Adventures in Pantoland

What a delightful experience it was to watch Alnwick Theatre Club present Adventures in Pantoland. Since their first pantomime in 1976 the Theatre Club have achieved a total of 45 pantomimes and this number bears great testament to the value their audience places on this annual event. Tonight’s performance demonstrated what this Theatre Club have achieved as they celebrated 75 years since their birth in 1949.

Tonight, the audience visited six different pantomimes that did not disappoint and whilst it was unusual not to have one story line the writer of the script Alan P Frayne captured everything we expect to see when visiting a pantomime. We were thoroughly entertained and Megan Robb, Director of the Show, beamed with pride at what had been achieved on stage through effort and hard work.

The concept is that a gang of panto originals (Principal Boy, Dame, Fairy etc) search for their place in the world of pantomime and try out several roles in a number of favourite stories.  We journey from the land of make believe to Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella.

The central characters link the narrative and the villain’s Poison Ivy, played by Julie Vint and Wizard, played by Christopher Davies achieved this with great success and create the traditional hissing and booing we all expect. What a comical pair of villains. The Fool was played by Archie Braid and a fool, muddles aptly named, he was. He not only played to the cast but also played to the audience. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance and it was evident that he was equally engrossed in his role. Jimmy Dodds as the pantomime Dame brought in the local humour and successfully walked the thin line between childhood and adult humour. He pulled off the role of Nurse Antiseptic beautifully and ably assisted the King played by Peter Biggers and the Queen played by Stella Spence in their parenting of Sleeping Beauty.

Our Principal Girl, Aoife Matta and Principal Boy, Honey Huges had real charm and the audience warmed to their enthusiasm in playing their roles.

Heather Howey was Tommy the cat. This was a non-speaking role but her antics portrayed an authentic cat-like appearance as did Christine Allcorn and Amy Snaith in their roles as Buttermilk the cow. Alex Vint filled the role of Fairy Honeysuckle. Sweet and charming as the name suggests but also with a talent for musical numbers. Well done Alex.

The dancers from Alnwick Academy of Dance entertained us with a selection of dances appropriate to the pantomime at the time. It is so encouraging to see young performers, perform with confidence in showing their talent. These young people were not for “hiding at the back of the stage.” Congratulations to Joanne Burn for her team’s contribution to this successful show.

The scenery was colourful and effective and with the help of technology we saw the face of the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk. Clever! And that Beanstalk being chopped down, I am speechless. The costumes filled the stage with colour and the effort put into costume design cannot be overstated.

The show ended with the famous song from Hairspray, You Can’t Stop the Beat. Not the easiest song to sing and dance to but you all did it and sent us home with a tap in our step. The whole performance gave testament to the fact that Alnwick Theatre Club will be still performing and thrilling us for another 75 years. A big thankyou to everyone involved.

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