Some of Bermuda's brightest and best talents have joined forces to produce a truly Bermudian pantomime this year. For although `The Three Musketeers' is based on Dumas' classic French adventure tale, author and director Warren Cabral has given the popular story a decidedly local flavour.

"It's part and parcel of the traditional panto that you localise it, through topical jokes and so on. I have taken that custom to the next logical step, with three Bermudian characters who are themselves and, in the story, Bermudians. They are the Three Musketeers of the Bermuda Regiment,'' explains Mr. Cabral who points out that Christine Barritt's recent original pantomime, `The Magic Key', also stressed the Bermudian perspective.

Mr. Cabral, a former Rhodes Scholar and now a lawyer with a local firm, is currently working on a comedy series for UK television. He is the author of several plays, including the BMDS panto `Sinbad the Sailor', and the musical `Joan of Arc' staged in 1994 at Daylesford. He has gathered together an impressive team to stage this first production under the name of The Bermudian Pantomime Company.

Artistic director is Patricia Pogson who, with a string of theatrical successes to her name, became the Island's first professional director of Jabulani Repertory Company and the Department of Youth and Sport's Annual Road Show.

"I chose Patricia,'' says Mr. Cabral, "because of her reputation for excellence and my belief that, as a Bermudian, she could stage Bermudian material accurately and would have an intimate knowledge of what this is all about!'' As for Ms Pogson, she admits to being thrilled by the venture. "I've admired Warren for a long time now and we had been hoping to do something together for quite a while now. I was so keen to work with him, I wasn't too fussy what it was. But when I read the script, I realised he's a brilliant writer, especially when it comes to writing `Bermudian'. He has the exact sound -- it's very, very authentic!'' In casting the Three Musketeers (named Athos, Porthos and Aramis in the novel), they had to find three typical Bermudian `characters'. "The first one is `Ace Boy', the common Bermudian male who likes to take it easy. I'm sure everyone will be pleased to know that he'll be played by Ed Christopher. If you put dreadlocks on him he'd be a real `irie mon'!'' The second Musketeer is Portly, with Angelo Pimental taking on his first major acting role. "He's just hilarious,'' says Mr. Cabral, "a very good actor with a natural Bermudian accent. When you pit this Portuguese guy against `irie mon' it's a great basis for comedy.'' The last member of this gallant trio is Adrian Beasley (recently seen in `Dracula Spectacula' at Saltus Grammar School) taking on the role of "the manic, up-tight white boy.'' The notion of these three characters, says Mr. Cabral, follows on from the three Bermudian `Axperts' who proved to be such a hit with audiences in `Sinbad'. The story centres around D'Artagnon who, aspiring to be the Fourth Musketeer and assisted by the other three, tries to save the Queen from the evil machinations of both her dotty husband and his evil advisor, Cardinal Richilieu.

Noting that D'Artagnon will be played by Daren Herbert, Ms Pogson says, "He is a major theatrical find. I first discovered him in my Road Show. He appeared in `Once On This Island' for Jabulani and was a big success in `Broadway in Bermuda' last month. He is playing the would-be Musketeer and this romantic lead role is different from the norm, in that he starts out a bit prissy -- and ends up as crazy as the rest of them.'' No panto would be complete, of course, without a Dame which, in keeping with the peculiarities of English theatrical tradition, is always played by a man -- usually a comedian revelling in the obvious opportunities presented by dressing up in drag and behaving as outrageously as possible. Accustomed as he is to donning robes and wigs for his day job, this role should nevertheless present quite a challenge to lawyer Mark Pettingill. "We haven't asked him yet about shaving off his beard,'' confides Mr. Cabral. "That's a rather delicate question -- but I shall have to raise it soon, as we open in a month.'' Behind the footlights, the all-important roles of musical director and choreographer are being filled by Louise Bradley and Coral Waddell.

"We have a lot of well-known songs, re-arranged by James Burn -- one of them, for instance has been altered to `I'm Too Sexy for My Cat', and Louise and Coral have teamed up to produce some show-stopping numbers,'' promises Patricia Pogson. "We're expecting the audience to get up and dance and shout!'' The set designs have been entrusted to architect John Gardner, realised by Michael Mello, while co-producer Susan Shirley and her two daughters Canday and Holly are "the three miracle workers'' responsible, with an army of sewers, for the costumes.

`The Three Musketeers' will be presented at the Pembroke Sunday School from November 21-30, with evening performances commencing at 3 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m. Tickets ($20 and $10 for children under 13) will be on sale from Friday, November 1 onwards at the Visitors Service Bureau. All proceeds from the show will be donated to The Bermuda Mental Health Foundation, The Menuhin Foundation and Youth Forum.

THE BERMUDIAN MUSKETEERS -- `The Three Musketeers' (from left to right) Ed Christopher, Angelo Pimental, and Adrian Beasley.