Dick Whittington

 This was my first visit to North Stars as they have only recently joined Noda. I had been to a rehearsal a few weeks before and it was great to see the finished product and how much work had gone into this production by not just the cast but the production team too

The great thing about the playing space here at the Grange is it’s very adaptable and good use can be made of the floor space with seating on three sides. There are plenty of entrances/exits which is fabulous for panto and this company made very good use of these especially with the very young performers. The staging looked great with large props/staging bought on from the area beside the seating where it was well hidden. This was opening night and there were some delays in setting new scenes but I’m sure this got slicker as the run went on. 

The costumes were lovely and worked well, suiting the characters. The sound and lighting all enhanced the show but there were a couple of miking issues but again it was opening night.

This was primarily a youth production with a few older more experienced actors thrown in the mix to aid the show. The Junior chorus were adorable and Darcey McCoy kept them in time and aided their entrances and exits,

The Senior Ensemble worked hard and the dances looked effective considering the different abilities across the cast. Well done Darcey on the choreography and making this work with such a differential in the cast. 

The script was great and in the main was delivered well. Linzi McCoy the Director and Producer allowed the scenes to flow. Personally I prefer shortened versions of songs in pantomime which keep a nice fast pace to the proceedings. The songs in this were all to backing tracks but I’m sure these can be cut in future. The choice of songs worked well and also suited the characters and more importantly the actor’s ranges. 

The supporting roles of Fairy Bow and Bells played by Holly Maguire and Megan Clarke were nicely delivered with great dance moves and nice vocals. The other supporting roles allowed some of the older young people to deliver lines for possibly their first time and they all performed well. King Rat was played by Nick Butterworth on the night I was in. He seemed menacing but needed to slow some of his lines down for full effect.

Rowan Curran did a great job as Alderman Fitzwarren, often keeping proceedings flowing on stage when others in the cast couldn’t remember lines and always maintaining character. The rest of the cast can learn a lot from Rowan as his interaction with the audience was brilliant.

Idle Jack and Jill were well played by George Denson and Amelia Wright. They were word perfect and whipped up the audience when they were on. My only advice is to slow the delivery of lines down a little so it is clearer for the audience and don’t laugh yourselves until the line is delivered or it can be lost as was the case on occasions. Some of this will have been first night nerves I am sure and this couple of young people have bags of stage presence and skill.

Rob McCoy as Sarah the Cook looked fabulous and worked well with the audience.  There were a number of times when lines were forgotten and the prompt from the wings was so loud this became a feature that Rob used well. 

Niamh Buckley was wonderful as Booties the Cat. With great make up her every movement was feline and she stayed in character throughout. Well done Niamh.

Megan Fielden made a lovely Alice Fitzwarren, not only looking the part but with super stage presence and acting skills. She played opposite Kat Rogers as Dick who delivered her lines with great authority and sounded fabulous on her songs. The Queen songs which are really difficult were fabulous.  Kat has great stage presence, was word perfect and filled the role perfectly and her and Megan’s scenes never looked forced. Well done to you both.

 This was a lovely evening’s entertainment, which cheered me up on a miserable cold December evening. Every member of the company, both onstage and off should be very proud of their achievements and well done to you all.

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