe Assistant | Liz Rhodes | |
| Stage Manager | Terrie Lobina | |
| Prompter | Martyn Peters | |
| Musical Direction | Mark Chapman | |
| Stage Hand | Ines-Angel Milne | |
| Set Design | Martin Pratt | |
| Set Build | Friends of the Society | |
| Scenery Artists | Special thanks to Amanda Hicks | |
| Child protection officer | Bea Milne | |
| Chaperones | Susy Puckett, Sue Worsfold, Amber Elliott, Bea Milne, James Thomas and Friends of the Society. | |
| Front of House | Friends of the Society | |
| Box Office | Sheila Wright-Anderson | |
| Posters and programme | Martin Pratt |
Backing tracks by courtesy of PPL PRS Ltd, Rednex, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Hot Butter, Tove Lo and Zac Brown Band.
The pantomime version of Jack and the Beanstalk was first performed in 1819. The story evolved from a combination of different folk tales going back hundreds of years. A reference to the popular Cornish folk tale of Jack the Giant Killer appears in Shakespeare’s King Lear but one of the first written versions comes from a 1734 story: Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean.
Inspired by the story about Jack who sells the family cow (in our case Ulez the cow), for a handful of beans, Ockley Dramatic Society’s February production of Jack and the Beanstalk gave us the whole story and much more. There were references to popular sketches, original jokes, catchy music and dancing, all proving that pantomime is a vibrant and dynamic art form that appeals to all ages. All of this was punctuated by perfectly timed sound effects.
The dialogue was really engaging. There was also a mixture of corny and clever sometimes derivative jokes such as: “what’s the opposite of a croissant? – A happy uncle”, or “Old McTrott had a farm A I E I O” and the shop sketch inspired by the famous “fork ‘andles” from the two Ronnies.
This was the first pantomime the Society had put on since before COVID, and people are still cautiously participating in large gatherings. However, the six performances were reasonably well attended, and we estimate that overall, about 15% of the village saw it.
With that in mind, we set out to test audience reaction, taking particular care to consult the children, conscious that a pantomime is designed to entertain all the family and that one of the Society’s aims is to encourage children to develop a love for theatre. We talked to parents, grandparents and with the help of mums at the Toddler Group we were able to get the views of our youngest residents.
Everyone we spoke to liked it and they all said they would come to a future pantomime. One grandparent complained that there should have been more audience participation, yet the children loved the Narrator who appealed to them regularly to react noisily to key moments in the story.