Once again we’re getting close to Christmas, and while we’ll all get caught up in Christmas shopping and parties with our friends before the end of term, if you’re really looking for something festive to get involved in there could be nothing better than a cracking pantomime to enjoy.
The delightful £40 Theatre Company returns this year to The Bent Brief for their 8th annual charity pantomime, this year titled The Belle’s Stratagem. The cast and crew are drawn from all over Southampton, including students, lecturers and Southampton locals alike, I was fortunate enough to count myself amongst the company last year, in what turned out to be a brilliant performance of The Government Inspector and I can honestly say that this year the company have once again outdone themselves. The Belle’s Stratagem even in a rehearsal preview was riotously funny and so charming that it seems nigh-on unmissable.
In traditional £40 Theatre Company style the pantomime is not your typical show, the plot is a re-working of a restoration play of the same name, but updated and re-written expertly by Clare Mence in her directorial debut with the company. The cast too are not typical, instead it’s very much an ensemble of amiable amateurs putting on a delightful show to raise money for charity; what more could you ask for from the festive period?
I shant divulge the plot of the pantomime because I wouldn’t want to spoil any laughs, suffice to say that it moved along at a brilliant pace and the jokes just kept coming and hitting the mark more often than not. It truly is something very worthwhile to go and see, and for the price (see below!) it’s a great evening really worth every penny; which all goes, this year, to a charity called Chapter One, a young people’s homeless charity. So if you’ve been to any £40 Theatre Company performances before, or if you’ve never heard of them, now is the time to get tickets and get involved in what is a great way to cap off the autumn university term.
The Belle’s Stratagem,
Running from the 14th to the 18th of December at The Bent Brief (pub next to the Tesco on Lodge Road), tickets as follows: Tuesday £4 in advance, £5 on the door, Wednesday through Saturday £5 in advance and £6 on the door. There will also be a raffle and live music following the performance.
