I just want to point out to Georgiou Kinkladze, that many of the more indignant comments above are from people who came to see the panto, not those that were actually in it. Though granted anon comments too.

We’ve just come to accept that Nouse don’t really like Panto and that’s all good, its not for everyone. Pantoers shouldn’t get annoyed because Nouse have the right to review it as they want to, and thats fine, free press and all that.

No more comments from Pantsoc, its all done and dusted, we loved it and the audience seemed to love it and that’s all that really matters! Standing ovation woop woop. Well done one and all, we had an awesome time and made amazing friends! Yay for Pantomime.

If anything defines pantosoc it’s going to be the first booming words I heard from Will seaward, “Come into my arms”, followed by a hug from the guy I met 5 seconds ago.

Pantosoc is about inclusiveness and generally trying our best to make people laugh. If we did the first I’m happy, the second is just icing on the cake.

Making each other laugh is not a mark of whether a production is successful. Rather it is making those with no involvement laugh and it seems that once more PantSoc failed to do so. Then again why would you guys want to change a losing formula? It would rob you of the chance to be indignant that you seem to relish every time you stage a new production.

I really dont think a published review is an appropriate place to point out people’s camel toes. Maybe if you were in Ziggy’s, having a cheeky vodka-based drink and someone walked past wearing PVC hotpants revealing a vertical precipice, a sideways grimace if you will, you may lean over to your best pal and whisper breathlessly… ‘Camel toe…’ But not in a review darlings. What if plays at the RSC were reviewed on camel toes? There would surely be oblivion.

I thought the pantomime was spiffing! They did incredibly well… do you know they performed it entirely outside??? They had to cope with no lighting, no acoustics and frequent fowl and they did it with great panache!

Sorry to kick up a fuss sweeties, but you are clearly in no place to criticise people’s knickers, as when it comes to panto, yours seem to be perpetually in a twist.

And it was certainly an enjoyable way to pass the evening: from the sprinting scene-placards, to the nightmares (“I’m orange!” “I’m yellow!” “Nothing rhymes with us!”), to Merlin (easily the best character on stage) and his rivalry with Gandalf, and the Lady of the Lake and her poor unfortunate Crabsquire. I’m very glad I went, and I’d be interested to know how many people agree – and how many take the view of Miss Hogarth-Jones. It is good to see that Nouse have, this time around, tried to understand what is to be expected of a pantomime (and credit to the writer there); it is a shame, however, that they still seem to arrive at the event expecting to see something very different to the promised event (consider a reviewer criticising the work of an Impressionist painter because it “isn’t sufficiently realistic” – it may be true in some respects, but it’s completely missing the point of what Impressionism is).

Thankyou, Pantosoc, for a great production, and congratulations. I hope you all, as ever, remain polite. Nouse – please, next time around, do try a bit harder to get into the spirit of things; criticise where relevant, certainly, but do be more aware of the standards and limits of the genre.

So, hats off to the reviewer for keeping with Nouse’s proud tradition of slandering the Panto despite completely contrasting with public opinion.

In all seriousness, well done to every single person who was involved with the Sword in the Stone. An absolutely fantastic job all round.

Tut tut, Nouse…..tut tut.

It’s a pantomime , thanks for coming!

Whereas most of Pantsoc’s previous efforts suffered from meandering plots and scenes that went on so long they kicked themselves to death (something Nouse never failed to point out), Sword in the Stone’s triumph was its succinct, well-crafted and really entertaining storyline. Not one line or character was out of place and surely even this miserable reviewer must have enjoyed the superb final scene, where all the subplots crashed satisfyingly into each other for the epic battle!

It’s even more baffling that they’ve called it “an excess of everything”, when it was easily the most low-key and stripped down panto in living memory. (and the shortest!) Pantsoc have proven that they can put on a fantastic show without lavish scenery and even without Will Seaward!

And as for the performance, there were so many show stealers it’s impossible to pick a favourite! Well done Pantsoc! I loved it!! Don’t worry about the review. Next year, you’ll put on another terrific show and Nouse will endeavour to be disappointed by it all over again.

p.s. you can NEVER have too much moustache twiddling!

Thank you very much for acknowledging our talented cast but I must stand up for the script – we wouldn’t have gotten involved if we didn’t have complete faith in it. We got absolutely fantastic audience feedback every night and I daresay that if you were there on the last night you would have seen that too – the laughs don’t lie! It was a fantastically witty script – the hobbits were adorably hilarious, the nightmares brilliantly delivered and each and every cast member did their bit to contribute to the show. I certainly hope we weren’t all fighting for stage presence, the principles did more than enough to constantly command it. And even if people did notice the background characters a little more than usual, so what? We were all amazing!

Finally I have to take serious issue with your comment about Merlin. By far my favourite part of this pantomime since rehearsals began, Sion Clarke’s Merlin was a constant joy to behold, – certainly an audience favourite and above it all, it’s them who matter. Overdone? I certainly think not, Sion’s comic timing is perfect and he knew just what to do and how to do it. Crabsquire WAS weird for the sake of being weird, it was a fun and silly character we could just sit back and laugh at – and Heather Wilmot performed it excellently, perfectly complementing Miranda Crowhurst’s insane portrayal of the Lady of the Lake!

PLUS Russell Truran as Bruce Forsyth was phenomenal, shame he wasn’t lauded either!

In any case, it’s a shame you thought the pantomime was too crowded – any smaller a cast and you would have missed out on some serious talent.

It’s a five star review from me I’m afraid! I’ll see you soon for that Nouse podcast.