Directed By Stuart Lawson
This tragicomic panto-within-a-play is set over the holiday period at a crumbling provincial theatre, chronicling both the on- and off-stage lives of the cast and crew of a repertory production that is rapidly going downhill, even on the opening night.
Among the many delightful characters are Anastasia Crabbe, a fading movie star; an actor fresh from drama school; Bernie the has-been puppeteer, his puppet Monkey; a weather girl-turned-leading lady who is soon way in over her head.
Holding the show together are Maggie the stage manager and Tom, the theatre’s owner. Since the death of his partner the previous year, Tom has been trying to keep the theatre afloat, but external financial pressures and the increasing antics backstage are a poignant counterpoint to the hilarious antics interspersed onstage during the pantomime.
