Dick Whittington

 And they are back! After a three-year absence Maulden Players once again packed the village hall for their annual pantomime, this time with the resurrection of the first pantomime ever written by Tracy Canavan-Smith back in 2002, Dick Whittington.  And judging by the demographic and reaction of the audience a much-missed event throughout the village. Most pantos I review have audiences mainly consisting of small children accompanied by either parents or grandparents. Maulden however, almost uniquely manage to attract a complete cross section of age groups, with or without accompanying youngsters.  A rare distinction and an indication of how popular the event is.

The plot was very much a Canavan-Smith adaption of the original legend which included Dick and his cat saving the kindly Lord Hadalot from bankruptcy at the hands of the evil Squire Wantmore by  sailing off  to the fictional island of Muchomulah to deal with a giant rat and being rewarded with a chest of gold and jewellery and of course (spoiler alert) arriving back just in time to put everything right. One scene worth a particular mention was the arrival on the island by boat where we were treated to a full-blown safety briefing as you would have on a commercial flight complete with a voice over in both English and Spanish. Very clever and very funny!

The scenery for Maulden Players has been painted by Marion Hynes for the best part of three decades and it is quite something to see! Whether it be a full blown perfectly proportioned kitchen complete with fully kitted-out fireplace, with pots and pans, or a village scene, or a faraway island the scenery was, as usual strikingly well painted. Sadly, Marion has decided to take a well-deserved rest and I have to say she will be sorely missed.

Stage management was in very capable hands of Mark and Phil Allen. Lighting was also very well done with some excellent appropriate washes by Nick Endacott and completed with James Canavan-Smith on the follow spot. Sound by Mark Sheppard was interesting in that all the music and sound effects came out through the speakers, but the performers were not using mics. Almost unheard of in this day and age. Getting that balance right is a brave and delicate process, but somehow it seemed to defy gravity and actually worked OK. Well done!

Costumes were well sourced by Tracy Canavan-Smith, Alison Quinn, Tayla Blackman and Marion Hynes and added a great array of colour and style to the characters and scenes. Makeup by Zoe Barke was also very well done, but a particular mention must be made of Puss the cat’s makeup, which was done by Lindsay Vickors &  Marion Hynes and was quite simply stunningly realistic.

And of course the music was supplied by that one man orchestra on Keyboards, Ron Chimes, who always starts off with the familiar “Time is Tight” by Booker T and the M.G’s. Love it!!

Dick Whittington himself was very confidently played by Lauren Chimes, and with Lindsay Vickors as Puss was a great partnership, and Lindsay’s use of feline expressions and actions without a single word of dialogue was an absolute masterclass.

Zep Tocco was the down on his luck Lord Hadalot (love that name!) whilst Tayla Blackman was his daughter Judy Hadalot, our love interest who had to be rescued from the clutches of the evil Squire Wantmore, played by Rob Murphy. As a baddy he was wonderfully evil, very much helped by the superb false eyebrows, moustache and goatee beard. He looked like a classic villain from the silent film era. Boos galore were well earned! !  And not to forget the wonderfully Scottish cook played by Mazine Tocco very much in charge of her kitchen whilst wielding her wooden spoon!

Our two villain’s sidekicks, or village idiots with the wonderful names of Sid Still and Stan Still were played by James Struthers and Natalie Chimes. They certainly knew how to extract every ounce of comedy out of every scene with some wonderful facial expressions. And, they certainly knew how to deal with hecklers as well and a persistent offender was eventually dragged on to the stage for a song. Great stuff And just when I thought this pantomime lacks one essential ingredient, a Dame, out come this pair after the interval with James in full drag with some wonderful OTT bright pink eyeshadow, whilst Natalie appears with a somewhat dodgy beard that kept slipping, which all added to the merriment.

Then we had various members of the chorus playing all the other parts Polly The Maid (Sarah Joy), Cyril the butler (Ben Michaels), King Ivatattoo (Gavin Blackman), Queen Meetoo (Lisa Ashby), Maureen (played by the playwright herself), Policeman (Maddi Porter), Herald (James Forrester). Not forgetting the giant Rat played by Jess Hughes and chased round the hall by Puss herself. And finally the ranks of the chorus were also swelled by Chloe Frizzelle and Halle George. Good job guys, especially without microphones!

This group personify what village hall amateur dramatics is all about, an enthusiastic and talented cast with an equally engaging audience who can’t get enough. Always one of our highlights to attend the annual Maulden Pantomime and so congratulations to Director and writer Tracy Canavan-Smith and Producer Alison Quinn on another successful and enjoyable production. Long may it continue.

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