Hansel and Gretel

CLS Theatre Group have had a lot of new junior members join them, some who had never performed before, and they all worked well together to give a very polished presentation of their pantomime. Rebecca is a bit of a magician when it comes to working with young performers and having seen her at work she is a specialist at getting the best from them.

The story told of the adventures of Hansel and Gretel who with the assistance of Fairy Sprinkles and Dolly Mixture, help save the children of “Waldridge-by-the Fell” from the formidable McCavity the witch who plans to change them into gingerbread like the gingerbread man Billy Gumdrop so that she can eat them.

The stage looked good, colourful back cloths and scenery, complementary lighting, good props, beautiful costumes and clear sound quality throughout enhanced the production. Accompaniment was provided by musical director Chinami Smith on keys and drummer/percussion Peter Lynn, they made a full sound together supporting and never overpowering the singing.

All of the chorus sang well, knew their moves and gave their all in their numbers. The dancers performed their routines with style and I enjoyed the physical theatre they provided by becoming the forest, nice touch.

The line-up of principals was very strong. It was good to see Cara Moody in a main principal role, she has been in the group a number of years and played smaller roles, she did so well as Gretel and together with Alex Rochester as her brother Hansel the pair gave confident performances throughout, they had a believable relationship and worked well together. The dame is a difficult character to get right but George Bailey as Dame Dolly Mixture did a great job with good comic delivery and looking every inch the part. The scene with Hansel, Gretel and Dame Dolly doing the tongue twister was so well done, no idea how the three of them kept it together!  Liv Poulter provided a calming magical presence amongst the panto chaos as Fairy Sprinkle and as Billy Gumdrop, Luke Rochester was a bundle of energy bouncing around the stage, another super character. Lily Langers gave a superb portrayal as the witch McCavity, such an assured performance with tons of stage presence and personality commanding the stage at every appearance.

This was a great start to the festive season and your audience went away on a sugary high! Congratulations to Rebecca, Anya, Chinami, Sheralyn and your army of support team, your hard work definitely paid off.

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