Our third original pantomime, ‘Live and Let Leigh’ has just wrapped! The story was a collaboration between Leigh residents Michele Restieux (who directed the show) and Steve Batchelor (who wrote the script). 

The cast encompassed an age range of 12-86. Technical project management, set design and production was ably headed by Jacqui Wordsworth, the incredible costumes (including a pantomime shark) were designed and created by Jill Alldis and a stunning film-like soundtrack was composed and produced by John Gildersleeve.

This production proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that whilst we may be an ‘amateur’ company, we have professional standards and ambitious aims! For our Bond inspired show, we completely transformed the Large Village Hall into a professional theatre, complete with an entire wall of LED screen, top quality sound and lighting, a snow machine and many other special effects.

Our heroine was Jane Bond, and the evil villains, who made up the Special Parish Executive Council for Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion (or sPeCtre), were bent on controlling the flood barrier, so they could flood Leigh to create an underwater world where they would rule.

The show started with a professional Bond-esque movie title sequence (directed and filmed by Leigh resident Ed Saunders), and then took the audience through many well-known and beloved Leigh locations to recover the code for the flood barrier and thwart the villains. There were many highlights, but the snowball fight, with members of the audience felling villains whilst the snow fell all around, was spectacular! The massive LED screen was used to optimum effect to give a very immersive feel an authenticity to the set, using photo and video footage from Leigh and further afield.

Leigh versions of all your favourite Bond characters were in evidence, including three pantomime dames: Pushy Galore, Fleur Dailly and Bridget Legion; plus some unforgettable villains (No. 1, Bell Ringer, Mrs Overall, No.7, Chops to name but a few). 

The story had Leigh as a village full of MLeigh6 agents, where chief of command Mmmm was in charge, assisted by the treacherous MoanyPenny, Jane Bond herself and, of course, Q. Trainee sPeCtre agents were being taught assassination techniques in the village school, and the Small Village Hall was type-cast as a den of iniquity.

All the classic Bond set pieces (snow, underwater, martial arts, sharks, capture and interrogation) were in evidence, and some of Leigh’s iconic locations were given the Bond treatment - a Superstars competition, a meat raffle and cabaret in the British Legion, a martial arts fight at the Cricket Club, fish and chips on the Green whilst assassin Mrs Overall tried (and failed) to eliminate Jane Bond. All this was supported by three of our top singers providing solo and backing vocals.

A perfect foil to the high-tech LED screen were the foam board set models, which included the Moby Dick’s fish and chip van, a snow truck and most memorable of all, the white Lotus Esprit S1, which Jane Bond and her trusty side-kick Q used to go underwater and unlock the flood barrier.

All this for a £13 ticket. The project couldn't have gone ahead without funding from the Parish Council, VolkerStevin and the Sevenoaks Cultural Development Fund.

We all had a blast, and we’re already looking forward to planning what we will do next. In the meantime, if you feel inspired to join our friendly and supportive group, email us leighperformingarts@gmail.com

Due to the restrictions brought into place we were unable to put on another panto this year, but we still managed to put on a festive performance in a different form. Use the link below to watch  "A Christmas Carol" read by the characters themselves.

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