With panto season well under way, reporter JAMES RANGER meets a mother and daughter who have seen every one of the last 49 staged by their local dramatic society...

THE Woodford Pantomime has been a feature of the Woodford Green calendar for nearly half a century, and is currently pulling in audiences with its production of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Sir James Hawkey Hall in Woodford Green.

But the players cannot afford to rest on their laurels because among their audience is mother and daughter Anne and Jane Clarke, of Grosvenor Gardens in Woodford Green, who have seen every production since 1962.

The pair only missed the very first show in 1961 because they had yet to move to the area.

Jane, 57, said: “I think the early 1990s was a real purple patch for the pantomime. I remember they did Pinocchio and Peter Pan around that time, and they were just brilliant.

“When we went for the first time I was just nine and I remember we’d only been living in the area a few months.

“Mum said that there was a panto on up the road. We didn’t buy tickets in advance or anything, we just turned up and managed to get tickets for row B.

“We enjoyed it so much that every year we always try and get tickets for as close to the front as possible.

“It’s funny, people on stage have started to recognise us now. I think even one person gave us a little wave the other night when we went along.

“Every few years mum and I might look at each other and think it wasn’t quite as good as it might have been, but we will always support them.

Anne, 80, said: “We went a few nights ago and we really enjoyed it. We sometimes go two or three times a year and this one is so good that we might go again.

“The fact that people give their time and energy to it is terrific.

“It’s very professional. I’d rather go there than the West End.”

Jack and the Beanstalk runs until Sunday, January 16. To buy tickets call 01279 423 853 or 07776 388 057.