Furness village in kidnap scandal! Schoolgirl uses hypnosis to trap man!

Oh no, it wasn’t! It was just Pennington Pantomimers in 1994 in their annual romp, which had sold out four nights at Pennington Memorial Hall.

That year’s offering was Frankenstein the Panto, by David Swan, which was a good excuse to bring Dracula, Dracula’s mother Granula, a crack-pot professor and a crowd of St Trinians’ girls into the plot.

The plot involves a Bavarian orphan called Heidi (Yvonne Athersmith), who worked in a taverna run by Herr and Frau Pumpernickel (John Metcalfe and Jan Gough), until she is kidnapped by Count Dracula (Adrian Chojnacki).

She was eventually rescued by Miss Nelly (Mike Whittaker) and married Prince Ludwig (David Foot).

Director of all the on-stage mayhem was David Dawson, who lived in Pennington and was a solicitor at Poole Townsend.

“It’s been great fun,” he said.

“It’s about the eleventh panto the village has done.

“Practically everybody in the show is from Pennington or Swarthmoor and a few people have been involved ever since they started.

“One of the teachers from the village school is in it - she has directed it for the past few years and all the staff come to see it.

“We start rehearsing in September and meet once a week. It keeps us going through the winter.”

Also in the cast were Ray Hodgson, Neil Douglas, Adam Chojnacki, Mike Cronin, Dawn Chojnacki, Carol Stringer, Julie Samson, Sheila Foot, Sue Wilson, Lynne Duncan, Helen Shawcross, Gregory Foot and Alastair Dawson, as well as a chorus of 19 and 24 dancers.

In 1996 Pennington Pantomimers presented a version of Red Riding Hood at the memorial hall.

Sheila Foote played Red, who enlisted the Environment Ministry's Jason Greenwood (Neil Douglas) in defeating the big bad wolf (Ray Hodgson), in league with evil Count Dracula, who w splayed by Mike Whittaker.

Granny's role went to David Dawson and a pair of gormless farmhands, Nutz and Boltz, were played by Adam Chojnacki and Iain Harrison.

The sell-out show was produced by Dawn Chojnaki.