AGAIN those enthusiastic members of Cads (Corvus Amateur Drama Society) have proved a point with a production of a new pantomime, The Little Cabin Boy. It is their willingness to develop a show and the obvious enjoyment in performing that does nothing mor

AGAIN those enthusiastic members of Cads (Corvus Amateur Drama Society) have proved a point with a production of a new pantomime, The Little Cabin Boy. It is their willingness to develop a show and the obvious enjoyment in performing that does nothing more than add to their reputation as a leading amateur group when it comes to producing a pantomime. Obviously, for some there is years of experience. But when work begins on a new production there is always a certain trepidation and, as the weeks of rehearsal pass, the task can seem to be daunting. But the Royston-based Cads will have nothing of that. The group has become so tightly-knit that every member supports each other. This year Cads decided to stage a new work by Roy Maddox which, in the best of pantomime tradition, had everything from slapstick to romance, from audience participation to the kind of one-line jokes that, really, do not deserve repeating. But, after all, that's pantomime. And no-one in the packed audience at Greneway School on the last night of the pantomime on Saturday evening really worried. They were there to enjoy themselves - and that's what they certainly did as we left the suburbs of Pantovia to take a voyage on the pirate ship Petunia to the exotic South Sea island of Xenobia. It was that kind of production with all the tricks of pantomime thrown at the audience (on a number of occasions, quite literally). And it has become a tradition of Cads' productions in recent years to see whether David Atkins can be even more outrageous as the Dame. He did not disappoint as the pirate ship's cook and head bottle-washer, Mrs Flobster. He certainly has the talent to play a Dame, but adds to the role a mischievous touch. Stuart McQueen as First Mate Jim Ladd, was lively and the production saw solid performances from Julian Prime, Barbara Perry and Peter Salt, while Ann Curry was evil itself in playing the wicked witch Maleducia. The leading roles were taken by Ruth Turner and Pauline Rowe, around whom the story revolved. All in all, however, the production was a credit to all those who have spent recent months working both on the stage and behind the scenes. Pantomime is still entertaining, especially in the hands of Cads. Oh yes it is.