Rapunzel

I have been involved with the Cumnor Players since it began in 2007. I started off in the chorus but by 2010, I’d been Peter Pan and directed my first ever show. It turns out that directing is as much fun as being on stage. It is pretty much like trying to herd cats whilst paint a beautiful picture and answer ten questions a minute, standing on one leg. It requires a great deal of multi-tasking but I enjoy that.

I have never seen Rapunzel as a play or a panto so I thought it was time that The Cumnor Players were let loose on the story. The writing team was brilliant. They let me come along for the evenings in the pub where they thrashed out ideas and made each other laugh. Ian Bannerman took on the major writing role and Jan Kowal and I helped with the funnies. My thanks goes to both of them. I really enjoyed the process and the finished script.

This year, I’m aiming for a traditional panto, fast-paced and silly. There is magic, an invisible tower, an oversized wig and plenty of ridiculous characters. We have recruited some amazing actors and they’re well on the way to giving us a great performance. I laugh a lot at all the rehearsals. We have some old hands to keep the scenes moving and plenty of new faces keep us fresh, including our dame who is ridiculously young for one so competent.

This year we also have nits on stage. You might want to wear a hat...

One new dilemma faced this year has been getting Covid but we didn’t let it get in the way - Oh no we didn’t. With the help of my brilliant and supportive producer, Jenny, I managed to direct (sort of) via zoom.

I can’t wait to share it all with you - the panto not the covid. See you in December!

Jules Pottle, Director of Rapunzel

Rapunzel Programme