The players of Chipperfield Theatre Group are now veterans of nine pantomimes and it shows. This Jack and the Beanstalk was an extremely polished production, full of good performances and evidently well directed by Felicity Cox (no relation!). Sarah Jayne Bottril was rewarded for her outstanding performances in previous productions with the role of Jack, but it is testament to the expertise of her colleagues that even she had to play second fiddle to the glorious antics of the supporting cast. As ever, Wendy Marchant anchored the show with a faultless performance as the Fairy Queen and Paul Instrall provided a wonderful madcap counterfoil to Bottril as Jacks brother, Billy. The boos and hisses meanwhile were reserved for John Oglesby, who cut a menacing figure as the intolerant face of the property classes – the resident baddie, Sebastian Gray.
So – impressive performances all round then, and yet, unlikely as it may seem, a character I can only describe as Jimmy Cricket in drag stole the show. For Lyle Rainey, as pantomime dame Lily White, was extraordinary. His facial expressions were a constant delight, his delivery made the weakest jokes funny and, if innuendo was called for, he was able to pull it off. In short, his cheeky, sympathetic portrayal endeared him to the audience from the outset and injected the necessary humour into a script, which got progressively stronger following his introduction. The songs were good too. Neatly interspersed, familiar tunes with alternate lyrics that made them fresh and relevant thus avoiding unflattering comparisons with the originals.
The way the music complimented the scenes was indicative of how well the show flowed, for despite boasting a large cast, the characters were well defined and the plot was easy to follow. The old adage “never work with children or animals” was also laid to rest in one fell swoop with the quartet of children who played the mischievous mice excelling in their cameos and “A team” dance routine. It all ended happily ever after of course and following the successful coupling of the major characters, nobody could have complained if the evenings entertainment too had ended there. But it didnt, as feigning outrage those with smaller parts in the play seized the spotlight to close proceedings with an expertly choreographed rendition of “If I were not upon this stage.” Judging from the ovation that this and the rest of the pantomime received however, I do not think they need to be rehearsing the alternative pastimes they sung of, just yet. Jason Cox

Christmas at Chingulungulu
From Father Terry Cantwell, brother of Father Desmond, Mission of Chingulungulu, Southern Tanzania
To the dry bush of southern Tanzania, December arrives hot and humid. No bleak midwinter, snow and ice, holly and ivy are there to provide the familiar signs of our traditional Christmas. Yet over the sun-scorched earth hangs an air of expectation, for the gift of Gods Son, and for the life-giving rains due about this time. The birth of any child is a cause for great rejoicing and celebration in the Mission villages – how much more so for the Special Child? Preparations start weeks before, everyone it seems has some part to play, from the youngest child in the Nativity play, to the oldest villager, whose job it is to relate the story of the Bible from Abraham to Jesus on Christmas morning. It is the church, rather than individual homes, which is the target for decoration. Only at Christmas and Easter are the plastic flowers (the real ones droop and die too quickly) replaced with greenery. Run from a car battery, a single electric light placed high in the roof sheds its rays to the farthest corners of the church, illuminating multicoloured flags and strings of gaily painted polystyrene packing hanging from the rafters. The crib – with figures very much like those we have in Chipperfield – awaits the babys arrival at Midnight Mass. In homes, as well as food preparation, gallons of pombe, the local beer brewed from millet, has been fermenting in pots and drums of every size and shape for the past few weeks. Coming home for Christmas with the family is as important in Chingulungulu as it is here. In the North travel is easier; where we are in the South the roads are barely passable, but those who can will get through one way or another. Traditional carols as well as AdesteFideles and Silent Night (in Swahili of course) ring out joyfully as midnight approaches. The Mass too is a noisy, happy celebration, a great welcome for the newborn babe and King. On Christmas morning families gather before the first Mass for the telling and re-enactment of the scriptures. Lasting for an hour or more, this calls for the participation of all, acting, singing, and a good deal of ad-libbing too should the storyteller not keep to the traditional script.
After Mass, the congregation returns home for the Christmas meal, but Father Terry is off to say Mass at another church and later in the day – and with no Christmas dinner yet in sight – he travels to the main Mission at Masasi. where, by tradition, the President of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, and his wife take their Christmas meal. Celebrations are a welcome break from toiling in the fields, a great time for socialising, catching up with news from those who have been away, playing with the children. Christmas presents are not customary, but the children get a few sweets or other treats and probably the lions share of attention, too. How long the celebrations last some say depends on when the pombe runs out. A longer break is forestalled by the imperative of the planting season, and it is back to work with the happy memories of the great Christmas celebrations to enrich and sustain for another year.