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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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It's your turn again, Dick
The good guys .
. . gals: Kiara Peaches-Mackay who plays Dick Whittington with
Maria White (left) who plays Tommy the cat and Helen Dawson as the fairy
(right) Dick Whittington Hall Green Little Theatre **** THE cast probably knew this was not going
to be an easy night from the excellent opening scene, all smoke and
backlit green glow, when King Rat got cheers and the good fairy Tinkle
got some boos. Indeed this is the first panto I can recall where
the good fairy has actually been heckled, largely by a group of boorish
teenagers who led the rat fan club, but the excellent Dave Hirst as the
regal rodent and the indefatigable Helen Dawson as Tinkle took it all in
their confident stride. Not that the rest of the audience, with a groups
of young scouts and cubs, along with youngsters from the Boys Brigade,
in the main lacked either enthusiasm or indeed appreciation. They were
up for audience participation from the first few lines – cheering,
booing and shouting on cue, creating that strange sound you usually only
find in swimming pools on sunny days in the school holidays. Daniel Robert Beaton as Idle Jack, despite his
name, was probably the hardest working of the cast with a running,
literally, joke about a growing and remarkably super slim rose bush
which the audience had to remind him had to be watered every time Jack
mentioned he was idle. By what seemed to be the 200th time
the youngsters were still screaming “water the plant” – apart from the
boors of course, who shouted for it to die! Panto also needs a dame and James Weetman
provided us with Sarah Suet, the sort of woman who would drastically
change your drinking habits if you woke up next to her. Matt Ludlam's Captain Cockle manages to bumble his way through the whole show without ever appearing fully sober - the original drunken sailor - although when you see his first, and probably, only, mate, Mr Mussel, played with Northern bustle by Jean Wilde you can see why.
He, or she, or . . . the mate has a collection of
jokes that would make a Christmas cracker cringe and were probably old
when the animals first heard them as Noah did his stand up set to keep
everyone happy on wet evenings. Indeed the script by the late John Morley seems
to be a retirement home for old jokes – and let's be honest it is a
memorial garden for some – as well as providing community care for some
of the less fortunate one liners. While Cockle bumbles around afloat Alderman
Fitzwarren does the same on land with Phil Astle throwing himself into
the role with gusto, or at least his daughter Alice, played by Sarah
Lamb, who is . . . well normal, as is our hero Dick, played with a slap
of her shapely thighs and traditional boots by Kiara Peaches-Mackay, who
had to suffer a few comments about Dick's sexuality – doesn't anyone
learn about principal boys any more? Marie White as Tommy, Dick's loyal cat, makes
delightfully realistic cat noises which need to be heard to be believed. There is good support from Sami Moghraby as Sheik Dahottal – shouldn't that be Dabottal? and his newly promoted wife No 2 Avacado played by Gemma Underwood along with as Katy Evans as another hapless member of Cockle's crew, Sam Seaweed. The script itself was lighter on music than most
pantomimes with the only songs Charles Penrose's The Laughing
Policeman, Ralph Reader's On The Crest of a wave, sea shanty
Drunken Sailor and a finale of Slade's Merry Christmas,
Everybody. That left the band of Geddes Cureton on keyboards
and director Roy Palmer on drums with mainly sound effects and
incidental music played quietly in the background, which, incidentally,
included Barry Manilow's Could it be Magic and Nina Rota's
haunting theme from Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. There was also an enthusiastic chorus rushing
about when needed in crowd scenes or providing straight men or punch
lines when needed.
Perhaps with it being first night and a lively
audience, some dialogue was lost behind laughter from a somewhat
rumbustious crowd, which left a few punchlines floundering without a set
up, while some lines were a liitle too quiet to carry over a sea of wide
eyed youngsters. As the run goes on pace, which was by no means
sluggish but did stutter from time to time, will no doubt pick up and
the cast will settle into a comfortable rhythm - and they will probably
not face another audience for the rest of the run quite so challenging –
not that the audience did not love every minute. In the days when I wandered the boards - it was
the time when I could start a line and still remember how it ended - we
used to do a cut down childrens' matinee for panto. They also enjoyed
every minute while the cast ended up hoarse, exhausted and with the
healthiest of respect for childrens' entertainers. It brought back memories as the opening night
ended in cheers and excited smiles and chatter - which after all is
what it is all about. A mention too for Roy Palmer's design which gave
us two London vistas, a shop, inside and out, a ship at dock and on
deck, a Moroccan beach a Sultan's palace and everything in between – all
without missing a beat. A credit as well to the dozen scenic artists and
set painters and the fly crew.. Patrick Ryan's lighting also helped from setting
the scene from the eerie opening to keeping rat and fairy apart. It is a traditional panto with nothing to shock
children – or maiden aunts – packed with equally traditional bad puns
and jokes, oh yes it is. Not the strongest script ever but the cast and
director made it work and it runs to 15-12-12. Roger Clarke |
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