'Oh yes it will!' - Bognor's only panto returns for another year

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Bognor’s only pantomime is set to return to the stage later this month – just in time for Christmas.

The show – a fun, friendly and festive rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk – comes to Jeneses Community Centre, in Bognor Regis, on December 28 at 3pm. Tickets cost £10 and are available at the community centre’s foodbank.

Organiser Jennifer Jones said she set about staging the show because, with work on The Alexandra Theatre set to continue well into next year and beyond, there was a chance that the children of Bognor Regis might have to do without a proper pantomime this year.

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It follows on from a production of Cinderella last year which, she said, went down a treat with kids, parents, and panto-pundits of all ages. “They’re still not able to do anything at the Alexandra Theatre, so we’ve got Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s just somewhere for the kids to come at Christmas, and at a pretty reasonable price.”

Jack and the Beanstalk follows on from last year's performance of Cinderella.Jack and the Beanstalk follows on from last year's performance of Cinderella.
Jack and the Beanstalk follows on from last year's performance of Cinderella.

The play will be performed by Chaplin’s Pantos, who performed last year’s show, too, and, if that rendition of Cinderella is anything to go by, audiences are in for a rare treat. “We had 100 people or so turn up last year, and they were really good. They come in, set the show up, get into costume and perform, and then take it all down again., and there’s all the jokes and fun you’d expect."

Chaplin’s Pantos is one of the biggest producers of touring pantomimes in the UK, playing to half a million children every year, with a history stretching all the way back to 1994. Their website – Chaplinspantos.co.uk- says shows give children exactly what they want from a good panto: “fun, comedy, excitement, adventure, sing-a-long, and plenty of audience participation.”

​It comes while Bognor’s main stage, the Alexandra Theatre, is out of commission for multi-million pound renovation works not expected to end until 2026.

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The extensive redesign involves a partial demolition of the existing building and should, once complete, see the introduction of 22 new seats in the main auditorium, a cafe, improved facilities, sight lines and legroom, and five new studios complete with sprung floors and technical facilities.

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