Silchester Players

Silchester Players' web site is at www.silchesterplayers.hampshire.org.uk

Next production

Beauty and the Beast, 27th to 28th January and 3rd to 4th February, 19:30 and 14:30 on Saturdays
A Pantomime by Eric Fowler. Times are hard for Squire Lucre. First, one of his trading ships sinks, then his mansion catches fire. After he and his daughters Beauty and Lottie have moved into a cottage, news comes that his other ship has also been wrecked, so the Squire sets off to see if anything can be saved. On the way back, he picks a rose for Beauty from a lovely garden and is captured by the owner, the Beast. Beauty offers to take her father’s place, and is taken to the Beast’s castle to live forever. Meanwhile, the villagers including Dame Bagwash, her son Bertie and the builder Bodgit are busy repairing the Squire's mansion. This causes much laughter and mayhem! After a while, the Beast falls in love with Beauty and generously sends the Squire a gift of a bag of gold. But will Beauty realise that she loves the Beast in time to save him and then discover his true identity?

Where

Silchester Village Hall, Common Road, Silchester, RG7 2NE.

Box office

Beryl on 0118 981 5600.

Review of Beauty and the Beast

27th to 28th January and 3rd to 4th February 2012.

Review from Chris Horton.

Silchester Players performed this year’s panto: Beauty and the Beast. The panto tells the story of an unhappy beast who lives alone (he fell foul of a wizard and was previously a handsome prince). The squire has two daughters and is down on his luck. He trades the pretty daughter for his own life when he is confronted by the Beast. The role of the squire was in the capable hands of Stephen Bibby. His two daughters were the delightful Eloise Morris as Beauty and Charlie Henkey as Lottie, who attacked her role as the baddie with enthusiasm and gusto. There is a strong tradition of panto in Silchester and this year was no exception. The superb sets: banqueting hall, the courtyard and cottage in the woods were of the usual Silchester high standard and there was lively dancing and bright, colourful costumes. On the way to the happy ending there was the mayhem in the form of Ian Hartwell as the exuberant Dame Bagwash who made a noisy entrance on a scooter and interaction with the audience by Harry Stamp as Bertie Boots and Janice Garrard as Major Domo who led the community singing. There was some further front of the curtain time filling by Caroline Martin as Bodgit (secretly in love with the squire) and this was an excellent vehicle for her comic timing. Other notable performances were Jo Simpson as the Wise Old Owl who – even in heavy disguise – was expressive and impressive in a difficult role. Robbie Nicholson gave a surprisingly warm performance as the Beast who seemed more comfortable while disguised as the beast than when he was relieved of his mask and transformed into the charming prince. Stephen Oliver’s staging kept the humour bubbling along nicely and there were some clever quips, witty one-liners and local references which hit the right note and made for an evening of good entertainment. CHRIS HORTON

Previous Productions

Murdered To Death, 14th to 15th and 21st to 22nd October 2011. See the reviews in the Archive.
See How They Run!, 13th to 14th and 20th to 21st May 2011. See the review in the Archive.
Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates, 28th to 29th January and 4th to 5th February 2011. See the review in the Archive.
Sing On!, 8th to 9th and 15th to 16th October 2010. See the review in the Archive.
Ladies' Day, 7th to 8th and 14th to 15th May 2010
Little Red Riding Hood, 29th to 30th January and 5th to 6th February 2010. See the review in the Archive.
The House by the Lake, 16th to 17th and 23rd to 24th October 2009. See the review in the Archive.
'Allo 'Allo, 8th to 9th and 15th to 16th May 2009. See the review in the Archive.
Oh What a Lovely War, 10th to 11th and 24th to 25th October 2008. See the review in the Archive.
The Hollow, 9th to 10th and 16th to 17th May 2008. See the review in the Archive.
Run For Your Wife, 5th to 6th and 19th to 20th October 2007. See the review in the Archive.
The Pompeii Panto, 25th to 26th January and 1st to 2nd February 2008
Run For Your Wife, 19th to 20th October 2007
The Haunting of Hill House, 11th to 12th and 18th to 19th May 2007. See the review in the Archive.
Play On!, 6th to 7th and 13th to 14th October 2006. See the review in the Archive.
Time and the Conways, 19th to 20th and 26th to 27th May 2006. See the review in the Archive.
The Wonderful Story of Mother Goose, 27th to 28th January and 3rd to 4th February 2006. See the review in the Archive.
Silchester Players, Of Coarse, 7th to 8th and 14th to 15th October 2005. See the review in the Archive.
Night Must Fall, 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st May 2005. See the review in the Archive.
King Arthur - the Panto, 21st, 22nd, 28th, 29th January 2005. See the review in the Archive.
Old Time Music Hall, 15th to 16th and 22nd to 23rd October 2004. See the review in the Archive.
Tiptoe Through the Tombstones, 14th, 15th, 21st and 22nd May 2004. See the review in the Archive.
Dracula - the Panto, 23rd, 24th, 30th and 31st January 2004. See the review in the Archive.
Sand Castles, 17th, 18th, 24th and 25th October 2003. See the review in the Archive.
The Real Inspector Hound, 25th and 26th April, 2nd and 3rd May 2003. See the review in the Archive.
Puss in Boots, or Thereby Hangs a Tail, 24th, 25th, 31st January, 1st February 2003. See the review in the Archive.
Chase Me Up Farndale Avenue, s'il vous plait, 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th October 2002. See the review in the Archive.
An Inspector Calls, 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th May 2002
Panto at the O.K. Corral, 25th and 26th January, 1st and 2nd February 2002. See the review in the Archive.
Three One-Act Plays, 4th to 6th October 2001
  In by the Half, a drama
  Distracted Globe, a comedy
  Cup Final, a comedy
See the review in the Archive.
And Then There Were None, 1st, 2nd, 8th & 9th June 2001. See the review in the Archive.
An Arabian Nights Panto, 26th & 27th January, 2nd & 3rd February 2001
Millennium Madness - a revue produced by Jill Hutchins, on 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st October 2000. See the review in the Archive.