Panto duo step forward to claim big laughs

Saturday 10th December 2011, 11:00AM GMT.

Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood at Oakengates Theatre @ The Place

Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood – or the Francis and Wheatley Show?

The curtain has gone up on the latest pantomime offering at Oakengates Theatre @ The Place and the little-known comic duo more than justify their surprise headline billing, stealing the show and having the audience rolling with laughter throughout.

In Birmingham this year we have Brian Conley, Lynda Bellingham and Basil Brush; in Wolverhampton Lynda Lusardi, Sam Kane and former X Factor reject Niki Evans.

Click on the image on the right to see more great pictures from the show.

With a smaller theatre and more stringent budget, Telford has paraded lesser ‘names’ such as former Emmerdale actress Kay Purcell and veteran comic Bernie Clifton in the last two years while Jason Francis and Neil Wheatley waited patiently in the background getting bigger laughs.

As Eddie and Freddie, they put on a number of memorable set-pieces that started with Wheatley sitting on the toilet reading the Shropshire Star and finished with the pair putting on a hilarious version of the classic 12 Days of Christmas.

Review by Wayne Beese