Humpty Dumpty

Congratulations to CHAPS, as Humpty Dumpty was their 40th Anniversary Pantomime.

A good choice written by the Director’s mother, the late Pearl Hood, as it involved as many Nursery Rhyme characters so that all members of the Company could take part. Costumes were carefully chosen for each characters and were striking to say the least. The Director made use of every inch of the space available and entrances and exits were well covered. One or two prompts in the second, act but I am sure these were quickly sorted out at the remaining performances.

The short prologue found us in the Nursery with Nanny, Margaret Norwood trying to keep controls of her two young charges, Little Girl played by Rita Wood, and Baby Boy - Keith Wood. May I add at this point, that some of the cast took on two or three roles. As we entered Nursery Rhyme Land, an energetic and smart quartet put us in the right mood for the piece, with Lavender, Polly Flinders, Fine Lady and Bo-Peep played by Sue Rogers, Linda Skuse, Patti Oliver and Julie Flanagan respectively, all beautifully dressed, taking the stage. The story introduced us to many characters including Katie Skuse in the title role of Humpty Dumpty. Katie’s portrayal was faultless in the delivery of her script and she worked hard in what seemed to be a very warm costume, a creditable performance. Geoff Skelhorn was the obvious choice as Tommy Tucker, and gave us an excellent rendering of ‘The Girl That I Marry’ as he yearned after the Contrary Mary played by Lucy Delve. Donna Jones as Mother Hubbard, again had a good rapport with the audience and took every opportunity to bring out the comedy of the piece. I was amazed at the way Donna coped with Mother Hubbard’s Glossary! Donna is excellent at the art of ‘ad lib’ and always stepped in when the occasional pause arose. Solid contributions from Mark Ramsden as King Bertram and yet another appearance of Keith Wood this time as the stunning Queen Alicia. We can always count on Janet Davies to give a reliable performance and this was no exception with her portrayal as Prince Jack. I must mention Jenny Phillips as the Red Queen, a powerful performance which added much to the success of the production. There were many minor roles all characterised by other members of the supporting chorus. Congratulations to all involved and particularly to Keith Wood, who took on a monumental task and came out with flying colours whilst playing roles as well as directing this traditional piece. A fitting tribute to Pearl Hood. Thank you CHAPS.

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