THE FESTIVE season wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Panto and the Volunteer Hall was once again packed for another all-singing all-dancing spectacle.

The curtain went up on the Right Angle Theatre Company's latest production, Babes in the Wood, last Tuesday and ran for five consecutive nights.

The original Babes tale was combined with the legend of Robin Hood to add another dimension to the story and comical characters such as Little John and Friar Tuck were a welcomed addition to the traditional fairy tale.

Robin Hood was brought to life by Gala's Amanda Blacklock and her band of merry men were played by Greg Robertson as Little John, Emma Wilson as Will Scarlet, and Tracey Borthwick as Friar Tuck.

Amanda's last lead role for the pantomine was as Robinson Crusoe in 2011, but she preferred playing the famous outlaw this year:
“Everybody knows and loves Robin Hood so it's nice that the audience are familiar with your character and recognise the references and jokes.
“I've especially enjoyed having my Band of Merry Men with me, all the Merry Men scenes were my favourite.

“They're on stage with me most of the way through and we've developed a great comradery that shows when we do our scenes.

“We've become really close and the friendship and laughs come across really natural because we're so comfortable with each other."

The company last did Babes in the Wood in 2000 and the classic family favourite was revamped for its comeback with a whole host of new faces, new dance numbers, and topical jokes.

This year's pantomime dame took the form of a Mary Poppins-esk nanny, complete with an array of elaborate wig and dress ensembles, played by local barber Jodie Millar.

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In her first scene, Nanny Nellie Nickerlastic cracks a joke about having her hair cut at the town's new barber shop “by a lovely young man named Jodie” with a comical wink to the audience.

She also traumatises the other characters when she climbs a ladder and gives them a 'Nellie Nicker-less' flash.

The Sheriff of Nottingham (Gordon Keddie), with a 'soor plooms' medallion draped round his neck, was heckled by children with the usual boos and hisses as he concocted cunning plots out of ear shot of the others on stage.

His right hand-men Snivel and Grovel were the typicl half witted 'baddies' who provided endless laughs as they continually foil their boss's plans. They even muck up their most important job, the kidnapping of the Babes, when they dress up as ghosts and end up scaring each other instead.

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Modern pop songs as well as more traditional tunes were choreographed and made for high energy, dynamic dance scenes. After five nights of jiving to Dolly Parton's 9-5 and Bruno Mars' Up town Funk, the cast are sure to be fit!

This year saw some new roles being adopted backstage as well as on stage. Susan Shearer stepped down as Director and Producer, with the role of Director left in the capable hands of long serving Musical Director Derek Calder. With this in mind, Derek decided not to take his usual role as the pantomime dame.

Assisting the director was Julie Smith, with Gordon Keddie taking over as Producer.

The Border Telegraph even makes a cameo appearance when two characters ponder over the past week's events.

The Babes, Sam and Ella, or 'Salmonella' as they're often mistaken for, (Jess Thomson, Aimee Richardson, Josh Millar, Aiden Hodgson) are eventually saved by the heroic Robin Hood and everybody lives happily ever after - and the curtain comes down for another year.