Lisa Horner Writer & Artist

Once again Ingatestone Musical and Operetta Group aced it!  Lets call them IMOG for short.  This group who started in 1970 in the village of Ingatestone have metamorphosised over the years as times have changed.  Recently they have won not one but two NODA Regional  Awards for best panto, one for Aladdin in 2019 and one for Sleeping Beauty in 2022, that is quite an achievement and well deserved. I have been in a few productions since October 2017 with them,  Sister Act and Nine to Five , Aladdin and Betty Blue Eyes .  The group are friendly and welcoming and when you're involved in the rehearsals, there are often lots of laughs to be had.  But I will say, although they are classified as an amateur dramatic group they are very serious about getting brilliant, memorable results.   In Spamalot there were several notable actors who did their parts brilliantly.  King Arthur played by Mark Walker was excellent, he was also the king in Sl...

The Witchfinder's Sister , originally a book by Beth Underdown that was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, was adapted for the stage by Vickie Donoghue and is being shown at Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch.  This Thursday night was our first outing to the theatre since the outbreak of coronavirus in March 2020.  We opted for a socially distanced seating evening. It was totally fitting for Halloween season.  We sat at the edge of our seats as the moody stage design and atmospheric music brought us into the beginning of the play.   Picture Essex in 1645, specifically Manningtree.  The whole atmosphere has the audiences blood turning to ice.  After the tragic accidental death of her husband, Alice Hopkins heads back to the small town she grew up in, home to her brother and the secrets that surrounded their childhood. Alice discovers that the dark fearful atmosphere in town is down to her brother who has changed radically.  A reign of hysterical terror ab...

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