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fairytales

The Chameleons – Cinderella Review

February 7, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-
A huge thank you to all at The Chameleons for kind permission to use their photos. Screenshots (from The Chameleons’ Facebook page showing the sets coming together, their advert for the show, and what they will be staging next) were taken by me, Allison Symes. Some images (from The Chameleons) were set in Book Brush settings created by me. Do check out their website for more pictures. I couldn’t use them all here but they will all make you smile, especially if you were at the performances.

This year is the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of The Chameleons. They will be having a special event later in the year but to kick off 2025 in style, they started their new and special year with what is such a major part of theatre – the pantomime.

[Read more…] about The Chameleons – Cinderella Review

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Tags: amateur theatre, Cinderella, fairytales, pantomime, The Chameleon Theatre Company, theatre

The Positives and Negatives of Adaptations

January 31, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Somes images are directly from Pixabay.

Many of our favourite stories are adapted for the stage, radio, television, and film and any or all of those combinations in some cases. It is unusual for any story to go “direct” into another medium. Nearly always cuts and changes do have to be made to suit the needs of the medium the story will “go into” or to make the best use of the things those mediums can bring to the tale which the printed word in itself won’t do. Sound effects especially, the use of appropriate music, and much more can add so much to an adapted tale.

[Read more…] about The Positives and Negatives of Adaptations

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Tags: adaptations, am writing, fairytales, film adaptations, pantomime, radio adaptations, TV adaptations

Author Interview: Introducing Gemma Owen-Kendall

January 24, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog and Gemma Owen-Kendall for supplying author and book cover pics including from her launch for Red Daisy at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Other images created in Book Brush using images from Lynsey, Gemma or Pixabay. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the photos of the grounds from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

As you know, one of my highlights of my writing year is to go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick held at The Hayes in Derbyshire in August. As well as enjoying the fabulous workshops and courses (and having had the privilege of leading some there too), the other biggest joy is in getting to meet other authors.

Why? Because it is so liberating to share the joy of creative writing with others who “get it”. There is no need to explain why you write here. We just do and we share many tips and tales of our writing lives with each other during this event.

In 2024, Gemma Owen-Kendall got to launch her debut novel, Red Daisy, published by SpellBound Books, at The Writers’ Summer School in their wonderful Book Room.

Many congratulations, Gemma, on this and welcome to Chandler’s Ford Today. It is always a joy and privilege to discuss writing journeys with other authors here but before I put some questions to Gemma, please find below her author bio and a blurb for Red Daisy. This interview is part of a book blog tour organised by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Introducing Gemma Owen-Kendall

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Tags: am writing, author interview, characters, creative writing, debut novel, editing, fairytales, fiction, flash fiction, Gemma Owen-Kendall, Innocent Times, marketing, novels, Red Daisy, short stories, SpellBound Books Limited, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, writing groups, writing journey

The Joys of Fairytales

January 10, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos with some images directly from Pixabay. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

A little later this month, I’m off to see The Chameleon Theatre Group’s pantomime, Cinderella. Oh yes I am! I’m looking forward to it as their pantomimes are always great fun and this one is based on my favourite fairytale. A review will follow in due course (but if you haven’t seen any of their pantomimes, do check this one out. There is still time to book). See their website for more – https://www.chameleontheatre.co.uk/

But the thought of this inspired this article. I’ve loved fairytales for as long as I can remember.

[Read more…] about The Joys of Fairytales

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Tags: Charles Perrault, Cinderella, fairytale structure, fairytales, Hans Christen Andersen, learning from fairytales, pantomime, the Brothers Grimm, The Chameleon Theatre Group, the Rules of Three, writing craft

Fairytales and Pantomime

January 26, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Thought you would want to know, given the topic for this week’s post, that the font used in my Book Brush pictures is actually called Aladin! How apt! (Yes, US spelling here).

By the time this post goes out, Janet and I will have seen the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Group, their annual pantomime. This time they have staged the classic fairytale, Sleeping Beauty.

I hope to share my review next week but thought I would look at the links between the classic fairytales and pantomime. They do seem like a match made in heaven – or at least a match made for the boards.

[Read more…] about Fairytales and Pantomime

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Tags: amateur theatre, entertainment, fairytales, love of theatre, pantomime, pantomime Dames, Principal Boy, slapstick, Sleeping Beauty, The Chameleon Theatre Group

Kindness and Killing in Fiction

April 1, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

My topic this time for the In Fiction series is a study in contrasts.

Kindness and killing feature heavily in fiction, the latter particularly in the crime and horror genres. Kindness turns up in the classic fairytales and in fantasy and will often be those moments in a story when our hero/heroine has to rely on someone else to help them through a difficult time. It is that break, that help, which enables them to go on and successfully complete their quest etc.

This acts as a reminder to us that no man is an island, we all need help and kindness at times, and that kindness can reinvigorate us. Fiction should reflect that.

[Read more…] about Kindness and Killing in Fiction

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Tags: am reading, am writing, books, character motivations, crime, fairytales, horror, killing, kindness, kindness rewarded, stories

Human Behaviour In Fiction

March 4, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

One aspect of fiction, whatever its genre or length, is it does reflect on our behaviour. It isn’t flattering either, most of the time. The classic fairytales, for example, call evil out for what it is and the kind of evil shown in them (such as cruelty to step children) is something we see only far too often for real.

Stories tell us what we know. Even in the most fantastical of settings, there will be something we can identify with (otherwise, why would we read such things?).

And human behaviour is the direct reason for any story. We use stories to try to make sense of the world we know (and perhaps more than ever in crisis times such as the one we’re going through now with the situation in Ukraine).

[Read more…] about Human Behaviour In Fiction

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Tags: am writing, big themes, characters, creative writing, fairytales, fiction, heroes, human behaviour in fiction, stories, villains

Animals in Fiction

January 14, 2022 By Allison Symes 4 Comments

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

Some of my favourite childhood books involved animals. Think about Timmy from The Famous Five by Enid Blyton. I suspect he was the most intelligent of the lot of them.

I am an asthmatic, it was worse when I was a child and there was no question then of being able to have a dog of my own. But I could read about them and loved doing so. Ironically now I have no problems with having a dog as a companion and I still love reading. Neither do I mind animal characters as long as they are realistically portrayed.

[Read more…] about Animals in Fiction

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Tags: Allison Symes, am reading, am writing, animals in fiction, Black Beauty, books, childhood stories, fairytales, flash fiction, Jaws, Puss in Boots, The Famous Five, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, Tripping the Flash Fantastic, Winnie the Pooh, writing from an animal viewpoint

All the Fun of The Panto: Ali Baba and The Chameleons

February 1, 2019 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Feature Image - Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Director's Montage

Image Credit:  Stuart Wineberg, Lionel Elliott, and the Chameleons.

If there were ever such a thing as a Chandler’s Ford Today “works outing”, it is when Janet and I go to the latest production by the Chameleon Theatre Group. This time it was to enjoy the classic fairytale, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
[Read more…] about All the Fun of The Panto: Ali Baba and The Chameleons

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Tags: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, fairytales, pantomime, The Chameleon Theatre Group

Three Wishes

January 17, 2019 By Allison Symes 3 Comments

Feature Image - Three Wishes

Right now is the height of the pantomime season and I’m looking forward to seeing The Chameleons’ production of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves soon. It should be great fun (as Robin Hood was before). One common element to pantomimes is the use of magic. It comes in somewhere to make the character change directions or to rescue them from what seems an inescapable problem.

So let’s pretend the fairy godmother has turned up for us and, being the kindly soul she is, offered us three wishes.  What would you go for?  Firstly, the ground rules (you knew there would be some, bureaucracy gets everywhere!). [Read more…] about Three Wishes

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Tags: fairytales, fiction, pantomimes, three wishes

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