As the pantomime season starts, those who claimed that incorporation would end FE’s role as the Cinderella of British education have yet to issue the invitation to the ball. It looks less and less likely that there are going to be any balls at all (except of the “up” variety).
Roger Ward was never a likely casting as Prince Charming. Ruth Gee has yet to prove a principal boy alternative with crowd-pulling potential. College principals may be queuing three-deep for the Baron Hard-Up auditions, but Bill Stubbs (a seasoned Buttons with a shrewd sense of the imminent floparoo) has decided to quit the cast and return to local Rep. The result is that FE looks more like a third ugly sister than the rags-to-riches princess the previews promised .
What’s to be done? With education and training at the top of the political bill, a Lloyd Webber is badly needed if the show is to stand a chance of being a hit. The cast needs paying and the script needs a rewrite.
A seasoned theatrical agent is needed to remind everyone of the old saying that you’ll only pack in the punters if the show looks as though it’s acted by professionals and the scenery stands to the last curtain . . .