Oh yes he did! Vets to the rescue as pantomime horse suffers respiratory and dental issues

All the best pantomimes have horses, villains and cross-dressing dames – not all have advice on equine dentistry, gags about turmeric and the chance to win £100 towards your vet bills.

But one production of Rapunzel, put on by RW Equine Vet at the Queen’s Hall Theatre in Cranbrook on 10 December, had all the above and more.

The independent East Sussex practice is run by husband and wife Reuben and Sarah Whittaker, who decided last year that their December client evening should run in panto style – and it went down so well, they did it again for 2025.

The production of Rapunzel, complete with plenty of audience participation, seamlessly interspersed the story of the long-haired heroine with talks from RW vets Barbara Portal and Gonçalo Seren. Both came to the rescue to inform the audience as they investigated Maximus the pantomime horse, aka practice manager Clare Young-Brown and vet nurse Katie Holloway, for his respiratory and dental issues.

“It was a really good event,” Sarah, who played Rapunzel, told H&H.

“Reuben and I didn’t really have time to rehearse so it was a bit stressful beforehand! But it was great fun and the whole team enjoyed it.”

More than 150 people enjoyed mulled wine, mince pies and prosecco, and a raffle with prizes such as £100 vet treatment vouchers raised £510 for East Sussex charity Brownbread Horse Rescue.

The production was a true family affair; Sarah played Rapunzel and Reuben – whose singing voice and flair for acting is surely wasted on a vet – her mother and the dashing hero Flynn Rider. Their 11-year-old twin sons Isaac and Arthur starred as robbers, Sarah’s sister Angela was the narrator and her parents Roger and Mandy served the prosecco.

Sarah thanked Penny Tobin of the Cranbrook Operatic and Dramatic Society for her help, which included adding sound effects for Maximus, and when Rapunzel gave her hero a wallop with a frying pan.

“We loved it,” Sarah said. “It’s really good for the whole team to get together, and we think it’s nice if client evenings aren’t just sitting in a village hall but are a bit of fun. And it’s a nice chance for people to catch up with like-minded friends, especially when so much is online these days, and talk to the vets.”

Sarah added that it takes about three months to recover from a pantomime, from “never again!” to “what can we do next?”

“We like to do things that are a bit of fun,” she said.

Reuben, who paid tribute to Sarah, Penny and his whole team, added that the idea “keeps getting bigger and bigger”, and that staff who were not involved last year were keen to be part of it this time.

“It’s going to be even bigger still next year,” he told H&H. “I don’t know what we’re going to do yet! Lucky us.”

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