Winter 2020
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Raiders of the Lost Panto With the staggering pressures faced by the arts around the world, UpShoot Theatre Company remained determined to produce work, whatever happened. After a successful series of sell-out open air performances over the summer, it was clear the appetite for live theatre was very much there. ‘Christmas is usually hectic for us, having produced the pantomime for the Fisher Theatre, Bungay for the past three years,’ says Laila France, Director & Writer. ‘But this year all we could see ahead was a gaping hole. As we watched theatre giants drop their plans around us, we decided we had to do something to survive and the idea of a shorter Christmas show, jam-packed with panto content, to a socially- distanced audience with a small cast and fewer performances began to form.’ Peter Pan had originally been planned for this year. Laila, a long-time Indiana Jones
fan, couldn’t stop thinking of Raiders of the Lost Ark, her go- to movie when times were hard. ‘Jones’s quest to stop the precious ark falling into the wrong hands suddenly gave birth to an idea,’ she says. ‘Panto this year was almost totally lost like the ark, and so Peter Pan had to save it from falling into oblivion, which became the hands of the dastardly Captain Hook! And why did Hook want panto wiped-out? Because he was tired to his back-teeth of that ticking crocodile coming after him year after year.’ And so Raiders of the Lost Panto was born. In this story Peter Pan travels through scenes from the greatest pantos meeting iconic characters. There is humour, silliness, tricks and wonder, alongside modern twists like Tinkerbell ruling Peter Pan from a zoom screen, and characters from Aladdin mimicking the judges from Strictly Come Dancing, to name a few.
With two shows a day to limited numbers, you’ll have to be quick off the mark to book a ticket. By buying a ticket you will be supporting local arts professionals, sustaining a crucial small venue and filling a local theatre company with the will to go on, whatever happens. Raiders of the Lost Panto is on December 19th & 20th, 23rd & 24th, 26th & 27th and 30th & 31st at the Fisher Theatre, Bungay.
www.fishertheatre.org
