1941/42 LTM NATIONAL
PANTOMIME
JACK
AND THE BEANSTALK
The
Story
The equator, so we are told, is an imaginary line - so, too,
our village of Nettleford , is an imaginary village. It is market
day, and the lads and lasses have foregathered to buy and sell,
to dilly and perhaps, to dally. Our hero, Jack Murphy enters upon
this scene of rustic merriment, accompanied by Fatima, the family
cow, which awful necessity now obliges them to sell. His entrance
is followed by that of the Squire, his wife, and their daughter
Christabel, a beauteous maid, who is immediately smitten with
love for Jack (after all, this is a pantomime). But the Squire
and his wife send Jack packing, for in the words of the Prologue,
he is poor and he is mean. On his way home, Jack is tricked by
a Witch into selling Fatima for a bag of beans.
Jack's mother, the widow Murphy, amid a scene of alcoholic desolation
awaits his return with keen anticipation, but is moved to unending
wrath on finding that he has sold Fatima for beans, which she
throws through the window. However, the fairies, who had promised
to help Jack, come to his aid, so that in the morning a gigantic
beanstalk has appeared beside the cottage - this Jack proceeds
to climb amid universal acclaim and parental blessing.
Enter the villain of the piece - the giant - definitely not a
vegetarian. But like most bullies, he is at heart a coward, and
like most husbands, he is dominated by his wife. Jack, with the
aid of bribery and corruption, and of course Mrs. Giant, succeeds
in stealing the Giant's gold, with which he returns to earth again
covered with glory and parental benediction.
Oh we nearly forgot - of course, they lived happily ever after.
Cast of Characters
Jack................................ Peggy Dougall
Fatima............................ Leslie Scaife, Aurelio Lever
The Squire..................... Gene Martinez
The Squire's Wife.......... Edna Marshalleck
Christabelle.................... Fay Crosswell
Widow Murphy............... Mike Campbell
Giant............................... R. Youngman
Giant's Wife.................... Pat Worlledge
The Peddler.................... Walter Foster
The Bullfighter............... M. Matalon
The Witch....................... Etheline Rhodd
Queen of the Fairies........ Phyllis Cardoza
Ballad Singer.................. Jack Burton
The Giant's Money Counter....... Pat Burke
Giant's servants................W.L. Chin, S.A. Nugent, N.L. Read
The Nurse........................ George Britten
The Giant's Children........ C. DaCosta, Barbara Wilson, Gloria
Roberts
Manager - Broadcasting Station....... John Irving
Choir Brothers................ C.A. O'Meally, S.H. Clarke, J.A.
Betty, A.D. O'Connor,
....................................... J.J. Williams. J.E. Barnett
The Bolsheviks................ J Burton, W. Foster, W. Murray-White
The Prisoners.................. John Lord, M. Matalon, Victor
Comrie