"Around the World in 80 minutes..."

A theatre in London is advertising seven pantomimes in 80 minutes but even such a project seems modest compared with a trip round the world.  Besides, this latest work from the pen (or the quill, as the programme has it) of Tadcaster’s own pantomime King, Mark Ellison, is more than enough to occupy such an amount of time, give or take half an hour (to add its sub-title).

It is, of course, based on the famous Jules Verne novel and we soon meet his alter ego, Julia, in which role Beverley Fletcher makes regular appearances to guide us through the evening. The beliefs of members of the Flat Earth Society provide an early opportunity for an “oh, no, it’s not” routine and, of course, the challenge for our intrepid adventurer, Philippa Fogg. Charlotte Towers gave an impressive and confident performance in this latter role, aided and abetted by Cousin Compass, the usual village idiot type of character, deftly (or should it be daftly) played by Kevin Bowes. His “mother”, Auntie Clockwise, an appropriate name for the “dame” of a piece with timing in its title, keeps an eye on him and Chris Meadley again has a lot of fun in the part. Peter Fletcher as the villain, Barnabus Blunderbuss, appeared in a variety of guises with a range of appropriate voices throughout the show as he kept a close eye on Fogg’s progress, the audience quick to show its displeasure and some amusement at his interference.  His efforts were supported by his genie, a slave with numeracy problems resulting in no apparent restriction on the total of wishes granted. Joanne Hawkins quickly established a good rapport with the audience in this role.

A Turkish bazaar, the Australian outback, a naval vessel under piratical attack, a Hollywood soundstage and the North Pole were just some of the stops on this world tour and clever use of a video screen made these appear extremely realistic.  Similarly, a show with so many varied settings will have provided a challenge to the wardrobe department but this was met without difficulty and all members of the cast were suitably and colourfully attired no matter where in the world they appeared. 

Another consequence of the variety of settings was the opportunity to introduce several characters who appeared in only the one scene.  Catherine Marshall as the thigh-slapping Calamity Jane was one example and she made a good leader on the Deadwood stage (and in real life as Chair of the company, as it happens), here under the watchful eye of Hollywood mogul, Cecilia de Mille (Linsey Fone).  Even Wishee Washee makes an appearance with a song, Diane Eyers combining this role with that of the Secretary of the Flat Earth Society.  Alison Davies as Alice Springs (a person not a place here) proves to be Tadcaster’s own Kylie and Act two opens with a reminder of the original author’s novel 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and an opportunity for more appropriate visual effects and nautical characters. In a reference to another of Verne’s novels, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Andy Mee as Professor Otto attempts his own sort of short-cut of Fogg’s journey, with occasional appearances sporting somewhat memorable headgear. As the deadline of Christmas Eve approaches, Santa, one of three roles played by Mike Hewett, provides valuable transportation to ensure all is well, our heroine wins her wager and the unpopular Barnabus is frustrated.  We could not leave without a community song and the Proclaimers’ 500 Miles provided a suitable reference to travel, albeit several thousand miles short of our heroine’s actual journey. Perhaps this had something to do with the numeracy problems of our genie, who was one of the team which led the sing-a-long.  Three keyboards and percussion provided good support for the many musical numbers, in most of which the director had managed to involve the entire cast.

A virtually full house saw the opening night of this show, another amusing and entertaining production from this talented writer and team Tadcaster, proving there was indeed more to the town than the “three breweries and a by-pass” mentioned in the script.  We might not really have been around the world but we did see a world premiere.                

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