Hickory Dickory Dock

Mount Tabor pantomime strikes the funny bone

Mary (Sage Noxon) and David (Duncan Smith) perform a song and dance number in the pantomime.

The Marysburgh Mummers is offering up another production that will surely leave the audience all wound up in laughter. The all-ages cast brings Hickory Dickory Dock to the Mount Tabor stage for just five performances this week. The play tells the tale of penurious Dame Foxtrot (played with gleeful abandon by Pat Larkin) whose only assets are her beautiful daughter Mary (played by Sage Noxon) and an old grandfather clock that has not worked in over a century. Trapped in the clock is the villainous Black Imp, who will be set free when the clock strikes—you guessed it—one. Enter the nefarious Wizard of Bong, who needs to free the Black Imp to further his unsavoury ambitions. What follows is a comedic romp through the realms of the Fairy Queen and the Queen of the Sea, where henchmen are not particularly adept at henching, and where intelligence may be an overrated quantity, and eventually where the good guys give the bad guys their comeuppance and (almost) everybody lives happily ever after. There is a good dose of wry County references, as well as a cameo appearance by an exasperated Snow White. As usual, audience participation is encouraged, with boos for the baddies and a singalong to what is probably the most annoying song of the decade. The rest of the musical offerings is exceptionally good, with a five-piece band led by music director Annelise Noronha. Young Mary and her fortuitously appearing love-interest David (played by Duncan Smith) have a show-stopping song and dance number among the slew of toe-tapping tunes.

This is the second pantomime from the team of Kyle Watson and Lori Farrington after an absence of nearly 15 years. Every show from last year’s Snow White was sold out, and so far this year’s ticket sales have been very good. The on-stage cast numbers about 20, and they range in age from five to 75. “It’s awesome to work with all ages, but it’s a challenge because how you explain something to someone who’s 75 is very different from how you might explain it to someone who’s five,” says Farrington. “It takes a lot of patience on everybody’s part. The kids have to be patient with the adults as we can be crotchety, and the adults have to be patient with the kids because they are learning at a different pace—although sometimes they learn quicker than the adults.”

The age range also makes it difficult when it comes to comedy. “You’re mining really old jokes that were hilarious 40 years before the kids in the show were even born,” says Watson. “You have to explain to the children why this is particularly funny, because they have to understand why it’s funny in order to deliver it successfully.” Fortunately the availability of countless shows on YouTube means that the kids get homework they can actually enjoy.

The Black Imp (Lori Farrington) revels in her freedom, much to the consternation of henchman Slap (Robin Everhardus).

The show started rehearsals in September, which is a fairly long lead time. That time was necessary to give the children a long enough period to learn their lines, and as well to accommodate actors such as Pat Larkin and Cheryl Singer who were involved in other productions. Even with the challenges, working with and all-ages cast is very satisfying for Farrington. “The kids get a lot out of this on many levels, and the adults too” she says. “I know how much I got out of it when I first started, and still continue to get out of it. I love watching the children blossom and take leadership roles and gain confidence as being part of a team creating something. You don’t always get that opportunity to have those connections in the community, but theatre is one of those places where you can still do that.”

Sage Noxon is one of the youngsters who has taken on a major role in this production. This is her 14th Mummers play, first appearing in Oliver! as a chimney sweep when she was seven years old. “It’s been really fun learning the lines, and I’m one of the lead characters and I get to be in a lot of the scenes and see different people acting,” she says. “It’s been harder, but a lot more fun being able to be on stage more and talk more.” She says she used to be “completely insane” and run around and be noisy all over the stage when she was little, and contrasts that with the kids she is now working with. “They actually behave and listen. It’s amazing. You don’t need to do much to keep them behaved.”

There will be five performances of the pantomime, including a special half-price performance today (Wednesday) that was added in response to last year’s shows being sold out. There are evening performances on Thursday and Friday, with matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday to make it more accessible to families with young children. Tickets cost $20 (or $10 on Wednesday) and are available from Books & Company, The Rossmore Stop and The General, as well as at the door if not sold out.