Batman the Panto

It is always a pleasure to be invited over to a Wilburton Theatre Group production  and there was no way I was going to refuse the invitation to join in the ridiculous fun of Wilburton's new pantomime within a pantomime especially as free tractor rides for the over sixties was on offer! 

Mack Mathod’s panto plot had Ely under threat of a terrible crime wave. The Joker, Catwoman and the Riddler are in town and out to disrupt the peaceful life of the city. They plan to spring the Penguin from Ely Gaol and take charge of Fenlandia. To do this they scheme to interrupt the local school pantomime by interfering with the script of Cinderella and causing Ely's entire crime fighting force to be occupied whilst they spring their fishy friend. 

The script called for a large number of performers and this cast spanned the ages from 8 upwards and there was much to commend.  Leading from the front was Tim Meikle as The Joker, who was more than ably supported by Neve Armstrong as The Riddler and Bryannie Quarrie as Catwoman.  An excellent trio.  Our heroes the caped crusaders played by Tim Bebbington as Batman and Rhys Gwynn as Robin worked pretty well together and of course won the day.

The very young (8-12) WTG members made up the ensemble of dancers and executed their dances well although something went awry in Bat Out of Hell at the Friday performance.  Overall though they did well and certainly all knew the words to the songs.

In Cinderella, the panto within a panto the 12-15 age group had their chance to shine, and shine they did. Cinderella (Abigail Weldon) and Buttons (Jack Cutforth) were a good pairing. Francesca Axton was very much the wicked stepmother, William Cutforth and Thomas Bebbington as the Ugly Sisters were great fun.  A potential dame or two in there I reckon.

I was extremely impressed by young Tayler Quarrie as Prince Herbert who has a wonderfully natural stage presence plus excellent delivery and timing. WTG has a star in the making with him if he decides to stick with acting.  Also I loved the Prince’s Lord High Chancellor played by Aidan Meikle.  Here we had a young actor who has much natural timing and delivery, they made a great double act. Another up and coming youngster is Miles Reynolds who took on two or three cameo roles.

In summary, a well costumed production with minimal staging but an excellent backcloth for Cinderella’s kitchen.  Ignoring the blips with lighting cues and entrances and taking into account the range of ages of the cast, this was a real fun evening which had the audience rocking with laughter when the Cinderella script got scrambled and the cast realised they had been victims of the Joker, Riddler and Catwoman.  Absolute chaos reigned until Batman and Robin saved the day.  

Well done everyone.  Just one question though - where do I claim my free tractor ride?

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