Seil drama group's 10th panto gets stage ready

Coming to Seil Island Community Hall’s stage at the end of this month, is Robbie Son Crusoe, bringing panto fans a new twist on an old favourite tale, says John, promising this year’s show is packed with more laughs than there has ever been before.

John, who resurrected the drama group with Balvicar Stores’s Wendy Dugdale back in 2014, said a decade of panto-writing has been a blast.

Covid, wiped out two shows, and Storm Éowyn did its best to drop the curtains last year after it hammered the island - but the panto did go ahead as soon as power came back on.

Taking a cue from the 2025 storm, John said choosing Robinson Crusoe as a loose storyline with shipwrecks and storms was a no-brainer.

"Instead of a desert island, we’ve got Seil island!" he said.

The panto cast’s ages range from just six to seventies, some of the actors have starred in every single edition - Emma McDougall whose plays the part of chief of the Pirate band was just five when she made her debut - now she is 17.

The dates are Friday January 30 at 7pm, then 3pm and 7pm on Saturday January 31. Tickets are £6 and available from Balvicar Stores.

"We’ve got plenty of songs, jokes and one-liners, probably more than ever before. There’s a combination of old jokes that we have recycled and some jokes that have flowed out of the story line.

"Also we have not only one dame but two dames and loads of local references that people will get," said John.

This year’s director is Maggie Thorpe, and there is a grand total of seven primary school age children in the cast, including a couple ’on loan’ from Ardfern, added John.