Copyright Oggbashan December 2016
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons.
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Our amateur Christmas Pantomime led to an argument with Adrian. He had wanted to take me to the professional Pantomime in the nearby city with a meal beforehand. I would have liked that but I was an occasional member of the amateur dramatic society, as was he.
Adrian had avoided being cast as one of the performers and wasn't required as a stage hand this time. He is too large and muscular to be on stage normally. He looks out of scale compared with other performers. I had thought I was exempt as well because I was an assistant to the costume department. Once the costumes were made, I would not need to be involved in the actual production.
Adrian had suggested the meal and show. I had said "Yes, probably" in November so he had booked the restaurant and tickets for the professional pantomime.
At the first read-through which included the actions to happen on stage our amateur group hit a snag. A significant scene change would take too long. They couldn't have the curtains closed and the audience looking at nothing so they decided to write a sketch to be performed in front of the curtain. So far so good but most of the characters were involved either in moving scenery or frantically changing costumes -- except the Wicked Witch, who was also the costume manager and my aunt Alice.
The writers went into a huddle and devised a sketch based on The Little Mermaid, or rather on Disney's Ariel. They needed an Ariel and Alice suggested me. She knew that the Mermaid costume fitted me as well as the woman who had previously worn it until she moved away from our town.
Alice didn't ask me. She told me that I would be the Mermaid, appearing in all six performances, five evenings and a Saturday matinee. Of course one of those five evenings was when Adrian had booked our night out. I was disappointed. Adrian was angry with Alice and with me. We shouted at each other and by the time of the first dress rehearsal we were no longer on speaking terms. That hurt both of us but we were too stubborn to apologise.
"Sue, why do you let Alice walk all over you?" Adrian had shouted.
"Because she is my aunt and she needs me!" I retorted.
"I need you too!" Adrian shouted back.
From there on the interchange became more angry and more personal. We said things we shouldn't have said and didn't mean.
I was so unhappy I didn't really take much notice of what I had to do in the sketch. All I cared about was that I had neither lines to learn nor any cues to follow. Alice, as the Wicked Witch, would do everything. I would be dressed as a Mermaid. Alice would wheel me on stage on a trolley because I wouldn't be able to walk. I did know that I would be flown upwards from that trolley. I had been flown before in a production of Peter Pan so that didn't bother me.
I should have paid more attention but I was still angry with Adrian and annoyed with Alice.
