Dick Whittington and his Cat in Sandals

We guessed that this home grown panto was going to be a little different and it certainly was in a most enjoyable way!  Sometimes writers and directors have to cut their coat according to their cloth (their cast in this instance).  All the parts were well cast and the opportunity was given for most of the chorus members to have a small part as well.

The fight between good and evil was well personified by  Amy Baker as Fairy Bowbelle (whose laugh had me in stitches!) and Sue Davis as the extremely evil Queen Rat and there were plenty of boos and hisses when she came on.

A lovely performance from Dulcea Mayhew as Richard Whittington and Zara Belcher gave us a cat who certainly wore sandals and a tutu as well !  A really cuddly cat.  Alicia Jay was the lovely Crystal – a delightful Principal Girl.

This time the Dame was actually played by a lady and Becks Heard sported all  the lovely dame like outfits and of course, picked on a male member of the audience for her date.  An excellent performance.   Idle Jack (Mark Canelle) was certainly idle and fell asleep at the least opportunity.

The baddie always has to have two servants to do her will and they were Yana Mason as Hobnob and Romilly Huxley as Garibaldi – rats of course but dressed in very natty suits performing with much fun and tail swishing.

There was also lots of fun to be had with Alderman Johnson, Captain Codswallop, Queen Kia Ora and Prince Braveheart – all well cast and all making the panto  go with a swing.

Good singing and dancing throughout from principals and chorus thanks to Musical Director and Choreographer Charisse Goddard.  The sound was maybe a little overpowering at times but I can well understand that there can be problems when in a relatively small hall.

There is always so much work that is done behind the scenes by those involved in scenery, costumes programme and many other jobs that have to be done.  Congratulations to all those involved back stage and also front of house, particularly for the always welcome refreshments.

The Haven Players always have a strong family feeling about their productions and in this case, the panto was written by Geoff Baker and directed by Susan Beck – brother and sister.  Thank you to the Haven Players for an enjoyable panto and good luck for all your future productions.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.