Snow White Aftermath!
Record-Breaking Community Effort Powers This Year’s Penallt Panto
Directed by Tom Rigby
Preparations for this year’s Penallt Panto began back in August, with casting and early production work completed by September. Rehearsals then settled into a twice‑weekly rhythm as the team brought the show to life. Costumes and set requirements were mapped out early, but this year’s production also embraced new technology that dramatically reduced the amount of traditional scenery painting needed. The result was faster scene changes and valuable learning that will benefit future shows.
The scale of community involvement was remarkable. A cast of 25 performers— including six enthusiastic children—took to the stage, delivering acting, singing and dancing that delighted audiences. Behind the scenes, more than 25 additional volunteers supported the production, from PR and front‑of‑house helpers to the Hall’s bar staff over the show weekend.
In total, over 50 people contributed directly to making the Panto a success.
Audience support was equally impressive. More than 350 people attended across the performances, joining in with the laughter, singing and traditional panto hissing. Many ticket sales came through word of mouth, supported by social media promotion and eye‑catching posters around the local area and in Monmouth.
For organisers, the Panto is far more than “another opening, another show.” It has become a true community event—one that brings people together, offers opportunities for all ages and strengthens village life in Penallt.
The production also provides an important financial boost to Pelham Hall, helping to cover annual running costs and ensuring the Hall continues to serve the community.
With another successful year completed, the Panto team extends heartfelt thanks to everyone who took part, helped behind the scenes or came along to enjoy the show.
A selection of performance photographs from Andy Henstridge - Click an image for the full-sized version
Panto Backdrops
The decision to use front projection for the scenery backdrops rather than traditional painted drapes was made at the beginning of the project. A powerful short-throw projector was needed, angled at roughly 45 degrees to avoid shadows of actors being cast. Once that had been sourced, the task of designing the projected images could begin.
This job was made so much easier via the use of AI. Various tools were tried and it emerged that Google Gemini was the best on offer. The very first image we wanted was for “The village of Much Snoring” so Google Gemini was given the description “This should be a full-stage setting, the usual village-green type set with a flat or flats representing the exterior of Tom Bowler's inn to one side, It is quite fun to call the inn The Queen's Head with a painting of The Wicked Queen on the inn sign."
Much fine tuning was then needed with many options being rejected or changed radically so some 82 images were produced at the end of this process from which the final 10 were selected - shown below. Click an image for the full-sized version.
