Ali Baba

Pantomimes are for everyone, whatever the age, so in respect of that, there is always a good argument to be maintained that in production and performance wise, this is a very different genre of theatre. One not to be underestimated! Each show includes not only the cast, crew and orchestra but also front-of-house personnel and of course, the all important element, the audience! So creating an atmosphere before the story begins enhances the believability and excitement of what is to come. The open stage, animated depiction of Ali Baba (filled with relevant images), combined with background low-level music is certainly oneway of welcoming the audience into the auditorium.

From the outset this was a show which was to use as much enterprise as possible conjured by the creators imagination. The Juliet slot, used by the Narrator was a surprise, especially when other characters were involved before song and dance routines evolved and thus moved the storyline along. Confidence must be hit from the start and that is what happened. The silhouetted figures on the gauze worked well, aiding the narration and enabling the tale to unravel.

Characterisation within a pantomime must always be big and bold ensuring the audience, especially the younger element, are always at the ready to boo & hiss, cheer the goodie and of course there to scream the ol’ favourite “It’s Behind You”. On stage your company displayed a welcoming array of ages within the cast. This is always an important factor not only for the storyline to be believable but also future productions in years to come. No matter the age, experience in pantomime can be beneficial for a whole range of reasons; learning pathos for drama, singing confidence and movement for musicals; the list can go on! So it was lovely to watch principle roles spread between younger performers and shall we say some who are over the age of 21. Yessah & Nossah displayed an abundance of comic potential, “The Ladies” in ‘I Want To Break Free’ expressions of loveliness and fun; thus just mentioning two elements in the show which typified the effort of all those characters portrayed in performance.

Costume attention to detail was good, importantly to me is the tradition that the Dame wears a different outfit every time ‘she’ is seen and with such cheeky naughtiness in action as well as voice too … Lighting, technical and makeup support kept the whole thing together in an Arabic setting proving that with imagination, guile and knowledge, the magic does come to life.

The balance of musical arrangements and vocals worked really well, so credit to your MD and sound crew indeed! Lovely choreography allowed your dancers to be creative in movement, a strong point from beginning to end.

I noticed in the programme that this was Leigh Steedman’s directorial debut in Pantomime with an attitude of ‘new ideas & everyone to have fun’ being brought to the table. Well done indeed. As already stated, this is not an easy genre to work in so I wish you more success with future shows to come. Energy was shown by all and for a pantomime to work, that is certainly a basic requirement from all cast members. I can only assume that a lot of hard work had been put in during rehearsals to achieve the standard on stage. The audience participation song ’12 Days of Christmas’ was the most energetic I’ve seen for a long time! Thank you, I hope you’ve all recovered by now.

One suggestion I do have for you, always keep a note book at hand to write down appropriate gags, gimmicks and new songs to be used in the next production. For theatre (both professionally and amateur) is always a learning curve of excitement and fun, especially in Pantoland … Oh yes it is !!!

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