Forget “The Pageant”. Tea Tree Players 2025 Pantomime has arrived, so Christmas may now begin! The fun and the season’s feels are completely captured by this wonderful community production of “Alice in Wonderland”, directed by Tea Tree Players veteran and Lamerton Award winner Damon Hill, giving us a fun show fit for all ages to enjoy.
For those with no experience of a good old traditional “panto”, there may be some period of adjustment needed. For example, “booing” the villain is actively encouraged. Audience participation is expected. The fourth wall does not exist. Cheesy groan-worthy one liners abound. Kids are never told to “sit still” and “be quiet”. Screaming “they’re behind you” in utter frustration is allowed. Cream tarts are meant for splattering in someone’s face, not for eating. Gender roles get completely smashed and “the baddies” are easily identifiable.
If only real life could be that simple – and fun – we would all be much better for it . . .
Staged in the cutest community theatre in Adelaide, one experiences the fun of “the panto” immediately upon arrival with the unbelievably low cost refreshments. One more? At these prices, why not? You even get a biccie thrown in with your tea! Take your cut price bevvy into the theatre with you to sip while watching the fun, the only down side to this is that it stunts your ability to clap, and I can assure you, there will be plenty of that going on. The set hits you with its plentiful use of fluorescent paint, setting the festive scene from the get-go with the colourful costumes adding to the festive spirit.
Pantomimes follow a tried and true formula and this one is no exception. Usually, a nasty “baddie” does something mean to the “sweet heroine” who escapes disaster with the help of a collection of odd ball characters who also wiggle off into their own side-hustle plots from time to time. Almost as if written into some ancient panto-law book, there is always “The Dame”, being a man dressed as a woman making the usual puns of hinted but skilfully avoided naughty innuendo. This is a kids show, we know, but heck, the mums and dads need a laugh as well! In the end, the villain get’s their well deserved oats and a happy ending prevails, usually with a Royal wedding of sorts. You know the drill.
TTP’s heroine this year was “Alice” (or was that “Mary-Anne?”) played by Elsie Hasler. Elsie started her panto career a few years back with TTP as a “snowflake”, and her performance in the lead role was wonderfully sweet – as all panto heroines should be. Also in a lead role was Joel Strauss, playing the effervescent “White Rabbit’. Joel held the show together right from his introduction and kept the pace moving nicely. Annika Barry was an excellent “baddie”, playing the fabled “Queen of Hearts” spreading a pandemic of cranium deficiency syndrome amongst the cast (“off with their heads!”). Clinton Nitschke, Shannon O’Brien and Brayden King were hilarious as the “three little maids from school”, where the cross-dressing puns flowed freely all night. Charlie Klose “bent over backwards” (had to be there) to deliver an excitable “March Hare” as twitchy and nervous as a tooth needing a root-canal. Lachie Blackwell and Rhi Evren gave us two very endearing gormless twits in “Tweedle Dee” and “Tweedle Dum”, and were wonderful in their handling of the children they invited on stage to join them. Michaela Arnold played a suitably grumpy “caterpillar” (who wouldn’t be grumpy if you had your bath continually interrupted?) while Oscar Green’s “Dormouse” puppetry was cute and endearing. Adrian Weinert held the ensemble together as “Head Card” while Cathie Olfield also managed to get a few “boos” as the secondary baddie “Mrs Hackett”. The principals were well rounded out by Mike Phillips as the weak downtrodden King that eventually came good, and Maggie Phillips as the gardener-come-Prince and Heir to the Crown.
Lilly Dolman showed us her skill in “rolling her Rs” as The Cheshire Cat, while the Mad Hatter was entertainingly handled by the one and only Brian Godfrey, uncannily channelling Spike Milligan almost as if Mr Milignam (“the well know typing error”) was there himself.
Then of course there was “The Dame” played by Adelaide Theatre icon Barry Hill OAM. On stage for what seemed like most of the panto, Barry made receiving cream pies to the face look easy. His naughty flirting with audience members was a hoot.
As far as theatre goes, do not expect “high brow”. Pantomime is a well worn genre designed sort of like the ABC’s “Play School” used to be – ostensibly for the kids but with the likes of someone like John Hamblin making adult innuendos for the mums and dads. And please, playing cards, the tights go UNDER your pants . . .
High brow or otherwise, make sure you start your Christmas season with good dose of Panto at Tea Tree Gully this year. You will laugh in spite of yourself!
