Fantastic Mr Fox

As seen by Matthew Heaton (NODA South West Regional Editor) on Sunday 19th February 2023 at 2.30pm, covering for Delia Lee (NODA SW District 10)

As the Director’s notes in the show programme suggested, The Bradfordians really do like Roald Dahl – they have performed many of his stories, the last being two of his ‘Revolting Rhymes’ in 2019 that I also had the pleasure of attending.  The version of ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ used here was based upon an adaptation of the book by Sally Reid. As with many of The Bradfordians’ February half-term productions, this show had a mixed cast of both adults and children with a total sell-out audience over multiple performances to match!

An intriguing atmosphere was created on entering the venue – with a lit, open stage and interesting floor projection. Technically, this was a very challenging production and we were also treated to another ingenious set by Director Phil Courage and team. The centrepiece was a raised grassy mound below a tree, which acted like a rear platform to give some height to proceedings of the floor level stage area, with some clever hidden steps to allow walking over or standing on. It provided some great levels for the farmers to be positioned on when waiting for the foxes below, for example. In the base of the mound were three fox holes and the back-lit gauze effect initially over the holes allowed us to see the fox family living in the Den beneath the Farmers. This created a lovely and unexpected effect. The trap door in the top for Mr Fox to leave th mound by and the rear entrance, which opened up by the Farmers digging were all surprising and terrific additions too.

As well as the mound, there were some great additional stage features. The mechanical digger used by Bean was great fun. The Hen Coops and Bunce Store cleverly came in from the side and the fold out for the Cider Store was well-worked too. Overall, the set design and construction were terrific and key feature of the production.

The show staging made great use of this set. The stage management from the team  was both efficient and effective. In addition, further interest was generated through the use of different and varied entrances and exits to/from the stage. I really enjoyed the participation element, encouraging the audience to help hide the foxes from the Farmers –  it was great fun. There was some clever staging involved in shooting off of Mr Fox’s tail too!

As we have already detailed, all of this was supported by some really great lighting effects. Good use of the back wall as a cyclorama was made as the sky and the silhouettes created for the Farmer hunting scene were most effective. The coloured floor projections were great with a good use of haze to create both woodland and underground effects through the light. As with most LED lighting systems, sometimes the timings available can make the lighting transitions a little harsh or sudden, though there is little  you can really do about this and it detracted little from the overall effect.  It was a clever move to do the digging scenes out front on stage with a ‘moving head’ light acting as a follow-spot – it worked really well as a concept.

The sound ran very well too. There were no apparent radio microphones or other static microphones to amplify the sound as far as I could detect, so everyone had to project their voices to ensure all could all be heard. In general this was vey good, though was less clear with a few of the younger performers as the show progressed as they tired.  There was a good use of additional sound effects, including ducks, geese and gun shots. The footsteps used to the Cellar were particularly good.

Costumes and make-up were excellent. The show gave great scope and opportunities for variety and creative flair, which the team took full advantage of. The foxes’ costumes were excellent. I like Mr Fox’s white ruffled shirt for his front and furry fingerless gloves, but all of the animals had excellent costumes, creating fun and effective effects. The make-up for all the animals and cast faces in particular were a delight and very impressive. Great costuming and make-up for the Farmers took place too – all detailed and different to exaggerate their characters. Really well-done here. Properties  were excellent too, from the farmer shotguns, right through to the night-time lanterns. The food at the picnic was also most impressive, with many of the props being edible!

The original music, composed by Kate Courage especially for this production was brilliant too and was used really well to link scenes and cover any long transitions too. It fitted really well with the production. There was also some nice solo singing in the picnic scene too.

This really felt like a production to promote and make the very most of the youth in the Society with some guiding hands-on stage and once again this worked well. This was a great ensemble piece.

There were some lovely performances too  – Mr Fox had g.reat energy and enthusiasm in his performance and really drove the show on-stage. He formed a lovely relationship with Mrs Fox and a great family portrayed with their four Fox Cubs  The three Famers (Boggis, Bunce and Bean) were a despicable delight together. They made the very best of their opportunities to be larger than life and their contrasting characters added to the interest.

There were lovely cameos as well from Badger and Rat and I really like the three children as narrators at the start. There was lovely support too from the others supporting as the other voices and animals.

The 2.30pm production I attended was full of children and young people and the proof of success was in their reaction (one behind me said they were disappointed it had not gone on longer!). The performance had the sparkle to hold their full attention and they and the rest of  the audience loved it. This was a great, well-executed production, which Helen and I enjoyed very much. It made completing this show report very easy! Congratulations to everyone involved!

These comments solely reflect the view of the Representative and can only relate to the performance seen.

 

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