Camelot the Panto

This was my first visit to Bacup AODS to see their performance of “Camelot the Panto”. I must admit I was a little unsure what to expect when I saw the title of this show, but happily this production had all the usual traditional pantomime high jinx with lots of boos cheers and “Oh no he didn’t” along with good music, well executed choreography and a number of innovative ideas with modern twist resulting in a very entertaining modern, yet tradition production of a pantomime.

Directors Claire Ashworth and Michael Haworth steered their cast of talented actors and performers into producing very enjoyable comedic performances. All appeared to work hard with lots of enthusiasm and had an excellent rapport with the audience. The story is set in Camelot where Arthur, played well with plenty of confidence by Lauren Downes, is about to marry Princess Guinevere played nicely by Helena Rose. Both made a good pantomime couple with nice characterisations complementing each other very well. The Wedding is arranged but unfortunately Guinevere is kidnapped during the marriage ceremony by three dastardly villains led by Morgan Le Fay played by Dawn-Marie Woodcock, Valerin the Vicious, King of the Tangled Woods and his mother Queen Mavis both played by Stephen Woods and Rebecca Smith. All three produced good interesting characters with evil intentions playing very well to the audience and got plenty of 'boos' when they came on stage. They were well assisted in their evil deeds by twins Marlon played by Janice Purslow and the invisible Garlon. This motley crew take Guinevere deep into the woods  and are determined that shewill marry Valerin the Vicious so Morgan can reap revenge on the wizard Merlin-Gary Haworth (who spoke just like Yoda from Star Wars) then, in the end, Morgan could be the ruler of Camelot. 

Arthur sets out on an adventure to rescue Guinevere with the help of some wonderful characters including his father King Uther well played by Karen McNulty and his friends the energetic court fool 'Laugh a Lot' played by Patrick Duffy, who had a very good rapport with the audience, and Guinevere’s maid Nell excellently played by Emmeline Greenwood. Then there was Michael Howarth as the indomitable dame, Nurse Connie Clatterbottom. I really enjoyed his rendition of “I am what I am" from the show 'La Cage aux Folles' which is one of my favourite shows. Claire  Ashworth also took part on stage as the lovely cuddly dancing Bare “Teddy” who didn’t say anything, but gave us plenty of expression in her movements and reactions. During their adventure they meet some lovely characters such as Cilla the snake and a talking clock played by Lori-Mae Hooley, and Nilrem-Colin Cropper. Then we have the Unicorn Queen Daniella Radcliffe and her unicorns Olivia Astley and Emily Jagger. There was a stand out performance by the talented Charlotte Ferris as young Merlin whose rendition along with Dawn-Marie of the duet  “Anything you can do” from 'Annie Get Your Gun' was thoroughly enjoyed getting one of the best reactions of the afternoon.The chorus supported the principle cast well producing some interesting characters of their own, they sang and performed the choreography by Rachael O’Hara expertly. Vocal arrangements were by Oliver Peckwho was also a guest vocalist and all the singing and dancing was accompanied by backing tracks which worked nicely. Generally diction and projection was very good meaning the dialogue could be followed easily which helped with the interaction and the responses from the audience           

The excellent set was designed and constructed by Paul Ashworth and was just right for this production. The location for each scene was projected onto a back screen which was very effective and gave a feeling of  authenticity resulting in smooth transitions between scenes which kept the pace of the show just right, well done to stage manager Adam Greenwood and to all the backstage crew and workers. There was very good technical input from sound and innovative lighting, although just a constructive comment, in some scenes there was special lighting, but the stage was dark and it was difficult to see the dancers and actors on stage, so it may have been advantageous for them to have been highlighted with UV lighting and clothes.

Costumes were very colourful  and just right for the era and setting. I thought Morgan La Fay’s costume was very striking and well designed, although Arthur’s trousers may have looked a little more princely had he had knee or higher boots rather than ankle boots, but that is just a personal observation. 

There were two very enjoyable guest appearances - one from Dansworks Dance Academy of Performing Arts who performed an excellent tap routine and Fusion Dance and Fitness who performed a cheerleading routine perfectly, both fitted into the production nicely.    

It is said that you can measure the success of a pantomime by the reaction from the audience and here the audience appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this very entertaining innovative, yet traditional Pantomime to the stage. Thank you very much for inviting us, we had a lovely afternoon as did the rest of the audience judging from their happy reaction on the way out of the theatre.

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