The pantomime is over at last. Thanks for all sticking with my whinges – my blog might start getting a bit more interesting again now, although I’m not making any rash promises….
One final panto story has to be told, however.
I did 2 shows yesterday which the Cornwall team (surprise, surprise) couldn’t make. The second (and final) show was at a secure unit in Devon. When I say secure, I mean 20 foot fences all around it, all doors locked behind you, one member of staff to each inmate. Oh, and the residents are all under the age of 16. Suffice to say, we were more than a little apprehensive as to how we would be received. 13-16 year olds are not the most receptive audiences, generally, and these children have been there, done that, and most definitely got the t-shirts. We hid behind our set as they all came into the room, shouting loudly, showing off to anyone who would listen. A 16 year old boy poked his head around the curtain. “Can I have your wand?” he asked me. “No,” I replied. “It’s mine!” He ducked away again, looking, surprisingly, hurt. I relented. “All right, you can have it after the show if you want – you big fairy…” Talk about speaking before you think! Thankfully, he decided not to take issue with my gobbiness…
As the show started, I looked at the 12 sullen teenage faces in front of me and had a moment of pure terror – they were going to hate it.
5 minutes later they were laughing and joking, getting involved and absolutely loving it. By the end of the show we had one boy up on stage with us, singing the christmas medley and doing the dance routines, happily letting us put different hats onto his head to make him into Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better result. It’s shows like that one that make all the crap worthwhile.
Oh, and the boy who wanted the wand? Yes, he came back to get it, and gave me a big hug as well. Here’s lookin’ at you kid – Happy Christmas.
Recent Comments