Pantomime - January 2026
In 2023, we were hugely honoured to win NODA’s Constance Power Trophy of Encouragement for the way we have developed our younger members through early chorus roles to taking on more major roles within the main cast. As this ethos is close to our heart, and entering our 60th year since forming in 1966, we were thrilled to be approached last year by a small group of 16–18 year old members to possibly take on our next annual pantomime.
Tim Buckeridge, Daisy Wordham, Hieronymus (Ronnie) Glover, Rose Wordham and Ellie Wordham all had a variety of skills and experience which we had already seen in our various pantomimes and plays over the past few years. Without hesitation, we considered their proposal and……said a resounding YES! Thus began many months of planning to produce their choice of pantomime, Alice in Wonderland. We thought you might like to know a little more about our talented younger members.
Daisy Wordham, Tim Buckeridge, Hieronymus Glover, Ellie Wordham, Rose Wordham
As a budding director for both stage and screen, Hieronymus set about a stringent audition process and was incredibly strong with his creative lead as director in charge of performance. We have been privileged to see a number of his short films, one of which was shortlisted for an award with him flying to Belfast for the finals. You may remember Hieronymus joining us a few years ago as a young actor with the Pied Piper, he now looks towards a fabulous future as a Director and Producer.
With her behind the scene prowess in a number of previous productions, Daisy confidently began the huge task of set design, not only making most of the props, redesigning a number of our backcloths but also working with our costume designer to fulfil her vision for a vibrant set that showcased the magical characters of Wonderland. Daisy is studying set design at Pinewood Studios as well as her new role as an Art Technician in a college in Weybridge. Energy, creativity and dedication are words that come easily when describing Daisy and we are hugely proud of everything she achieves for us.
Tim joined Wraysbury Players in an emergency back in 2024, and we have not let him go since! He is a technical wizard with a particular passion for live production and media. Goodness, our sound and lighting quality has improved enormously and continues to do so with his visionary ideas for our staging. Alice in Wonderland broke box office sales records this year, much to do with Tim’s approach to advertising using a variety of media. He has set the bar now for our promotions in the future. Aside from Wraysbury Players, Tim has his own creative company working on many projects in film, photography and design. We wish him much success for the future…but don’t leave us!
Rose has an infectious approach to acting and performing. As a group, we have often visited her school to see her strong performances in many plays and musicals. Rose not only took on the hilarious role of Tweedledum but also the joint responsibility of supporting our chorus for Alice in Wonderland over several months of rehearsals. She did this with enormous commitment and pride, developing routines and confidence with our 9–14 year olds on stage. Rose is hugely creative but also dedicated to her studies and ambitions to work in medicine. We have no doubt Rose will reach all her goals.
Ellie also worked hard with our youth chorus and their important role supporting our main cast with dance and singing routines. Just like Rose, Ellie has spent the last six years on stage with a fair share of pantomimes under her belt, so who better to pass on their experiences and make the roles within chorus a huge amount of fun. When not involved with am-dram, Corporal Wordham can be found training with the Windsor Air Cadets and working as an Aeronautical Engineering apprentice at Virgin Atlantic. We can’t wait to hear of Ellie’s latest exploits.
Cast of Alice in Wonderland 2026
Back to Alice in Wonderland, with its cast of thirty and four sold-out performances in January 2026. Our Members worked so diligently over many months of rehearsal to present a vibrant, hilarious representation of this much-loved story in panto form. We were thrilled to receive a wonderful review from Charlotte at NODA, who declared our panto to be:
“A delightfully imaginative and visually engaging production that fully embraced the eccentricity of Carroll’s world. Wraysbury Players leaned confidently into the whimsy, creating a playful and often surreal journey through Wonderland. There was a real sense of creativity at work, with strong characterisation and clear storytelling throughout.”
NODA District 14 Individual Award Nominations!
HOT NEWS! We have two members being nominated for NODA’s Annual Awards in the summer. Huge congratulations to Ben Wood as Rene in Allo, Allo 2 last year and Steevan Glover for his recent role as the Joker in Alice in Wonderland. More to follow…
So, so proud of each and every one of our enormously talented Wraysbury Players with many coming up through the ranks and our growing membership of more experienced actors. What better way to showcase Wraysbury Players’ progression over the past sixty years. In the next issue of Wraysbury News we’ll let you know how The Players have celebrated this enormous milestone.
With all that in mind, and our increasingly sold out performances, don’t forget to reserve your seats for our very poignant, yet comical summer play, The Gathered Leaves, directed by Nick Haymonds and Sarosh Khan.
See you at Wraysbury Village Fair in June and The Grange in September.
Also make a note of our Big Village Quiz on Wednesday 16th September in the Village Halls. Exciting times!
Lynn Holden
Chair - Wraysbury Players