Past Pavilion: SCAMPS Pantomimes

We have already featured pantomimes in past issues and make no apology for turning the clock back to the time when the Pavilion would echo to the sound of children yelling out “He’s behind you!” or interacting with one of the characters in an exchange of “Oh yes it is ….Oh no it isn’t”.

We are going to look at two productions of “Dick Whittington” staged in the 1953/4 and 1962/3 post Christmas periods.

The knight and his steed are pictured outside “The Crown” in a publicity shot for the upcoming performance of “Dick Whittington.” No prizes for guessing from where the horse was obtained.

Selsey Topics

The third pantomime staged by the SCAMPS was remarkable for a village the size of Selsey. From the composition of much of the music, the writing of the lyrics, the design of the scenery, the design and execution of most of the costumes in addition to the parts played by the cast including delightful dancing and ballet. No praise can be too high for the production which was enjoyed by nearly full houses throughout.

John Bunn had a part which suited him admirably and once again Dick Appleby and Roy Balcomb provided the comic element very well. This was the first occasion that Toni May has had the principal part. She not only looked delightful but showed no sign of nervousness.

Once again we can all be grateful to Stuart Bedells for his immense labours in organising the show and may hope the result has proved a full reward for his efforts. But, he would be the first to admit it really was a team affair. Congratulations to all.

It snowed and snowed… but the show went on at Selsey

The stage tradition the “the show must go on” was faithfully followed by the Selsey Comedy And Musical Production Society when it gave the first performance of the very successful pantomime “Dick Whittington” in the Pavilion Cinema on Saturday.

The cast battled their way through snow and the curtain went up on time. However, the weather kept a large part of the audience away. One block booking of people on Tuesday night failed to arrive as the coach could not complete the journey, but those who did turn up have been appreciative audiences.

The play was Muriel Browning’s first production of this kind in Selsey and the show ranks as one of the most successful yet presented by SCAMPS. The beautiful costumes were aided by very effective stage lighting. Dick Whittington was extremely well played by Elizabeth de Courcy Hughes. Breaking with tradition, the dame’s part was played by a woman, Olive Bedells, whose role as a comedy character was seen at its best.

Observer Newspapers 4th January 1963

The cats and rats ballet scene. In the performances it was staged under ultra violet lighting meaning only the rats claws and eyes could be seen on the darkened stage. The green and mauve dresses of the slaves glowed as they danced.

The Big Freeze

The aforementioned snow that fell in late 1962 heralded one of the hardest winters in living memory. The snow was still on the ground in March! As a seven year old, walking to school in short trousers at that time, I can vividly recall the depth of snow and the frigid temperatures. Unlike modern times, we made it to school and it never closed for the duration of the freeze. We had to heat our bottles of milk next to the radiator, if the boiler was working, to melt the ice that often pushed the cap off the bottle! Using the outside toilets was particularly unpleasant… I will leave the rest to your imagination!

This is me in short trousers in warmer climes, on our farm in Brighton, with our guard dog “Rex”. The winter of 1962-63 was to be our last on the farm. Given that I used an outside “privy” and bathed in an old tin bath in front of the fire the move to a house with a fully functioning bathroom was a most welcome surprise.

I discovered a fellow pupil at my school (Paul Clarkson) contributed to the “My Brighton and Hove” website in 2012 marking the 50th anniversary of the start of the “Big Freeze”.

“I remember the winter of 1962/63; I was 5 years old in the 2nd year at Moulsecoomb Infants School. One day we opened our front door and the snow had drifted halfway up the frame. However, the coal and milk were still delivered. One of my memories is that I didn’t get my first pair of long trousers until I went to senior school. When it was announced at assembly that the boiler wasn’t working we kept our coats on for the rest of the day and went home at the usual time.”