MARIANNE Lansbury and her mum, Elizabeth, probably had the hardest job during Cinderella’s run at the Apollo Theatre in 1986.

Their job was to look after the charming ponies which pulled Cinderella’s glittering coach.

And they cared for the quartet not only on stage but between and after performances.

Marianne, 20, said: “I’m enjoying it, but it certainly keeps you busy.”

The ponies were kept at South Oxford Riding Stables in Abingdon Road when they were not ‘at work’ on the pantomime stage.

Oxford Mail:

THESE four girls appeared in Mother Goose at the New Theatre, Oxford, in 1944.

We know the name of only one of them – Mary Winterbourne, second from right, now Mary Evans, of Hanborough Road, Eynsham. Can anyone name the others?

Oxford Mail:

THESE four young hopefuls all appeared in Babes in the Wood, the pantomime at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford (now the New Theatre), in 1982 They were Debbie Surrage, left, Ashleigh Eaton, right, with Gennaro Placentino, back, and Richard Hill, front.

Debbie, nine, of Girdlestone Road, Headington, and Ashleigh, nine, of Vicarage Road, Oxford, beat 300 girls at an open audition to get their parts.

Gennaro, also nine, of Cavendish Drive, Old Marston, was a skilled tap dancer, while Richard, 10, of High Wycombe, had already appeared in a film, a remake of Oliver, with George C Scott. All four were hoping to make a career on the stage.

Oxford Mail:

PUPILS at William Fletcher School at Yarnton staged their own version of Cinderella in 1979.

Nearly 100 children aged eight to 11 gave three performances to audiences of family and friends.

The production was so good that a doctor asked to video-record it so that he could show it to his patients at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford. The show was written by teachers and directed by headmaster David Williams.

The young cast included Andrew Pike as Ermintrude, Jonathon Cooke as Griselda, Nicola Walker as Prince Charming, Dawn Tutton as Cinderella and Joanne Newman as Dandini.

Oxford Mail:

THESE young ladies were stars of an Oxford pantomime in 1957.

They were pupils of dance teacher Jackie Bebbington and performed Cinderella and the Wolf at Rose Hill community centre.

The picture comes from Bryan Cole, an Oxonian now living in South Australia.

The only girl he can identify is his sister Sheila, now Sheila Baker living at Holsworthy, Devon. She is on the right of the back row.

Miss Bebbington started her dance school at Rose Hill in 1950. The annual pantomime was one of the highlights of the school’s year.

When the 50th show was held in 2000, Miss Bebbington was presented with a gift, a coffee set, by Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer and later PM, for her service to the community.

Oxford Mail:

THESE youngsters starred in Jack and the Beanstalk at Chipping Norton. They are back row, l-r, Emma Jackson, James Wimbush, Ben Austin, all 11, and front, Laura-Jayne Graham, James Rolph, Ciaran Kennedy, Katie Anderson, all 10, and Sarah Green, 11.

Oxford Mail:

THERE is nothing better than going out on the streets to advertise your show.

Members of the community arts group, Bloomin’ Arts, Pegasus Youth Theatre and the newly-formed Littlemore Theatre Group staged a street pantomime called Fairly Good Fairy in Oxford city centre in 1983.The idea was to publicise their stage show, The Little Bloo Peg, a combination of the group’s names.