Incredible Vanishing, The - Poster Image
A squelching play by Denise Coffey, where Her Marshesty rules the underground and steals the overground; where Bert and W.P.C Parker go in search of runaway oranges and find boiled cabbage with Goblins; where apples make you bananas and everyone sludges through the tallest tale in the underworld. A slurpy story for Christmas for the marshy or the mushy – lots of slush for all!
The production toured to schools in Hackney, Southwark and other neighbouring boroughs from 24 November to 19 December. It then performed at the Half Moon Theatre on Alie Street from 22 December to 3 January (matinee performances with evening shows on 27 December and 3 January).
The most memorable thing about Incredible Vanishing was that our van was pinched with all the set inside, and we somehow managed to recreate it all in two days ready for our next show. Then we got a phonecall from the police saying that they had found it in a housing estate in Old Nicol Street and I was nominated to go and get it. Only I had only just passed my test, so I was not very expert at manoeuvring a big ex-naval van parked in a tight space and managed to get the bumper of a parked car stuck on our van floor driver’s side, as I had left the sliding door open…. Luckily a local bloke came along and lifted the bumper out and guided me away…Phewf!
You can read more memories from Penny here.
The Incredible Vanishing was a joy to perform, I was Gob the Goblin. There was much running around and calling out in true panto tradition and our audiences seemed to love it. But my strongest memory is of the ‘vanishing’ of our big blue van – stolen with all our scenery, costumes and props in the back. Amazingly, we managed to remake everything over the weekend in time for our next performance. The van was later found by the Police with everything still in it. That old van was a good size for touring but it was a horror to master – especially when you’d only ever driven a Mini. My first effort made us all laugh. It was down a tight lane. I did not scratch anything but we kangaroo-ed the whole way!
You can read more memories from Sara here.
Have you got a memory you’d like to share? Or perhaps you have a programme or poster from one of our shows that we're currently missing? Then we want to hear from you! The website is a living archive and we will continue to add information as it comes to light.
Read More
