I liked Hobbo & Scotty (Dave Hobden & Andy Scott) as the two stooges, Hardy & Hanson. Were their heads on back to front, or was that the helmets? Jack Wilkinson was outstanding as the governess (oo, matron!) and the Blind Beggar (Ed Bassford) used his disability to good effect on the hapless Marion.
The ‘girl-on-girl action’ (sic) was ably implemented by Nicky Jonas as freedom-fighting Fatima and Marion’s Trusty Outlaws who were Chris Scott, Norma Thompson & Steph Tucknott. Yet more eye-candy was provided in the form of The Babes, Sharon (Jane Smithers) and Tracy (panto virgin Nikki Rae).
The script was put together by the cast and friends, with the usual gratuitous references to doubtful sexual practices… or was that just my mind? Prompt Jonathan Hopkins earned his beer. As is traditional, the gags made much of local and topical concerns, with a certain Suffolk brewer rarely out of the firing line. Andy Thomas


This year’s production was in aid of the Sasha Roberts Scholarship Fund at Kent University where Sasha was a senior Lecturer in English. A stalwart of the LADS, Sasha was killed in a motorway accident in September 2006.
Since 1978, the LADS have raised over £60,000 for a range of charities and the 2007 production has already made a record breaking £2,000.
“Babes in the Wood” ran for 5 nights between 6 and 10 March and total audience figures were around 350 with demand for tickets outstripping supply for some performances. Audience figures also broke all previous records as did the donations received after each performance.