Babes in the Wood

Having been involved in Wellingborough Pantomime for over 20 years, it was great to be back to watch their latest pantomime, Babes in the Wood. Although not one of the most popular pantomimes, Babes in the Wood mixes the story of Robin Hood with that of two unfortunate children whose legal guardian - The Sheriff of Nottingham - is trying to steal their inheritance.

As with all good panto storylines, the performance kicked off with a puff of smoke and the appearance of our fairy, Jennie Lovell did a grand job of bringing the very busy fairy to life. I loved the way she was wrapped up in so many different panto storylines that she kept forgetting which one she was in; it was great to see some humour from a fairy. Michael Graves made an ace Nurse Molly Coddle, and I expected nothing else. He's truly a seasoned panto dame and I always look forward to seeing him in panto.

Carla Valentino made a beautiful Maid Marion; her singing voice always leaves me breathless and tonight made no exception. Both of Carla's songs were wonderfully sung and i was enthralled throughout. A little word of advice for Carla - when acting nervous, there was a tendency to rush your lines which made them a little difficult to understand. Try slowing down and thinking about diction and different inflections on your speech to bring out the nervousness rather than rushing through. Our hero for the night was played by Heather Bambridge. Heather is no stranger to principal boy, and she proved that with her portrayal of Robin Hood. Heather is always uber confident at her delivery and can work the audience well. I enjoyed her songs, and she has a real strong singing voice. I wasn't completely sure that pigtails are suited to a principal boy, but it didn't detract from a great performance.

David Mander was our Sheriff, he made a prime baddy and i enjoyed his number with Block and Tackle which was well put together and choreographed. He worked the audience well and had great come backs when things didn't go entirely to plan. Block and Tackle were played by partners Siobhan Amos and Will Barr - the pair acted well together and bounced off each other with ease. I can imagine many hours at home going through the script!

One of my favourite characters of the night was Jack Ebsworth as Dangerous Dave. Jack always played the "Village Idiot" role to perfection, and I always enjoy seeing and working with him in panto - he's not afraid of falling on the ground, getting smashed in the face with custard pies or doing anything else that befalls a good village idiot. Keep at it Jack - you're a true panto-lad.
Our babes for this performance were Nathan Hargreaves and Ava Downer. The two youngsters have worked together before in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with strengthened their performance this time. I loved their duet, it was lovely. I really hope the pair stay in amateur theatre. I of course can't forget out Merry Men - Nathan Gibson (Friar Tuck), Shaun McMahon (Little John), Alison Thomas (Will Scarlett) and Abbie Hales (Alan A Dale), all performed wonderfully. Although not huge roles, they all performed well together and looked like they were having enormous fun.

The chorus was smaller this year than usual, but this didn't detract from the performance. I felt that they could have been used in the first act a little more, however. They sang and moved well. The dancers were equally as talented with some good routines. A little observation though was that it seems whenever dancers are involved with a full company number, the rest of the company seem to be pushed to the side of the stage to make way for them. Dancers have a massive role in any panto, but it would be nice to see a little bit of intermingling. I'm sure this is the case in most productions, but it seemed a bit more obvious tonight. 

The Castle is such a wonderful venue that gives amateur groups a chance to produce truly professional style shows. Babes in the Wood was no exception. The scenery (from Scenic Projects LTD) was spectacular with brilliant village scenes and woodland scenes alike - Well done to Garry and his "Team Eventex" for amazing execution of the staging. The costumes were equally as good, bright and colourful with some brilliant Dame frocks.

The band sounded great, and the sound levels were spot on. We were in the balcony, and I could hear every word perfectly. I've previously criticised bands for running "silent pits". I was pleased that tonight wasn’t such an instance and Rod did a stella job with the musicians and arrangements.

The programme was informative and well laid out, I didn’t feel that the cover design shouted "Pantomime" too much, however. I am unable to enter it into the NODA programme competition as it is missing the relevant information - details of the competition are here: https://www.noda.org.uk/_assets/ckfinder_library/files/PosterComp/Programme%20and%20Poster%20Criteria%2022-24_30680.pdf
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We had a thoroughly entertaining night with Wellingborough Pantomime and I will miss them thoroughly when I move away from the area. My thanks go to Steve Patrick - the societies chairman for keeping us company. Well done WPS - here's to many more years to come.

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.