"Mother Goose" by Ben Crocker (5-9 Dec 2023)

Poster

Another rip-roaring, world-famous pantomime from St Michael's Players. 

Join us in this edge-of-your-seat, fingernail-biting, fast moving thriller. The evil troll Smorg and Fairy Aurora wager  that Mother Goose is corruptible. Once Heidi, the goose, starts laying golden eggs, the money rolls in and that attracts local ne'er do well, Baron von Trakmeind and his hopeless sidekick Gonk who hatch all sorts of cunning ruses to bag Heidi. Smorg, meanwhile is offering Mother Goose beauty if only she'll sign Heidi away. Who wins? Who loses? And will the audience help us on our way?

So exciting. Non-stop thrills and spills as we race towards an exciting climax.

As ever, a fun-filled festivity for the family.  You know - just like last year, only better.

2022 Reviews
"One of the best Pantos I have ever seen" Arthur K

"It was a great show, really enjoyed it 👍" Laura A

"Loved it 👍🎅" Mike D

"Just seen Rapunzel and wow I would like some of the energy shown on that stage tonite …. very well done all of you was very enjoyable xxx" Rose P

"Great panto🤣the synchronised swimmers were my favourite" Mary L

"Hurrah for a triumphant return of the annual trip down Chiswickia Lane courtesy of St. Michael's Players’ panto.  All the classic characters including a gorgeous Dame and a terrifyingly wicked witch (Elizabeth Ollier steals the show) along with new jokes and old songs - recommended" Delyth S

"The panto was absolutely brilliant! I totally loved it. Such a professional production with amazing music and it was so fun and funny!" Marietta S

"It was such a lovely evening, and so uplifting to watch you all in panto singing, dancing and swashbuckling, it looks so much fun and is such a magical way to leave the real world behind and become immersed in another realm of goodies, baddies and everyone in between" Louise M

"You were all brilliant. Such energy! And some of your lines were hilarious" Ruth R

"Rapunzel rocked last night. I have a sore throat this morning from singing along. Also don’t assume sitting in middle means you’re safe from members of the cast!" Jonathan S

"Attended Tuesday another fantastic performance a huge thank you to everyone involved" Dave V

"I just want to say again how bright the show was last night you did a remarkable job of that cast! Absolutely remarkable. Really truly enjoyed myself. I laughed like an idiot for two hours" Tony T

"I liked the panto. Thanks for good time" Mahir S

"Still laughing out loud from the Band cupboard, no matter how many times I’ve seen it all….!" Sue S

"Now there's a Panto were you can certainly let your hair down. Audience participation kicked in minutes after the performance commenced and continued right through to the end. It was hilarious, the costumes, the performances and the script was exceptional. Good news!! England are playing Sat night freeing up tickets for the first time ever for all those who thought they had missed out. TICKETS AVAILABLE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!!" Isabelle M

"Don’t miss this. Best panto everrr!!" Jacquetta P

"The best one yet! Bravo! Xxx" Danni P

"We saw the show on Wednesday - it was hysterical. Strong performances, good singing & dancing - especially enjoyed the synchronised swimming. Really good fun - well done Chris & all the cast." Gill E

"Absolutely brilliant show - and just the best villain!!!" Caron B

"Great show" Dolores L" 

​"​​Last night was wonderful, we enjoyed every minute, coming to St Michaels at Christmas time is now a tradition for us. It's lovely seeing familiar faces, even though we don't know many. The entire cast give so much to making the panto a real special occasion. We cracked up at the random synchronised swimmers, a few moments of directing genius" Trish B

"So excellent, as always - such great fun, well done!" Diane S

"We enjoyed the panto and particularly noticed the excellent choreography (though I think the singing had suffered a bit!). Rosie was SENSATIONAL as Waylon, and I hope the two new charming young leads are remainers.

I was delighted by how well the audience rose to your invitation to make up for the empty seats (A footy game). I think we all had a much better time than those stuck in front of their TVs shouting boos for all the wrong reasons" Cecilia C

"...this year's panto was well up a few notches on an already good product!

A rising tide raised all the ships and there were great performances and contributions from the chorus and all the behind the scenes contributions.  And some brill directing and choreography - the synchronised swimming was a great interlude!

More power to your elbow(s)!!" James H-S

“A family tradition that never fails to delight, this was our 5th year attending the St Michael’s Players panto, and we loved it! Always guaranteed laughter, silliness, a good singalong and all the panto trimmings. Don’t miss it!”  Michaela S

"Hope you have  recovered from your hectic Panto schedule. I saw it on Tuesday the 6th before dashing off to the States on the 7th, and I’m so glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed it!   My first Panto but not my last!" Donnette G

"I really enjoyed the panto. Good singing and dancing. The synchronised swimmers were brilliant" Allison V

"Rapunzel! Fantastic evening, another triumph for St Michael’s Players!" Guy F

"It was amazing. Well done everyone. Glorious synchronised swim especially Utku, fabulous witch and dame, super princess and prince (eventually) - colourful, loud, Christmassy. Thank you SMP. Made me want to come back!!!!" Jane A

"Awesome" Simon W

"Rapunzel was the perfect Christmas panto! We loved all the characters especially Gothel who was a standout Villan, and received the appropriate boos and hisses. The costumes and stage were great, it was like you were transported across all the realms with them, and the jukebox singalong selection kept the Christmas spirits high, even with England losing the quarter finals during the intermission"
​Mari J

"Really enjoyed the show, clever writing, amazing acting, great songs! Thanks for this wonderful experience!" Zsofia M

"congratulations again on another magnificent panto" Martin O​

Pictures

Watch again (once it's finished)

Programme

Cast

SMORG (Alastair Dewar)
FAIRY AURORA (Rachel Fay)
MOTHER GOOSE (Paul Smith)
FREYA GOOSE (Stefanie Stretton)
HEIDI THE GOOSE (Rosie Copping)
BARON IVOR VON TRAKMEIND (David Burles)
GONK (Guy Fairbank)
SVEN (Alice Klapwyk)
THE GRAND HIGH SNOW GOOSE (Arabella Harcourt-Cooze)
CUCKOO CLOCK (Chris Jones)
BOSS SNOWMAN (Elizabeth Ollier)
SNOWMEN 1, 2 & 3 (Cecilia Coleshaw, Claire Richmond, Imogen Measday)
CHORUS (Cecilia Coleshaw, Claire Richmond, Christine Lee, Sue Darrieulat, Jo Harry, Chris Jones, Arabella Harcourt-Cooze, Imogen Measday, Amelia Barker, Elizabeth Ollier, Vicki Belcher, Rebekka Hyde, Srishti Sinha)

Band

Musical Director, Keyboards (Nick Lawrence)
Guitar (Utku Er, Ken Herbert)
Bass (Tony Wood)
Drums (Dominic Meloni)
Percussion (Sue Shorter)

Crew

Director (Chris Hulatt)
Stage Manager (Bryony Wilman)
Costumes (Ruth Varela, Bryony Wilman, Yvonne Rice-Oxley)
Choreography  (Rosie Copping, Anny Hooker, Chris Jones, Allison DeFrees)
Set and Props (Susan Johnson, Bryony Wilman)
Lighting and Sound (Andy Rooney, Gareth Sammer)
Make Up (Rosie Copping and the Cast)
Rehearsal Prompt & Curtain (Jacob Hodgins)
Front of House (Members & Friends of St Michael's Players)