Amateur documentary film produced by Peter Dobing and George Theaker recording rehearsals and preparations for the pantomime ‘Aladdin’ produced and directed by Muriel Jones and Brian Kent and performed by residents of the village of Haughton-le-Skerne in Darlington. It took place in the village hall on Stockton Road. Title: Peter Dobing and George Theaker presents Title: “Remember You Have an Audience!” Title: The Rehearsals of a Pantomime Title: By the Combined Churches in the Parish...

Amateur documentary film produced by Peter Dobing and George Theaker recording rehearsals and preparations for the pantomime ‘Aladdin’ produced and directed by Muriel Jones and Brian Kent and performed by residents of the village of Haughton-le-Skerne in Darlington. It took place in the village hall on Stockton Road. Title: Peter Dobing and George Theaker presents Title: “Remember You Have an Audience!” Title: The Rehearsals of a Pantomime Title: By the Combined Churches in the Parish Haughton-le-Skerne County Durham General view of a stage with a painted backdrop showing a ‘Rag Boutique’ shop. A man in hair-curlers, wearing lipstick, looks through the doorway, turns and begins to perform ‘Just an Old Fashioned Girl’ during rehearsals. Other actors sit around the stage reading through scripts. A man stands beside a lectern at the front of the stage flicking through a set cue cards. The song ends and those watching begin to applaud. A different man and woman are now on stage standing over a large box. She attempts to remove the lid but it sticks causing those standing around to begin to laugh. The lid finally removed, she takes out a shawl and the two begin to rehearse a scene from the pantomime. A woman standing on the edge of the stage follows the performance from the script.   On the floor of the hall, a group of people work to create a number of sets and backdrops which they set up on the stage. Other work to prepare and set up the lighting takes place. Two men discuss green or blue filters for a spotlight. In a smaller anteroom a woman sits at a piano and begins to play, accompanied in song by a man. A second man rehearses them.  Back on the stage,  a man dressed stereotypically as a Chinese man performs another song from the pantomime. Sitting along the side of the stage, other members of the cast and crew watch, some enjoying a cup of tea. An older girl leads a number of mainly younger girls through a doorway into the hall onto the stage as part of another scene from the pantomime. They stand in pairs, and accompanied by other actors, perform a dance routine. Everyone is now in costume and dancing. The children are dressed as either Smurfs or garden gnomes. A man with a long mustache is dressed as Wonder Woman. The performance ends and those in the hall begin to applaud, a woman seated at the edge of the stage smiles happily. A home-made carriage with an ‘L’ plate on the rear is pushed on stage. Two young boys have problems pulling the carriage around the stage with its female passenger. Off stage, people begin to laugh and applaud once the carriage begins to move with more ease. People sit around the hall while two men on stage rehearse the Swedish pop group Abba’s ‘Money Money Money’. Muriel Jones watches intently, giving directions and dancing along with the two men. Another man accompanies her for part of the routine. The performance ends and everyone begins to applaud. Next, a line of small boys with an older girl at the rear comes on stage in a conga line and perform a dance routine. One of the directors stands in the background. On the other side of the stage, two men perform a song that the children are accompanying. They finish and those in the hall applaud. At a dress rehearsal two characters practice their parts on the stage. Boys perform their routine as ‘bobbies on the beat’ with other adults in the cast.  Backstage, a number of costumed children wait for their cue to go on stage. Characters from the pantomime come onto the stage and begin to perform a song and dance routine of ‘Be Back Soon’. Some of the younger cast stand in front of, rather than on the stage. The sequence ends with stage curtains closing. The audience arrive at the hall to take their seats. Backstage, cast members, young and old, finalize costumes and make up. A woman, probably Muriel Jones gives the cast a pep talk and reminds them they are now performing for a real audience. Various views of the stage and the full cast begin to perform the opening number of Cole Porter’s ‘Another Op’nin, Another Show’. The song comes to an end and the audience claps. End title: The Pantomime was produced and directed by Muriel Jones and Brian Kent. Lighting by Derek Mathieson. ed by Muriel Jones and Brian Kent.