Alice in Wonderland - but not as you know it.
Information
- Date
- 10th February 2018
- Society
- Felton & Thirston Panto Society
- Venue
- Felton Village hall
- Type of Production
- Pantomime
- Director
- Dave Price & Neal Skelton
- Choreographer
- Mel Cook
A trip to Felton is always memorable because of the quirky ‘twists’ they give to a traditional pantomime; and because of the warm, friendly welcome the village folk seem to exude from every fibre of their being.
The script, by directors Dave Price and Neal Skelton was on the theme of Alice in Wonderland but as the title said, ‘not as you know it!’ with two dames Pru and Smell (Dave Price and Dave Hindmarsh) whose infectious humour, repartee with each other and the audience endeared them to all even though they were cast as the ‘baddies’. The title role of Alice was played by Julia Butlin with the endearing qualities you expect from the character.
There the ‘traditional’ ended as Alice was pursued down the rabbit hole (a magic portal in the back room of Prof Albertus Grumbledore – Neal Skelton) by Pru and Smell back to a previous pantomime encountering Mrs Hudson (Melanie Hodkinson) – who was about to cook the White rabbit (Dave Francis) for Sherlock Holmes’ (Chris Jones) evening meal. Further journeys continued meeting twins Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dumber (Catherine and Abigail Inglis-Jones) who impressed with their diction and stage presence. The Mad Hatter tea party was a superbly confident performance by Chris Jones (who also later was Bumpole of the Bailey).
Trying to keep us all on track with the storyline and encouraging the audience in suitable ‘responses’ was a narrator (Bob George)
The quirky script saw not only Alice shrinking after drinking the ‘drink me’ bottle but a whole new cast of youngsters (the oldest 11 year old) took on the roles of Alice (Joley Hindmarsh), White Rabbit (Lucy Champion), Miss Beeton/Hudson (Anna Reed), Narrator (Lexie Towers), Pru (William Anderson) and Smell (Tom Felton) – a superb twist before eventually being ‘re-inflated’
Add to the story the Knave, King and Queen of Hearts, Jessica Rabbit, a ‘stoned’ caterpillar, and unruly schoolchildren (Darcy Towers, Evie McAllister, Isabella Lamb and Daisy Barr) and you had a first-class pantomime.
Well done to two youngsters – Bailey Fowler as the Dormouse with ‘attitude’ and also Robin McAllister as ‘Half Baked’ – a diminutive sous chef with a chainsaw who said not one word but his menacing demeanour was class.
Finally, well done to the stage crew for the excellent set which was transformed throughout and the ‘techies’ who kept the scene lit and the SFX coming (even when being publicly ‘berated’ by Pru and Smell throughout.) Costumes were made from scratch for the production by the team of Grace Aynsley, Joan Downing, Anne Raine, Ann Lings and Sue Inglis-Jones - a superb effort.
Can’t wait to get next year…
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