Mother Goose by Alan Frayn
18-21 March 2026 in the Reading Room, Ovingham
Our pantomime for 2026 is Alan Frayn’s Mother Goose, a reggs to riches story with a difference.
In the fair village of Goosingham, Mother Goose lives in poverty but is loved for her eggsceptionally kind character. Unfortunately for the villagers, their humble lives turn fowl when the greedy squire Maximillian Moneybags presents them with a bill increasing their rent. Mother Goose goes quackers as she scrambles to meet the squire’s eggsorbitant demands — until she encounters Priscilla, a magical goose-princess from Gooseland sent by her parents to learn the ways of mortals. Mother Goose takes Priscilla into her home out of kindness, and is flabbergooseted when she realises Priscilla can lay golden eggs.
The villagers rejoice as they seem to have eggscaped their troubles. But what goes up also goose down, and Mother Goose’s luck is no exception. The evil Demon Discord waits in the wings, tempting Mother Goose with the youth and beauty for which she secretly longs and which he tells her can be hers – if she tells Priscilla to get stuffed…
Will Mother Goose cast off the yo(l)ke of temptation or is her goose truly cooked? Will Priscilla complete her mission in the human lands or is she doomed to return in an eggscruciating failure? Join us this March in the Reading Room for an eggshellent, honking good adventure!
Tickets
Our pantomine will be performed in spring, in keeping with Ovingham tradition. We will be putting on four performances: three evening shows starting at 7.30pm on 18, 19, and 20 March, and a special Saturday afternoon children’s matinee starting at 2.00pm on 8 March.
Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children under 16. Tickets can be ordered using the form below, with payment made at the door on the day of the performance. Please use the drop-down list to select the number of tickets of each type you want, and click on ‘Add to cart’ next to each ticket type. If you then click on ‘Cart’, there is a very simple check-out process.
Wednesday, 18 March (evening, 7.30 pm)
| Ticket Type | Price | Qty. | Cart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult, 18 March | £10 | ||
| Child, 18 March | £5 |
Thursday, 19 March (evening, 7.30 pm)
| Ticket Type | Price | Qty. | Cart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult, 19 March | £10 | ||
| Child, 19 March | £5 |
Friday, 20 March (evening, 7.30 pm)
| Ticket Type | Price | Qty. | Cart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult, 20 March | £10 | ||
| Child, 20 March | £5 |
Saturday, 21 March (afternoon, 2.00 pm)
| Ticket Type | Price | Qty. | Cart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult, 21 March | £10 | ||
| Child, 21 March | £5 |