Panto season goes on with village production of Moonfleet
Tales of smugglers, a stolen diamond and a dashing young man are entertaining audiences young and old as they are brought to life in this year's Rhydycroesau pantomime.
The popular panto group, which has been going for 36 years, has a rule never to perform the same pantomime twice, and so this year's show, Moonfleet, is a departure from the more traditional fairy tale stories,
Cast member Jonathon Jones, from Aston, near Oswestry, said Moonfleet had been a popular children's story for many years and that the tale makes an excellent pantomime.
"It's quite a well-known storyline which has been used in schools quite a lot," he said.
"We've always said we never do the same panto twice, which is why we do some that are slightly different, because we don't want to double up.
"There's plenty of booing and cheering and 'he's behind you' for the audience to join in with possibly more than in traditional pantomimes.
"There's a lot of fun and laughter for all ages."
The cast includes performers as young as seven all the way up to grandparents,and Mr Jones said it was great to see the younger performers coming back year after year.
He said: "We have quite a few young children and they are the ones who really matters most.
"They're the ones that catch the eye on stage.
"The great thing about the panto is that they're then mixing with older children and adults and it gives them such a confidence boost it's great to see."
Moonfleet is a tale of smuggling by English novelist J Meade Falkner and was first published in 1898. It has been turned into a film and a TV series.
Performances started on January 10 and Mr Jones said all the shows so far have been sell-outs.
Moonfleet runs every weekend until February 7 with performances at 7.30pm in Rhydycroesau Village Hall. Tickets cost £5 adults and £2.50 children and must be bought in advance from Park Avenue Stores, Mount Road, Oswestry, on (01691) 652524.
