Markyate Amateur Dramatics Society

The Phantomime was a bit of a gamble for the MADS cast and crew. Ghosts, Vampires and things that go bump in the night are not necessarily your traditional panto characters, but right from the start, the cast made the characters come alive with humour and verve. The story is about a local lad, Bernard, and his quest to win the hand of  Gwendolen, the woman he loves. Accompanied by his three friends, Albert, Amelia and George, he goes on a journey to prove to Gwendolen and the people of the village that he is brave enough to get rid of Dracula, the menace that has plagued them for many years. They go off in search of Van Helsing, the legendary vampire hunter, and together they head off to find Igor, a mad scientist. Igor provides them with an antidote to Vampiricism, and they creep off to Dracula’s castle to administer the potion. Dracula drinks it, and is then able to go out in the daylight – as a normal person. In the end, Dracula, his family and the whole village are friends and Gwendolen agrees to marry Bernard. A panto-tastic thriller with a happy ending!

Along the way, Bernard and his companions encounter cowboys, dancing girls and a band of mexican bandits; Dracula and his brother, Vespa, make a trifle; the gang are chased away from the graveyard by dancing zobmies and ghosts and Dracula and Mrs Drcula hold a strictly come dancing competition at their party. All with the help of three witches, the village children, a skeleton, a mummy, and the local lollipop lady. Sound crazy? Probably… But we loved it!