Royal British Legion (RBL)

RBL Theatre Players perform

Showstoppers!

By Ralph Kratzer

The RBL Theatre Players are an integral part of cultural life in North Cyprus since years.

After last year´s big success with the pantomime “Dick Whittington and his Cat” (to remember – click here!) the disappointment was great that they had to cancel their planned 2014 pantomime “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” due to circumstances beyond their control. But director, producer and writer Mark Lake along with the entire panto cast insisted that the “Show must go on!”. So Mr Lake found a new venue at the Chateau Lambousa Hotel in Lapta, rewrote the script and came up with a full two hour show called “Showstoppers!” to entertain the hundreds of theatre goers who would have otherwise been disappointed.

Mark Lake announced: “Showstoppers!” is the third, but unplanned production by RBL Theatre Players… We will be bringing you songs from not just the three RBL shows but some very special songs from “The Wizard of Oz”, “Only a Rose”, “Cinderella”, “Aladdin”, “Broadway and Beyond” – and of course last year´s sell-out pantomime “Dick Whittington”.

Since I could not attend the show last year, I was wondering what I should expect this year. So my girlfriend and I made our way to Lapta last Thursday to the beautifully restored Chateau Lambousa Hotel.

The auditorium was filled to around 350 seats and the show started just in time at 7.30pm.

The announcement on the advertising posters “A spectacular evening of comedy song and dance numbers from past productions” fulfilled it´s promise. Director Mark Lake and his production team and of course the whole cast of actors enchanted the audience with their 2-hour-long performance.

Brian Thomas, Chairman of the Kyrenia branch of the Royal British Legion, thanked the entire team at the end of the show and handed over several pre-Christmas gifts.

The cancelled pantomime “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” has now been rescheduled for this time next year and I am definitely looking forward to it!