Silliness reigns in Dancing Sky Theatre's new prairie pantomime

Rob van Meenen from the Dancing Sky Theatre says there are two types of shows during the holiday season.

There are the purely heartwarming tales that celebrate family and friends. And then there are shows like Monty Steals Christmas, in which the audience is invited to "leave your brain at the door."

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"If you try to make too much sense of some of it, you will get lost," laughed cast member Kate Herriot in an interview with CBC Radio's Saskatchewan Weekend on Saturday.

Crazy adventure

The show is the seventh in Dancing Sky's annual Prairie Panto series. The company, based in Meacham, Sask., describes it as a crazy, warm, Christmas family adventure with puppets and live music.

The story follows the villainous Monty St. Orange, played by van Meenen, who has decided to destroy Christmas after a series of failed plots to profit from it.

It's up to Jack, played by Herriot, and the Widdow Spriggins to help save it.

As well as performingin the show, van Meenen and Herriot both helped to write the pantomime and its catchy songs, which they call"earworms".

Humour with heart

van Meenensaid technology and interconnectivity are the main themes of this year's Christmas pantomime, which he saidhad a heartwarming element amid all the humour.

"For me it's a great landscape to paint a story that is both endearing and funny but uses some of our modern foibles," said van Meenen.

"So here, we've got the Grinch overlay of the story but then, because it's in our town, we also have lots of opportunities to have fun."

Monty Steals Christmas runs until Dec. 18.