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