The Kettle Creek Players embrace the mayhem and misbehaviour of the British pantomime tradition.

There’s some real funny business going on at Central United Church.

For a third year, the Kettle Creek Players are staging a holiday pantomime at the Wellington Street church.

This year, 45 cast and crew have been rehearsing from as far back as last spring to tell the tale of The Wicked Witches of Oz. Written by Brit Peter Nuttall, it’s a bona fide British panto where mayhem and misbehaviour reign, and audiences are invited to cheer the good guys while booing the bad.

Jessica Fediw co-directs the show with Judy Cormier, and says rehearsals have been too much fun.

“It is, honestly, from a director’s standpoint, the most hilarious show I’ve seen.

“The actors in this, they all work so well together and it is so funny. We’re still laughing. They’re supposed to be in character on stage, and they are still laughing at each other.”

Indeed, that was the focus of this week leading up to Friday’s opening – keeping the Kettle Creek players in character.

The panto follows the familiar story of Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion in the Land of Oz. But because it is a panto, there’s a twist to everything after a twister whisks Dorothy away from Kansas.

There’s even a witch-off.

“There’s a Witches Got Talent scene ,and they are trying to figure out who’s the most evil in the land. It’s a hoot. It’s so funny.”

Playing Dorothy is 22-year-old Haley Gordon, a recent graduate of the musical theatre program offered by Queen’s University and St. Lawrence College.

“I went to school for musical theatre so having a panto on a resume looks really good when you are auditioning for another one,” says the young actor.

“It’s been so much fun to really learn about a panto and be in it,” she adds of her first acting experience outside of school.

Principal players include Samantha Daniel, Alli Joseph, Jill D’Amour, Alex Hanson, Tracy Freeman, Lisa Kelch, Alicia Atterbury, Roger Jack, Charlie Vernackt, Jonathan Giles, Ruth Pickersgill, Sarina Gall and Cathy Ahara.

Evening and matinee performances are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets can be purchased by clicking through Eventbrite.ca

The group has a website at kettlecreekplayers.ca.

Sunday’s early forecast calls for a near-seasonal 4 C and a good chance of flurries or rain showers.

But attendees at the annual community Christmas Carol Sing that each year kicks off a traditional St. Thomas yuletide won’t have to heed the event’s familiar warning to “dress warmly” this year.

With the sing’s regular venue – the unheated pioneer Old St. Thomas Church and its snuggly box pews currently closed for cleanup after badly needed plasterwork (gosh, but doesn’t plaster dust get everywhere!) – the 3 p.m. sing on Sunday afternoon has been moved to the St. Thomas Salvation Army’s citadel on Elm Street.

It is heated, although Rev. Canon Nick Wells, the Old St. Thomas chaplain,........

© Sarnia Observer