SPAT president Kelly-Maree Michael tells how finding an old papier-mâché sarcophagus led to writing an archaeological adventure with a feminist twist

My first production with Stanwell Park Arts Theatre (SPAT) was a fun little piece called Murder in the House of Horrors. Now, 10 years later, I’m the president of the SPAT committee and at the helm of our first “panto” in three years.

The Christmas pantomime has been an annual tradition for our community since the 1970s. Murder… featured an iconic piece of SPAT memorabilia, a full-sized papier-mâché sarcophagus that the killer jumped out of during the ‘Big Reveal’. I remember being absolutely flabbergasted at the craftsmanship of SPAT volunteers in bringing a piece of Egyptian history to life for our small stage, and I still marvel at the thrifty ingenuity of community theatre.

As a writer, I have long wanted to base a pantomime on the classic adventure serials of the 1930s and 40s, and, of course, their modern counterparts like Indiana Jones. When I came across the sarcophagus gathering dust, buried in the bowels of our theatre – a little worn and rat-eaten, but still intact – it seemed like a sign from the universe.

I felt like one of the heroes of the aforementioned stories discovering a piece of long-forgotten treasure. Inspired, I convinced local writer Bernadette LeMesurier to join me in my quest, and the resulting script, Montana Smith and the Raiders of the Lost Land, promises to be one of the most ambitious and fun pantomimes that SPAT has produced in its nearly 50-year history.

Although pantomime traditions are upheld, we’ve added a few progressive twists to carry the format into the future. The sarcophagus is a perfect metaphor for the merging of old with new, a piece of the past made modern with a little innovation.

While our audiences will be treated to a pure-hearted hero, a dastardly villain, a simpering dame, wise-cracking sidekicks, all of the classic “It’s behind you” and “Oh no, you didn’t!” gags, and more local references than you can shake an Illawarra flame tree at, we’ve also included a few modern updates. For example, our “Duke” is a young woman dressed as a macho man to complement the Dame’s hyper-femininity.

Throw in some upended adventure movie conventions like a tongue-twisting narrator, an inept archaeologist, a clutch of baddies hell-bent on colonising and pillaging the environment, and a tap-dancing pantomime camel, and you’ve got the formula for a swashbuckling show.

The 2022 SPAT Pantomime will be performed at the Stanwell Park CWA hall on weekends from 2-18 December, more information and tickets at www.spat.org.au