Camelot the Panto

I had no idea what to expect when going to see Camelot The Panto but I have to say I was impressed by this talented group of performers. Camelot was an inspired and splendid choice of panto filled with fabulous characters, colourful costumes, upbeat music, impressive dance routines and plenty of good humour and audience participation. It was well directed by Nikki Ivison and you could see how hard the whole company had worked to create this wonderful show.

The panto tells the love story of Prince Arthur and the beautiful Guinevere, whose nuptials are cut short when Guinevere is kidnapped by the evil Morgan Le Fay and her followers Valerin the Vicious, his mother and their henchmen Marlon and 'invisible' Garlon.

We start in Camelot, where we receive a great introduction to the comical character 'Laughalot' played brilliantly by Jess Gilbert. Jess has fantastic stage presence and commanded the audience right from the start, interacting with ease and delivering some truly 'laugh out loud' moments. We all got onboard with Laughalot and enjoyed the numerous callouts of "Be Bold and Brave".

We then  meet the dashing Prince Arthur played by the multi-talented Megan Davies. Megan gave an impressive performance with strong acting, a great vocal and even better dance moves, I loved her use of tap! You could tell she was an experienced performer and she really stood out in the big dance numbers. I have to commend her on her choreography, which played to the strengths of the whole cast. Well done!

We enjoyed an energetic first group number 'Faith', where we met the colourful ensemble as well as the beautiful Guinevere (Emily Chambers) and her lady in waiting Nell (Lisa Legge). I'm glad that Guinevere wasn't the typical damsel in distress, Emily played her as a headstrong independent woman, not afraid to stand her ground, which she did so convincingly. Lisa as Nell was a nice contrast; quiet, shy and completely adorable. We could all see that her and Laughalot were meant to be, with their awkward but endearing interactions. This was a great pairing!

Enter the Dame; Connie Clatterbottom played hilariously by Rob Finney, with great characterisation, facial expressions and comic timing. He had us laughing in every scene.  Congratulations to the wardrobe department for sourcing his FAB-U-LOUS costumes they were divine and my goodness couldn't he walk and dance in heels (better than me)! Of course we couldn't forget Connie's faithful sidekick, her lovable dragon Drizo played by Mel McCluskey, which goes to show, you don't have to say a word to capture the hearts of the audience. We really did fall in love with this Dragon and Mel did a brilliant job in expressing Drizos every emotion, behind the masked costume. One of the funniest moments of the whole show was when Drizo drank the love potion and did her sexy dance to' Let's get it on', as she fell in love with the King! Brilliant!

Another great and unexpected moment was the musical number 'Jump' a rap lead by the King Uther, played by Paul Lack. You could tell through his deliverance that he was a very experienced actor, he gave a great performance and that rap, supported by the ensemble brought the house down.

Morgan Le Fay played wickedly by Dani Worlock was another strong performance, the minute she arrived on stage the typical panto boo's commenced, she had some great comebacks at the audience and we enjoyed her evil cackle. She had a strong voice and her musical numbers were certainly a highlight of the show. I particularly enjoyed 'Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves', which showcased the singing talents of some of the younger cast members, as Morgan's fellow Sisters.

Conor Stobart and Jo Stanley as Valerin the Vicious and 'his mother' were a great duo and bounced off each other brilliantly. I enjoyed the temper tantrums of Valerin and the smothering of his mother, which highlighted that he wasn't an evil genius he was just a mummies boy! Great support from the dim-witted henchman Marlon (Joe Rolt) and Garlon (Caroline Thomas).

I enjoyed the de-aging Merlin played firstly by Peter Goodson, who gave us a slightly forgetful, bumbling version of the great Wizard. I particularly enjoyed his 'I'll be there in a flash' moments (...more like five flashes). I must mention Merlin's talking head Nilrem played by Megan Poole and Dave the Snake (Poppy Stubbs), who with the use of only their heads, gave good performances. Megan had some great facial expressions and line delivery. When entrapped by Morgan Le Fay, Merlin outwits her and is able to free himself by going backwards. He comes back to defeat her as the Young Merlin (Jo Longuet-Higgins). The mash up of Hit Me With Your Best Shot/One Way was fantastically sung by Jo and Dani. Right at the end we see Merlin de-age one more time, played well by Megan Adshed, which got a good laugh from the audience.

The castle scene had some good cameo's from David James as the Talking Clock and Hilary Smith as the Bishop. I loved the use of the various doors and secret compartments, which helped deliver some great comic moments. We enjoyed shouting out "it's behind you" when the ghost sequence commenced,  which concluded with the ghoul coming face to face with Connie, throwing it's arms in the air, screaming and running away. Hilarious.

Merlin gets Morgan Le Fay to renounce her powers and the show draws to an end with Arthur and Guinevere being reunited and Laughalot finally finding the courage to ask Nell out. The company finish with another great uplifting  group number 'Shine' and the audience were left wanting more.

Thank you for a great evening of entertainment, I enjoyed it thoroughly and I look forward to coming back in the Summer to see The Elephants Dream.

 

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