Woodford Pantomime | Family Pantomime

Accolades Awarded to Woodford Pantomime and Our Members

This page includes both nominations & awards made by NODA (National Operatic & Dramatic Association) as well as our newly created, internal award in memory of our president and long term member, Walter Wright.

NODA DISTRICT WINNER The Nigel Gravette Award for Best Performance in a Traditional Pantomime 2024/2025

DISTRICT WINNER
Gary Hellyer-Forde as Nurse Nancy
Sleeping Beauty 2025

Society Nominated NODA Award... The Shelly Lemesh Award for the "UNSUNG HERO" JANE ELLISON 2025

It is with great admiration and gratitude that we would like to nominate Jane Ellison for her long-term, outstanding contribution to amateur theatre.

For over 12 years, Jane has been an integral part of Woodford Pantomime and WOADS, dedicating her time, expertise, and unwavering energy to ensure the success of every production. Quite simply, she is the glue that holds us together.

Jane’s wealth of knowledge is unmatched. From being a stage manager with precision, being our Treasurer, supporting the Box Office, making props, the endless paperwork, ordering sets, coordinating schedules, and organising deliveries—she does it all with incredible dedication.

She is the unsung hero behind the scenes, ensuring that every curtain goes up (quite literally, as she’s often the one organising the team putting them up!) and that every performance runs smoothly.

Her commitment extends beyond showtime, as one show finishes, it’s on to the planning of the next.

Beyond her impressive skill set, Jane brings an infectious enthusiasm that makes Woodford Pantomime the welcoming community it is. She is always there to help, guide, and teach, generously sharing her knowledge with newcomers who want to get involved in theatre and backstage work. If there’s ever a question, the answer is simple: “Jane will know.”

Jane is the backbone of the Woodford Panto Committee, and quite frankly, we could not do it without her. Her dedication, generosity, and bubbling energy make her truly deserving of this recognition.

Society Nominated NODA Award..The Louise English Trophy for a Person Under 30 who has made an OUTSTANDING contribution to their society! 2025

We nominated Vanessa Kelsey for her outstanding contribution to Woodford Pantomime, especially over the last two years after she volunteered to support us, and our pantomime, with it’s digital presence.

Her unwavering commitment, creativity, and passion have truly elevated the society, making a significant impact both on and off the stage.

Vanessa’s imagination and dedication to social media and marketing have transformed the way our shows are promoted. Through engaging and fun content, and an infectious enthusiasm, she has created an online buzz that has captured the excitement of our shows and drawn in new audiences.

Her ability to bring the magic of Pantomime to life through digital platforms has been invaluable, ensuring that Woodford Pantomime remains at the heart of the community.

This year, Vanessa’s contributions were even more remarkable as she seamlessly balanced her behind-the-scenes role with a fabulous performance as the principal boy. Juggling the demands of both responsibilities with professionalism and flair, she not only delivered an outstanding on-stage performance but also continued to drive the show’s online presence with the same energy and passion.

Vanessa’s hard work, dedication, and creativity have been instrumental and we can think of no one more deserving of recognition.

The Walter Wright Award for Contributions to Woodford Pantomime 2025

Colin Cormack, winner of our 3rd Walter Wright Award.

Colin has only been involved with the company for a short while but has made a huge impact. He tirelessly makes pieces of set we can’t hire and various gadgets as props. In addition to his creativity, Colin is a valuable member of the back stage team. Fun to have around and always a friendly face to greet you, he went above and beyond with his contribution to this year’s show.

Thank You Colin

The Sylvia Rawlings Lifetime Achievement Award John Evans 2024

John has been a part of Woodford Pantomime since the early 1970s. Fast forward 50 years and John is still involved with the company, having just served as Technical Manager for the 2024 production of Robin Hood. Over the years John has designed and operated lighting and sound as well as stage manager. For many recent years though John has been in the role of Technical Manager. Not only has John been on the technical side but he has also been on the committee for many years in the role of Chairman and is also a director of the company Over the years John has been involved in introducing a lot of the younger generations to the world of technical theatre and stage management, some of which have gone on to work professionally in the industry all over the world!

We at Woodford Pantomime would like to thank John for his long service and dedication and long may it continue!

Society Nominated NODA Award... The Shelly Lemesh Award for the "UNSUNG HERO" Debbie Roper 2024

Debbie has been Woodford Pantomime’s wardrobe mistress for many years and every year amazes us with the nipping and tucking of the professionally hired costumes she selects for us, as well as the extra weird and wonderful costumes she makes for us that are not hireable. For the 2024 panto Debbie not only did all this but she ran our extensive front of house operation. Ordering merchandise, organising staff, helping audiences get safely in and out of our theatre. To top it all, throughout the year she co chaired our large committee putting the whole spectacular show together. Debbie is a force of nature and even coped with a health issue just before we got to the theatre! We can’t thank her enough.

noda "it's behind You" Award WINNER, London Region 2022/2023

This page includes both nominations & awards made by NODA (National Operatic & Dramatic Association) as well as our newly created, internal award in memory of our president and long term member, Walter Wright.