Adrian

“Adrian” was not a pantomime I had come across before, the story is based around an inhabitant to Pantoland – the aforementioned Adrian. In amongst the inhabitants of this strange world – ranging from Snow White to the Big Bad Wolf - Adrian appears a little lost, that is until he unwittingly injures the Fairy Godmother and takes up the mantle himself.

In the lead role Chris Fletcher gave us a commanding Adrian, well backed up by his two admirers in Victoria Goode as Red Riding Hood and Donna Fletcher as Belle. Donna also played Little Bo Peep with a wool allergy! As in most pantomimes there was room for a dame, this time in the shape of Biff as Dame Drippington who managed to crack some awful jokes and scare a number of the males present.

The baddy of the piece was the Big Bad Wolf (Pete Soper) who got the audience booing and then got the audience’s sympathy when it was revealed his name was actually Kimberley.

I counted thirty one different characters which gave the cast plenty to do with the majority having more than one role; this must at times have been very confusing but did give the opportunity for some very good characterisation. Top of the list came Stephen Parry who gave us five very distinct and different characters as Gipetto, Policeman, Judge, a blind Captain Bluebeard and a French Waiter, well acted and portrayed. Following hard on his footsteps was Tammy Calvert who counted Idle Jack and Cinderella among some of the figures she confidently took on. Rose Brown gave us a short and nutty cameo as Alice in Wonderland and Netty Batchelor was a very good, long-nosed adolescent Pinocchio. Leo Morawski gave us a barmy Crusoe with fantastic hair.

A strange but good scene towards the end had Cinderella (Tammy Calvert), Snow White (Jean Smy) and Sleeping Beauty (Bridget Calvert) discussing the merits of their husbands, only to find out they were all married to the same man (Prince Charming played by Rob Jones), an interesting concept!

The set comprised mostly of a lovely painted pantomime village backdrop which suited the piece, but it was a shame it had to be used so often and we didn’t get some variety. Props were generally good, I thought Stumpy Pete could have been a bit bigger - certainly if the whole cast were sailing back on him to Pantoland!  At the other end of the scale was a superb Pitchforks4Us cart that deserves mentioning.

The costumes – and there had to be a lot of them – were basic but generally suitable.

The musical accompaniment was provided by ‘Any Note Will Do’ who backed up the cast well without overpowering them. The highlight for me being ‘Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” in which the cast gave their all.

Technically the simple lighting worked and created the right mood.

In conclusion, another entertained audience thanks to the hard work of all involved.

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