The Freshership of the Rings

The annual Freshers’ Panto is one of the most popular events of Christmas at Pembroke. Students piled into the Hall on Wednesday 2nd December to witness the irreverent and energetic show, which was written, performed and directed by a team of first-years.

The Panto traditionally contains plenty of Pembroke in-jokes, along with various witticisms at the expense of other Colleges and the Senior Tutor. The stand-out turn is the annual cameo from the Dean, who appeared onstage this year wearing a gown and a baseball cap and displayed his rapping skills to enormous applause from the enthusiastic audience.

The story, loosely based on The Lord of the Rings, concerned a group of Freshers who embark on a quest across Cambridge in search of ‘Lord Smith’, the rightful leader of Pembroke. ‘Lord Smith’ (played by Ben Mortishire-Smith, 2015) had been banished from the College by the dastardly Senior Tutor, ‘Wormald’ (Jack Bolton, 2015), after a rigged election. Horrified by Wormald’s intention to ban bops, alcohol and fun, the Freshers resolved to set out in search of Lord Smith. On their quest they encountered several classic Cambridge stereotypes, such as some Communists from King’s, some toffs from St John’s, and the ridiculously distant location of Girton. With some helpful rhyming advice from the Dean, the Freshers eventually found Lord Smith and brought him back to Pembroke to replace Wormald. Bops were reinstated, alcohol flowed and fun was had, although the Wifi remained elusive.

The finale consisted of a raucous occurrence of what the Pembroke Players website described as “the inevitably awful mass-rendition of I’m Loving Pembroke Instead”.

(Photos by Gwilym Rowbottom, 2014)

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