Camelot

It’s always good to come and visit Needham’s Panto, produced by the people of Needham Market for the people of Needham. They had a good strong cast and was filled with plenty of typical panto comedy  suitable for this family show with a good choice of songs which were well performed by all.  

Sarah France was Jasper the Jester along with Simon Hughes as The Dame, Nurse Bedpan. They had a good rapport with each other and their audience.  Martin Chalmers was King Arthur and Gillian Hilder as  Queen Guinevere, both looked suitably regal in their fine costumes and with Andy France as the iconic character Merlin.  Rhianna Melton gave a charming performance as Princess Olivia, whose journey leads her to true love with Prince Hector, portrayed by Gary Stone. Together, they formed a convincing and endearing pair, enhanced by beautiful songs throughout. There has to be an evil witch and Gemma Marshall was splendid as Morgana who soon had the audience booing her. She was accompanied by her henchman, Mordred portrayed by Sophie Warde Hunter who served as an effective comedic counterpart to Morganna’s villainy. Mordred gave an excellent performance with her song ‘One way or another’ It was an inspired choice for her.

 The totally believable comedy duo of Rough and Tumble (Gareth Cross and Dan Crompton) which described their characters perfectly, worked well together with a good sense of timing and they thrived in their respective roles.   Tom Shreeve gave a wonderful performance as Sir Lancelot Bond with his character impersonation of James Bond. He had excellent mannerisms and fabulous deep and cultured voice.  Kultura Bell appeared and performed beautifully as the ethereal Lady of the Lake.

The chorus consisted of four delightful young ladies with their song and dance routines, along with ten junior chorus. They were a cute chorus in their musical number as mice and later in a very effective scene as Morganna’s little helpers with their multicoloured illuminated  Bat costumes.  They were all full of energy and enthusiastic in their performances and I’m sure all enjoying their stage time. Well done to all  the principals, chorus and supporting actors.

This was the first time they had used individual microphones and despite their concerns this all went well and the production was much improved with the quality of the songs and dialogue. Their hand painted scenery was colourful and effective, and all the splendid costumes added to this very enjoyable production.  We and all your audience loved it and our grateful thanks go to all the cast and crew for  your hard work and dedication into producing such an entertaining show.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.