Well, it’s that time of the year again and Wallingford’s Corn Exchange Theatre, and home of the Sinodun Players, is putting on Alan Frayn’s Beauty and the Beast from January 16 until January 31.

There are 16 performances including three matinées and well over 200 people are involved in putting on the show. The pantomime is the highlight of the year for many people and it is undoubtedly our biggest stage show. All the members are unpaid volunteers so it is essentially part-time work that is involved, but everyone has the drive and enthusiasm to entertain.

I have a foot in both camps, in that I’m part of a very experienced set construction team which has produced some stage sets which have been described as good, if not better, than those of some West End productions, and also a chorus member in the show. Having been a member for some years I decided to dip my toe in the water for the first time and was accepted in the chorus for the last panto we did which was Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates. I did it to see how a big production is put together from the very beginning. I got a tremendous insight and was amazed at what was involved.

To put on a normal stage play with some-thing like a four-day run takes time and organisation but when talking pantomime the planning and organisation gets to mega proportions. The show was accepted by the drama committee many months ago and preparatory talks began in the early part of the year. The co-directors, one for overall control and the other for the musical content including songs and dance moves, then got their production team together. The other key players are the producer, who holds the purse strings, the designer, who has overall control of set design and painting, sound and lighting operatives, and the set construction manager. It is then a question of co-ordination and keeping channels of communication open.

After a script read-through for those interested, auditions were carried out and parts awarded. Rehear-sals started in early October. We have a dedicated rehearsal room the same size as the stage which is marked out for the various scenes so the director can arrange groupings of the cast for the dialogue pieces and for the dance moves, songs and dances.

As soon as the designs and the properties list was received, construction got under way, again in early October. There is always a props person and sometimes the script demands some items have to be built specifically. In this show some are large, with hanging stage cloths which are about 22 feet wide and 15 feet deep. It requires three people just to move one of these cloths. It is very satisfying to know that we’ve done a good job on a set and have made some good props and just as satisfying to see a production come together from a cast member’s viewpoint.

The script is hilarious, the co-directors are happy with the way it’s going and we are hoping we will put on an extravaganza in January that will be unforgettable. So please come and see it.