Just when you thought panto season was safely over for another year – Oh no it isn’t!

Crude Apache are one of the things that make Norwich a great place to live in, so anticipation will always be high for their shows. Obviously this time of year is less than ideal for their normal open air performance venues, so we find ourselves indoors at the atmospheric, slightly musty and very chilly space that is the Maddermarket Theatre.

Writer and musical director Tim Lane has crafted (with help from several others) a truly Norfolk version of this classic tale. The panto tone is set early when after an introductory song the Squire’s cook (Su Squire) bounces on to stage and introduces herself as Ophelia Baps, setting up the receptive audience for a bit of call and response throughout the show. Her boss the heartless Squire Rummen is played with great relish by Russel J Turner who thoroughly enjoys himself getting a deluge of boos and hisses every time he spraunces onto the stage. He has become ward to his niece Mathilda (Clare Scott-Ison) and nephew Oliver (Paul Woodhead) following the unfortunate demise of both their parents. They bring with them an enormous inheritance and Nanny Chortle (Vic Stone), a surprisingly fierce Norwich vegan governess.

Rummen soon plots to murder the babes in the wood so he can take the cash, chop down the Wayland Wood and develop a large retail park. He enlists the help of two hapless villains, Drivel (Gillian Dean) and Slice (Tim Andrews) who happily take the Squire’s shilling to do the dirty deed. They are thwarted in their foul endeavours by the Goblin Queen (Althea Broughton-Squire) and her mischievous army of naughty goblins whose mission is to protect the wood and annoy humans as far as they possibly can. Drivel and Slice are also somewhat thwarted in their mission by their own growing reluctance to murder infants. By and large they would prefer to open a florists shop. They are a great pairing as a pair of ‘too soft to be real’ villains.

The scene is set for lots of perilous adventure and high drama, and the mood is enhanced throughout by the wonderful Punch House Band. People from the rest of the country (or Suffolk) may need subtitles occasionally but the script is full of witty lines and I am sure the cast have added a good few more along the way. It is directed by Jo Moore, who has wrangled this big cast into a very slickly timed show.

You have a couple more days to catch this joyous show and I recommend you to. It is the perfect antidote to the January blues, great fun, well written and exuberantly performed. It slews from pathos to slapstick with a gently naughty humour in every line. Make sure you put your long johns on, grab a hot toddy or a few pints from the Maddermarket bar and sit back and wait to be bumpkin outed by this happy cast.

© Julian Swainson, Norwich Eye, 28 January 2026

Babes in the Wood by Crude Apache is at The Maddermarket Theatre until 31 January. Call 01603 620917 for tickets and more info.