Members of Haddenham Youth Theatre ably entertained large audiences at two performances of their double bill show on Saturday 1st March..
Seven young Junior Group actors presented "The Pirates of Pie-Pantz!", a story of pirates in search of a magic pie.
A group of retired pirates, who live at the Tidy Trout OAP Home, are facing financial hardship which is threatening the future of their home. One day they discover an old treasure map, so Captain Beardface (played by Joshua) and his Old Age Pirate crew decide to go on one last adventure. They have twists and turns along the way and despite having to face sea monster Octavia the Grim (acted by Finlay), they successfully retrieve the Magic Pie and bring it back home on their pirate ship.
Captain Beardface's pirates were played by Amy, Antoinette, Lucy, Piper and Sophie. The Junior Group worked really well together, all looked brilliant, spoke their lines with confidence and were a pleasure to watch.
The second performance "Death on Deck" was presented by a large cast from the HYT Senior Group.
An eccentric bunch of guests arrive in Cairo to board cruise ship 'Le Canard Villain', recently acquired by Vilasini Glitter (played by Lyla). She has invited aristocrats, actresses and others to join her maiden cruise, aided by steward, Monroe Tussaud (Molly), Captain Parmalat (Libby) and her loyal sidekick, Alibi Antonelli (Hattie).
The ship sets sail and chaos ensues. The fast-paced plot included screams in the night, theft of medicines and a special necklace plus a complex web of secret affairs! Nothing was as it seemed and the audience were led through a tale of intrigue and revelations, assisted by retired detective Drew Chase (thanks to Amelia for stepping in at 2 weeks notice).
The costumes, hair and makeup were all excellent, with several of the cast having to make swift costume changes throughout the show. The "whodunnit" atmosphere was further enhanced by the theme tune of 'Hercule Poirot' playing at every scene change, which were very efficiently managed the stage team.
A show like this is only made possible by a strong leader – congratulations to Hannah Austin for directing both performances – and a huge team of volunteers behind the scenes.
Thank you, and well done to everyone involved.
A selection of photographs has been posted to the Galleries section of this website.
Many more images are featured on the Haddenham Flickr page – the Junior's production here
and the Senior's production here
Haddenham Youth Theatre has a Facebook page and can be contacted through HYTmembership@gmail.co.uk
Francesca Flaxton
