A village pantomime troupe has been forced to rewrite their script to comply with health and safety rules, which have led to police registering two plastic cutlasses and a toy gun. Captain Hook has succumbed to the law and saw one of the safest battles ever fought when the production in rural Cornwall, near Truro, reached its finale in January this year.
As well as the cutlasses, six wooden swords and the plastic pistol each now have a police reference number and any future battle on Hook's galleon will be supervised by a fight co-ordinator from Liverpool. Panto co-director Elaine Gummow said, "It all seems a bit absurd but it is a sign of the times. We all understand that there is a serious side to stage safety and replica weapons, but I really don't think that Carnon Downs drama group poses a threat."
Members of the cast decided to contact the police after advice from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which posts six pages of an entertainment information sheet online. This guidance warns that helmets should allow clear vision and costumes should not be too loose in case combatants are "distracted, impeded or caused to slip, trip or fall."
A spokesperson for the HSE said, "We do not want to stop people putting on pantos or having fun as long as the risks are sensibly managed."
