The cast of Rosegrove Boys and Girls' Brigades' pantomime "Sinbad the Sailor", by Hilda Basnett

Rosegrove Boys and Girls' Brigades have built their current, and eighth, pantomime "Sinbad the Sailor" very largely on the comedy team. Stephen Warf shows his experience and is completely at home and at ease on the stage and this encourages the others to relax and enjoy their comedy work. Stephen is ably supported by David Hargreaves as Ali. He makes a good feed but also has quite a comedy sense of his own. With Elizabeth Bolton as Fatima these three do some very good work. Michelle Gudgeon is a pretty Princess Yasmin and Pamela Wharf is a gallant and shapely Sinbad. There is some nice work from David Johnson as the Caliph and Fiona Paton is a saucy and sexy Scheherazadie. Philip Wharf is a villainous Wazir, and smaller parts are played by Alison Robinson, Guardian Spirit; Andrew Bannister, Captain Kettle and Neptune; Damien Pearson, Jim Lad; Jonathan Embury, Island Chief; Vicky Latham, Island Queen; and Dawn Plane, Clerk of the Court.
There is a chorus of 29, and while the girls looked very sweet I felt that their work is not quite up to their usual standard. They were inclined to break into giggles when things went wrong, which of course highlights the mistake even further. When I tell you that there are seven scene changes in Act 1 and four in Act 2 you can imagine the work this entails for stage manager Peter Bolton and his team. The scenery and costumes are very effective and the killing of the Sea Serpent is very well done. The audience loved it. Edmund Bailey, the producer, and Stephen Wharf, his assistant, must have worked extremely hard to get the standard they have achieved and they must feel quite happy at giving us an enjoyable evening with lots of music, fun and colour.