It's Panto Party time...

Wednesday 28 October is the date for your diaries. This year's talent packed cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be on stage from 1pm to present snippets of the show followed by a screening of the Disney Snow White film.
Tickets are FREE but you do need to book in advance with the Box Office on 01923 711063.

An apology...

for being away for so long!
It's now June and we never thought we'd leave you alone for so long, not that anyone has really missed Watersmeet's absent blog!

It's been a pretty crazy few months.

Watersmeet has now joined the Facebook craze...not sure that's the right move but maybe that's cause we're not used to all this social networking stuff and don't mention Twitter! How do people find the time to tweet? It's all beyond me. And do I really need to know what someone has had for breakfast? Well, apparantly yes I do. Urm.
No doubt we're be tweeting over Snow White and Seven Dwarfs in the run up to panto season but for now I need to come to turns with Facebook first and try to make an entry or two on our blog.

No one is in the Green Room...

Hello everyone

It's very quiet and quite lonely at Watersmeet.

All the cast have said their goodbyes and left to fulfil their dreams for 2009. The scenery is on its way back to somewhere up North and the costumes and props are all packed and parcelled up ready to go back to Manchester and Ruislip.

The Christmas decorations have been put away for another year.

The Big Pants that hung from the ceiling are now archived.

And it's so quiet. No more happy families passing through the doors to old Peking. No more Citrus Brothers causing madness and mayhem in the foyer...still that's not all bad.

But enough doom and gloom. Aladdin may be behind us...oh yes it is...but plans for panto 2009 are already steaming along!

This years production from Paul Holman Associates will be the enchanting story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and guess what? Tickets are on sale now and two performances have SOLD OUT! How's that for organisation!

So we hope to welcome you all back to panto 2009 and in the mean time, keep visiting our Green Room as we will update you with what's happening and announce the cast on our blog as soon as we know.

In the meantime, thank you to everyone who came to see Aladdin. The feed back we've had on the show has been truly wonderful and we're sure Snow White will be just as impressive, just as entertaining and just as magical.

Happy New Year to you.

And if you want to be an organised person and book for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs you can do it now, here! http://www.watersmeet.co.uk/

The crew stepped out of the Green Room and onto the stage last night...

...and what a performance!

For those of you not familar with theatre or more to the point, crewing, crew people are a rare and beautiful species.

They get up late and then go to bed late. So a bit like students only older. I'd have opted for maturer but that would be wrong.

They are hardly ever seen. In fact you would probably only see them by accident if a scene change went wrong. Although there is an urban myth that sometimes they can be seen in the local Chinese restaurant, which reminds me, to be real proper crew you have to live off a bad diet and fizzy pop.

They live a life of wearing black. All the colour in their lives comes from...um, spectacular costumes, stunning scenery, dazzling lights, Chinese take aways...

Occasionally their socks can let them down in a black out.

They work hard, play hard and their humour is normally quite hard too, certainly not humour you would expect at a family pantomime.

So last night was all about THE CREW. Our ever so talented, ever so not shy, ever so clever crew and we're proper proud right now!

Historically, at the end of panto, the crew present their alternative version of the show. This is a tradition all over the country and one Watersmeet has upheld for years.

Last night's audience of cast and staff were in for a real treat. Sadly, this observer cannot share too much of the alternative Aladdin with you, but it was fast, in fact it was racy, risky and ridiculously clever.

Laugh? Not 'arf!

It's amazing how these beautiful people who hide away in the wings, closet themselves in the Green Room and only come out for air when they need it to be fresh, can be so different when centre stage!

Written and directed by the very clever, very inspiring, very talented Libby, the show involved quick changes Widow Twankey would have been envious of, lighting design our director could only have dreamed off and fight scene music that spoke volumes.

Aladdin was played by Zac and Rob. Confused? That was the point of the story. Confusion reins in the world of Aladdin.

Louisa and Libby took turns at being Princess Jasmine and the Genie of the Keys with performances that can only be described as honest, heartfelt and hilarious.

The boys swapped roles for a while and became IveBeenToRada, previously known as Abanazar, have-a-banana, have-a-chill-pill, interspersed with proper royal performances of Empiric size, and an award winning characterisation of Widow Twankey which should have seen the lads honoured in the New Years Honours list. Come on, a Dame hood surely?

Well done crew. You conquered. You dazzled and delighted all.

Five out of five.

Kelly has entered the Green Room

Kelly does all the admin for the Leisure department and works in the box office and behind the bar. She also starred in our victory carnival parade back in May as Aladdin. Despite being such a busy bee she has pooped into the Green Room!


Wmt: How many pantos have you been a part of?
Kelly: This is my 3rd Panto working for Watersmeet. But I was part of one when I was 12 and I was pulled up on stage so really it's my fourth :-)


Wmt: What's been the best moment of rehearsals so far or the build up to opening night?
Kelly: For me it is everything about the lead up to Panto. You know Christmas is coming, the decorations are starting to appear in windows and then it's Panto time!


Wmt: Have you had anything testing, tricky or particularly difficult to do this week or during the run?
Kelly: Nothing too tricky yet but I shouldn't say that!


Wmt: If you had to identify with a character from Aladdin, who would it be and why?
Kelly: I'd like to say the genie or Princess Jasmine but I'm not too sure as I have only worn the Aladdin costume so I should probably say that really!


Wmt: What's you favourite panto and why?
Kelly: Any! I just love watching all the kids and parents faces light up from start to finish!


Wmt: How will you be feeling at the opening performance of Aladdin and how will you feel when the curtain comes down on the final performance?
Kelly: I think there's always a feeling of anticipation and excitement of every performance! The best thing about live panto is it's never quite the same twice! And sadly before you know it IT'S BEHIND YOU!!! Hehe!

Charlotte has entered the Green Room

Charlotte is the Active Communities Officer for TRDC and she also works in the Box Office. Last year she helped out at the launch of Cinderella and became a Fairy Godmother for the day!

Wmt: How many pantos have you been a part of?
Charlotte: Cinderella last year and Aladdin this year
What's been the best moment of rehearsals so far or the build up to opening night?
Charlotte: Launching Cinderella last year - I got to dress up as the Fairy Godmother, travel in a horse and carriage and spend the day at Moor Park Mansion, whilst waving my magic wand!
Wmt: Have you had anything testing, tricky or particularly difficult to do this week or during the run?
Charlotte: Remembering everything I need to do in the Box Office
Wmt: If you had to identify with a character from Aladdin, who would it be and why?
Charlotte: Princess Jasmine, because I am quite simply a wannabe Princess! ;-) oh and it would be wicked to fly on a magic carpet!
Wmt: What's you favourite panto and why?
Charlotte: I remember going to see Aladdin when I was younger and got invited up onto the stage to sing the song at the end - so I guess it would have to be that Aladdin!
Wmt: How will you be feeling at the opening performance of Aladdin and how will you feel when the curtain comes down on the final performance?
Charlotte: Excited, because it will feel like Christmas is just around the corner and at the end, I think I will just be plain exhausted!!!

Thank you for coming into the Green Room Charlotte. Merry Christmas to you!

What are the audience saying?

It doesn't really matter what the press say, although we all love a glowing review, what we really like to hear is the comments from families and children and here's a comment we wanted to share with you:

http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=119495

http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/search/?search=aladdin+watersmeet
and the critic from the Watford Observer loved the show too!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Xmas from The Citrus Brothers and the rest of the Aladdin cast! There's still time to come and see us all in action - you'll love it!!

Matt and Mike

Ali has entered the Green Room

Ali is the Marketing Manager at Watersmeet and she's popped into the Green Room
to share her thoughts with us.
And the picture on the left isn't rude but if you can think of any caption ideas do let us know!
This was taken in one of the dressing rooms and she's holding a piece of dame costume!



Watersmeet(wmt): How many pantos have you been a part of?
Ali: Aladdin will be my 21st professional panto.


wmt: What's been the best moment of rehearsals so far or the build up to opening night?
Ali: There's been loads. Seeing Matt Blossom try to dance was hilarious but working with Waitrose Rickmansworth on their community performance was very special. It was great to see so many new faces experience panto for the first time.


wmt: Have you had anything testing, tricky or particularly difficult to do this week or during the run?
Ali: Working on panto is always great fun and I get to do some really fun work with the cast in the build up to opening. I took the Citrus Brothers to five different schools to do assembly and they made me laugh so much I nearly wet my pants! Another funny moment was back in May when we entered the Ricky Carnival. We don't have a budget for things like that so we made a float from a Waitrose trolley, a washing machine from an old box, the box office ladies dressed up and we borrowed a man from the council to dress up as Widow Twankey. He'd never been a dame before and I had do to his make up, which was a first for me too. We laughed so much though and took first price in the commercial category for floats! You can see our carnival adventure on You Tube - just type in being dragged up!
wmt: If you had to identify to a character from Aladdin, who would it be and why?
Ali: Probably Abanazar because he's mean and moody but comes good in the end!
wmt: What's you favourite panto and why?
Ali: Cinderella because I was Cinders in a school panto, because its the easiest panto to sell and because when we did Cinderella last year, Mark Speight was our Buttons and we will always have very special memories of him and Natasha.
wmt: How will you be feeling at the opening performance of Aladdin and how will you feel when the curtain comes down on the final performance?
Ali: I was extremely nervous on the first night, in fact I'm nervous most times I watch the show because I want it to be a good and want everyone to enjoy it so it's hard to just watch it and enjoy it myself.
Once it's all over I always say never again but after 21 pantos I guess I don't mean it! It's pretty awful once all the cast have gone and the decorations have come down. The venue goes from being full of life with the cast around and a thousand people passing through the doors everyday to post Christmas blues and it's quite depressing but we start work on the next panto in February so in some ways it feels like a panto is for life...not just for Christmas!

Pants! Pants! Pants!

Oh how rude! You can't say that.

Oh yes we can and we say it everyday at Watersmeet and last Friday night was no exception.

In fact we probably said it more because our very talented designers of our Big Pants came to the show to see their pants in action!

Kloe and Amber joined Widow Twankey for mince pies and spiced apple juice and got to see their designs up close and personal, after the evenings performance.

Well done girls. Your Big Pants have become part of panto history at Watersmeet!

Guess who's coming to panto today?

Yes there can only be one visitor we are all so eagerly awaiting today...Father Christmas!
Yippee!
And the old man of Christmas has promised to take time out from his hectic round the world in some many hours journey to make an appearance in old Peking during today's performances of Aladdin.

So let the bells ring out for Christmas and if you see a sleigh being pulled by Rudolph hovering over the Watersmeet roof you'll know why...

Our reviewer from The Stage said...

Aladdin
Published Monday 22 December 2008 at 12:40 by Scott Matthewman

Rickmansworth’s latest pantomime starts off well even before curtain up, as The Citrus Brothers warm up the audience and ensure their full engagement with the story as soon as the principal characters arrive.

Maurice Thorogood is suitably demonic as Abanazer, while John Brenner plays Widow Twankey as a Bristolian Amy Winehouse lookalike that is extremely likeable, with a natural pace to the humour that is complemented, rather than overshadowed, by the outlandish costumes.

As the romantic leads, Jonathan Eio and Kelle Bryan are suitably sweet, but when the musical numbers start they really shine. Eio’s musical theatre experience allows him to wring every nuance from the bland pop numbers Aladdin is given, while former Eternal singer Bryan demonstrates an astonishing voice that X Factor winners could only dream of.

Real star of the show, though, must be Peter Duncan as Wishee Washee. Demonstrating a boundless energy that is as infectious as it is exhausting to watch, he helps propel the audience along, which comes in especially useful at the end of the rather-too-long first act.
Combined with dynamic choreography from Louise Travis, who also plays a dual role as two very distinct Genies, the result is a delightful piece of family entertainment.

Worried of Watersmeet...

This observer had the pleasure of accompanying Widow Twankey on a shopping spree to Waitrose last Friday night.

The glamorous dame dressed for the occasion! Big Pants, outrageous hat, shiny boots and a dress that wouldn't have been out of place in Gone with the Wind.

Did she cause a stir?

No. Not a second glance, not a double take, not any looks of horror or amusement which can only mean one thing... this has to be normal attire for Rickmansworth shoppers!

Waitrose Community Performance

It's a very special time at Watersmeet today.
Our sponsors Waitrose Rickmansworth have donated over £3000 of tickets for this evenings performance of Aladdin to families who would not normally get to see a pantomime.

Waitrose Rickmansworth have also arranged for a special visit from Father Christmas this evening who will be giving all the children a gift.

We will also have our two competition winners Lauren and Kloe joining all our special guests, along with many councillors and reviewers of the show.

But, before we get to this evenings performance, the cast have another show at 2pm and then Widow Twankey will be calling into the Waitrose store to do some Christmas shopping so if you're in the aisles around about 5pm this evening, be scared...be very, very scared! This observer has been to Waitrose with the Dame before and I can only say it is an experience...

PC Ping & PC Pong take on Chelsea FC this evening!

Our very clever coppers Ping and Pong will be dissing the glamour and spectacle of old Peking for Stamford Bridge this evening when they turn back into Orange and Lemon, the two halves that make the very talented Citrus Brothers.

Orange and Lemon will be at Chelsea's football ground to entertain 11,000 people in a night of Christmas carols and merriment!

We reckon the final score will be a victory for the Citrus Brothers and the crowds wont be left feeling blue...!

Some of our cast met in a previous life...!

Well kinda!

The lovely Maurice and Matt have both been at Watersmeet before. Back in 1985 Maurice appeared in the pantomime Babes in the Wood with Brian Conley and guess who was in the audience as an 11 year old boy watching his first panto? Matt Blossom, who now appears as one half of our comedy coppers PCs Ping and Pong!

8 performances down...loads more to go!

4000 people has passed through the doors and into old Peking over the last few days. The venue is surviving...there's always the piles of vomit from over excited children but we had a classic on Friday night when a little girl was hit in the face by her brother! It was an accident and there was no permanent damage but she was a little giddy for a while!

Our action man hero Peter Duncan has been throwing himself on and off the stage, climbing the auditorium walls and swinging from ropes but he now has a black eye. And he didn't get it performing on the Watersmeet stage either! Believe it or not, he got it through putting his Christmas tree up at home!

We did it!

Evening all! We've just performed Aladdin for the first time and the 500 kids watching loved it!! Matt even managed to remember those dance moves!! The show is amazing-come and see it or Ping & Pong will pay you a visit!

Matt and Mike

It's show time and Wendy has popped into the Green Room

Wendy is our Box Office & Admin Supervisor.

Watersmeet (wmt): How many pantos have you been a part of?
Wendy: This will be my second.

wmt: What's been the best moment of rehearsals so far or the build up to opening night?
Wendy: Watching Ping & Pong with all the children at the launch back in September.

wmt: Have you had anything testing, tricky or particularly difficult to do this week or during the run?
Wendy: Getting everything organised for next year's pantomime Snow White which goes on sale today!

wmt: If you had to identify to a character from Aladdin, who would it be and why?
Wendy: Wishee Washee cause I'm always washing and ironing!

wmt: What's you favourite panto and why?
Wendy: Peter Pan because I was named after one of the characters by my sister after our Nan read her the story when I was being born.

wmt: How will you be feeling at the opening performance of Aladdin and how will you feel when the curtain comes down on the final performance?
Wendy: Relieved - it's all finally come together and sad when the curtain goes down at the end of the run cause I'll really miss the cast and the hustle & bustle

Friday 12 December & Maurice has popped into the Green Room

We're just over an hour away from curtain going up on the first show! Everyone is ready to go and really excited!

Yesterday went well. We ran two dress rehearsals. The first dress showed the crew and cast how the show worked, the speed we needed for scene changes and quick costume changes and from this we had an overall running time for the show.

I needed to make a few cuts because we were over running slightly and we ran these in the second dress rehearsal. The show time is now perfect at just over two hours.

So in a few minutes time we will all be on stage for a vocal and physical warm up before we get into costume and then it will be curtain up on the first of 44 performances!