“It’s behind yer” –
Memories of the early years of Pantomime
For many years tucked away in the storeroom was an old washday mangle, created by the ingenuity of a prop maker. I won’t tell you what it was made of but, I think twice it literally flattened the villain. Also a row of wardrobes store the many costumes made and recycled to dress the cast for that uniquely British entertainment, the Pantomime.
The winter of 1963 broke records for the severity of its weather. Snow arrived on Boxing Day 1962 and continued through to the first week of March when the thaw began. The lake on Highfields froze sufficiently to support ice-skating. Coal fires were still the main means of domestic heating and at times supplies of fuel got very low. Normal life went on and into wintry surroundings came the fantastical creation of the first Pantomime at Queen’s Road.
In the early 1960’s the church had a very strong Youth Club at Queen’s Road. They met on a Friday evening, attended Sunday evening service usually going on to someone’s house afterwards, invariably ours, and they had a football team. It was also a time when there were quite a lot of amateur Pantomimes performed in the Beeston area. There had been previous entertainments by members of the Youth Club, amongst them was a memorable Can Can danced at a Youth gathering at the new Kingswood Church.
For the first Pantomime permission had to be sought from the Church Trustees and their tolerance was quickly tested when the scenery was laid out in the Old School Room and paint soaked through and left an impression on the wooden floor. The Youth Club raised funds to buy and have made up new curtains for the stage. On the second night as a solo was being sung in front of the curtain the pelmet crashed down. Undeterred a stagehand, in green overalls with flat cap and lit cigarette, appeared with stepladder and nailed the offending pelmet back in place. The performance got a big laugh and so it is surprising to learn it wasn’t repeated each succeeding night.
From the earliest days there had been concerts of songs and sketches performed at the church, providing entertainment not just for the church congregation but also for the wider local community, as does the Pantomime today. It was an opportunity to advertise the other activities at the church. During the first week of February 1963 a production of Mother Goose was performed by the Youth and in January the following year there was their own version of Snow White. Then the Young People’s Fellowship presented Aladdin produced by Clifford Wilson in 1965 and the tradition had begun. From now on Sunday afternoons, Sunday and Friday evenings, rehearsals would help pass the darkest part of the winter.
In 1969 it was The Queen’s Road Players who presented Sleeping Beauty (written by Les Harrison); members of the Youth Club had been joined by other church members mostly from the Choir. The presence of the Choir helped when a cast member with a weak singing voice needed some support from behind the closed curtains. Though one person did specialise in singing discordantly out of tune, to the delight of the audience. It was also around this time that the date of the Pantomime moved to the February half term week to accommodate the needs of the younger cast members that were becoming involved. The 9th Pantomime – Robin Hood – was traditional in all respects but involved the brief appearance of a cowboy, complete with Stetson and spurs due to some misunderstanding about the identity of the Sheriff.
Clifford Wilson who produced the early Pantomimes liked to bring in topical references and surprises. In a production of Sleeping Beauty (1969) the Prince drew back the bedcovers to be greeted not by the sleeping Princess but a Tiny Tim impersonator complete with ukulele singing ‘Tip toe through the tulips’. (For younger readers think of Jedward). Curtains closed and re-opened, back to the script. Though he rarely took a part in the Pantomime Clifford could never resist an appearance in front of the curtain for the obligatory song sheet and audience participation. With his inventiveness there were surprises and uncertainty for the cast as scenes were changed and lines removed as the rehearsal process evolved. Sitting on those hard seats the length of the Pantomime was important, a need to finish before the pubs closed, and the draft script of Sleeping Beauty estimates a running time of two hours nine minutes. Robin Hood (1971) ran for a “full three hours” and that was after the last scene was axed and other deletions made.
During the seventies there was a lot of industrial unrest and the uncertainties of the ‘three-day week’. With the daily threat of electricity supplies being cut for one Pantomime there was a generator installed in the yard ready to be used to power two spotlights in the event of a power failure. It was used on just one occasion and it seems the audience were unaware of the changeover.
By 1972 it was Queen’s Road Methodist Church who presented their Pantomime and the following year Jessie Liquorish took over as Producer, which she continued to do until 1990. Jessie liked to stay behind the scenes unless as once happened she had to take over a role at short notice and squeeze into a costume not her size. The Pantomime at Queen’s Road was now an important regular event on the church calendar. Jessie built on the well-deserved reputation for good entertainment and brought a discipline to rehearsals and performances. She introduced choreography giving some members of the chorus more to do. As the first night approached she reassured her cast with the advice ‘Smile, enjoy yourselves’.
(Eager to take part from an early age!)
So many people have participated over the years that I can only mention a few others. From the very first production Pat Shirra has been there in charge of makeup (the 1972 programme for Puss In Boots gives a ‘cat’ nickname to all those involved, Pat received the soubriquet of Glamour Puss). Another stalwart from early productions and still treading the boards is Ralph Hadley who enthusiastically preserves the tradition. His enthusiasm is credited in the 1995 programme Cast Notes as one of the reasons the Pantomime “has been able to continue for so many years”. Chris Wright made an early appearance on stage in Goody Two Shoes and has since contributed invaluably with lighting, special effects and scenery. Over the years one of the features of the Pantomime has been that it is a family affair, in some cases drawing in all or most members of a family. Frank Wright was quickly absorbed into the Pantomime and appeared from 1969 until 2001, mostly enjoying himself playing a range of Dames. Pantomime time was signalled when Frank shaved off his beard. Remembering people from the early days should include Joan Poxon, another person who for many years was an integral part of the company in charge of costumes. Joan was very skilled at making costumes out of whatever material was available, small squares of net could be turned into a ball gown, the Producer’s vision of the red dress for the wicked Queen was exactly realised, as was the challenge to create an elephant costume.
Over the years many and varied talents have been called upon to carry on the tradition and involved most people in the church in some capacity or other, if only as a member of the audience over the half century. The fiftieth pantomime is now imminent and we look forward to the entertainment it has to offer.
Robert Dawson, House Manager/stage hand (1976-78), 2013
(Acknowledgments to Pat, Jessie, Frank & Richard for their assistance)
