Elf

What a way to start my Christmas, to watch the wonderful production of Elf by the Little Theatre Company at the Palace Theatre in Westcliff. I was lucky enough to see the middle performance of a 3-show day and where they got their stamina from, I have no idea! The auditorium was filled with Christmas songs and snowflake designs chasing across this beautiful old theatre with the logo on the back cloth. The lights went down and the amazing band, led by Alex Wood, struck up the overture and what a rousing overture it was. It’s always thrilling to hear a live band accompanying a show, even when we couldn’t see them. As the show progressed it was easy to recognise the amount of work that had been put into the 5-part harmonies sung so effortlessly by the cast. My congratulations to Alex for bringing such tuneful and delightful songs to the stage.

The frame of chasing coloured lights subtly changed as the action progressed from the North Pole to Manhattan, but we were first introduced to the story by one of the most convincing Santas I’ve seen. Guy Blakesley is credited for this role but I’m absolutely sure that Julian Cottee, the Director, had managed to persuade the actual Santa away from his busy schedule to join us. I’ll write more about Julian’s inspired direction later, but a word of congratulation must go to the costume team who excelled themselves with some stunning costumes.

The first scene stealer was the cast of cheerful and happy elves (all on their knees with boots stuck on their kneecaps). The clever way the slowness of the elves, when attempting to walk, was immediately brought out and the first of many hysterically funny visual jokes was displayed. When the cast were engaged in any way, you couldn’t help be drawn to the focus and fun that each cast member was having. There was not a single weak link in this joyous cast and I enjoyed the fun with you all through the show. Buddy came on the scene at this point and John Staines was the absolute epitome of Buddy. He maintained an almost bemused, puppet like quality whist endearing himself to every member of the audience. This was a masterclass in character acting and the whole show was held together by this mesmerising performance. The song, ‘Happy all the time’ was the first of many showstopping songs that threaded their way through this show. I feel I’m gushing a bit but I’m not apologetic, this was a great performance.

The choreography, by Paige Williamson, was so original and amusing and the cast obviously enjoyed perfuming each routine. I loved the modern and totally original feel of the dance numbers which were absolutely suited to the abilities of each society member. The pace of the whole production was fast but smooth. Transitions were often done undercover of a dance routine. The floor sweeper transition was one of the more memorable ones! Congratulations go to the backstage crew and lighting and sound folk who put that professional polish on the performance.

 Katie Russo played Jovie, Buddy’s friend beautifully. She had the right amount of indifference and exasperation towards Buddy until she was drawn, like the rest of us, under Buddy’s spell of total joy. What a lovely voice she had, too, especially when singing ‘Never fall in love with an elf’.  Both Buddy and Jovie displayed great courage when dancing and singing on rollerblades at the ice rink and it was then I realised why the orchestra pit hatch wasn’t open on that steeply raked stage! Congratulations to the cast for delivering such an enchanting ice rink scene. Tim Cater as Walter Hobbs, Buddy’s father, paced the obstinate, uninterested, business man’s progress through to the compassionate father beautifully. With a lovely voice, he managed to take us from the hard-nosed corporate business world to the magic of an awakening affection for all around him so convincingly.  Emily Hobbs, played by Laura Louis was just great too. Her beautiful voice shone out in her duet with Michael in ‘There is a Santa’. She showed great balance between her husband and affection for her son, who was delighted with his new found brother. Alex played Michael Hobbs in the performance I saw, and his confidence and maturity of acting skills was exactly right. His voice was amazing. Well done, Alex.

There were so many excellent other roles that it would be difficult to mention them all. I will pick out Lee Keremezo for his great timing and great singing as the store manager and later on in other roles. The drunk Santa scene was another hilarious highlight especially when enacting a dance routine on space hoppers.

To Julian Cottee, the director of this mad, funny, engaging romp of a show, I say huge congratulations for adhering to his vision to stick to the essence of the film version of this show. It really worked and it is always sheer delight to see a show directed with wit, humour and a twinkle in his eye which admirably translated to the stage. He really understands how to both engage an audience and inspire a company of actors. The enthusiasm shone through but I’m not underestimating the amount of sheer hard work went into this flawless performance. The finale encapsulated this with singing, music, a snowstorm of confetti, Santas sleigh flying through the sky and twinkling light show.

Happily, it was there for a glorious sparklejollytwinklejingly moment and then, sadly, it was gone in a puff of a snowflake. Thank you for looking after us so beautifully and for a wonderful afternoon

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