Goldilocks & The Three Bears

This was my first visit to the Preston Playhouse and what a lovely little theatre it is, very inviting and perfectly formed, the little theatre’s we’re so fortunate to have spread across our nation are hubs that’re regularly taken for granted but it’s hard not to appreciate these little treasures we have tucked away in so many of our towns, I do fear for the future of many but hope we - as amateur societies - keep them thriving!  

 

Choosing your panto is not as straightforward a task as it may first appear, once settled on which title you’re going to do the hard work begins when selecting which script to use as there’s SO MANY versions to choose from and making that choice can very quickly become a whirlwind…there’s only so many you can read before they all blur into one. I’m always thankful to see groups opt for fresh, new and innovative panto scripts. The unwritten brief when putting on a panto has many boxes to tick and ‘honouring tradition’ is just one of a mountain of vital ingredients in the mix, however, many make the mistake by assuming a tried and tested script is the way to go which is so often the hinderance to its success …before you’ve even allocated people to the parts. Panto scripts become dated incredibly quickly and this is something I feel Preston Musical Comedy understand. Tom Whalley was chosen to provide the material for this production and Mr Whalley’s pantos are becoming more and more popular each year and it’s clear to see why! Kudos to the team for exploring and researching to ensure the backbone (the script) of your production was of a high calibre.

 

Mark Howard led the project as director, his passion and admiration for pantomime was evident, the pace and staging signified that Mark is no stranger to pantoland. Creative offerings were supported by a traditional musical contribution from Dave Thomas as musical director, maybe it’s more a sign of my age creeping up on me but it’s not uncommon for me to only recognise what song is being performed when the chorus kicks in, this was sometimes the case here. Of course the orchestrations / arrangements need to be heavily reduced to suit a typical panto band but percussion drowning out the other players was a regular obstacle, it’s absolutely imperative to get a strong beat (and I always prefer the music being louder than quieter) but we need to be able to hear the other musicians too otherwise there’s no point in them being there, the sound from the band was overpowered by the percussion.

Choreography came from Anne Arkwright whose dancers (senior and junior) were clearly having a blast with beaming grins which is imperative and infectious making anyone not smiling stick out like a sore thumb.

 

Choosing an accent to accompany a character is a common choice and the script regularly demands it, should an accent be chosen or required doesn’t mean it has to be so deep that it’s hard to understand. Panto attracts yound audience members and youngsters find it incredibly hard to understand an accent they’re not used to making this an incredibly risky decision, particularly when the accent was coming from the role that’s primarily the narrator figure of the production! Eleanor Jolliffe had terrific energy, physicality and presence as Mystic Sharon, I just wished the Scottish accent wasn’t quite as deep as a degree of what she was saying was missed, what I did grasp was very comical and it was evident that Eleanor is clearly a natural at gracing the stage, it was just a shame some of the script was lost.

Matthew Whittingham’s Silly Billy was a triumph, such a fundamental portion of the shows success was down to this performance. The kids and us big kids loved him and he made the daftest of jokes a proper giggle! “Why do we never see baby pigeons!?” … still making me chuckle! Congratulations on a champion performance.

 

Paula Hodgson was our leading lady, Goldilocks. Despite being an avid panto enthusiast, this is the first time I’ve seen ‘Goldilocks’ in its panto form (I know, right!) and I’ve never been sure how it’d translate as ‘she’ is frequently depicted as being a bit of an Angelica (‘Rugrats’ reference) / a bit of a spoilt and stroppy madame which are traits that don’t really lend themselves to a pantomime principal girl, however, I found myself to be equally as delighted as I was disappointed that she wasn’t a mischievous brat. Paula gave us a charming character and delivered with might during the act one finale which was undeniably her shining moment. 

 

Heinkel (the one who gets plenty of boos!) was given a wonderful physicality by Stephen Hall, I would have appreciated articulation to have been given a little more focus and attention but he didn’t fail in shaping a superlative pantomime villain. I sensed that playing the Dame is a relatively new venture for Daniel Haresnape though a fine job he made of it nontheless, if a little tentative in parts, he hasn’t quite settled / found her yet but is undeniably on the right track, she’s absolutely in there and – honestly – already leaps beyond some other amateur dames I’ve seen and some of those have been doing it for eons! Keep at it, remember that the dame is the ultimate showman who we all want to adore - be grand, grounded and gutsy! It would help having a full-length mirror in the quick change area too as he was occasionally untidy.      

 

I’m aware it’s common for the three bears to be protrayed using mascot costumes (also a regular option for the dwarfs in ‘Snow White’ and the Beast in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ too) and I’m really not a fan of those furry monsters and was SO thankful that we didn’t get that! Instead, these three bears were incredibly cute… attire from Charades (their Shrek wardrobe I believe). William Hall was a delight as Baby Bear with Kirsty Chapman delivering a staple act as Mother Bear, evidently no stranger to the stage brimming with prowess and knack… a joy!

 

A slight twist from the norm as this script has no principal boy… but, we can’t have a panto without a love story! Instead, it was the comic that got the girl and it was a beautiful adjustment in this version.

 

Regardless of the occasional bleat pinpointed above such a commendable degree of hard work is pumped into (almost) every productions from all angles and it' seasy to forget that when we see so many! However, this was testament to that, the packed audience had a great time and the majority of people on stage were enjoying it too, which is infectious and lifts any show from ‘good’ to ‘great’ so full compliments here! Congratulations team PMC!            

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