Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty a traditional pantomime performed by Wigan Little Theatre, at Wigan Little Theatre, Crompton St, Wigan on Tuesday, 13th December 2021.

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a big fall, all the Kings horses and all the Kings men couldn’t put Humpty together again” … I think most of us will have recited this children’s nursery rhyme during our younger years!  There are various explanations about where the term ‘Humpty Dumpty’ originated from… some suggest it was a ‘drink’ of brandy boiled in ale… some a ‘slang’ phrase for a short clumsy person, some think it refers to a cannon stationed on the walls of Colchester… but it always conjures up in my head a picture of a small round figure, sat on the wall of a castle, who falls off and breaks into a thousand pieces and who can’t be put back together again… a sad story really!

This is yet another pantomime from the ‘pen’ of Wigan Little Theatres very own ‘Bill Collins’, who’s been writing pantomime scripts for Wigan Little Theatre for over thirty years.  Taken from his programme notes, Bill suggests that the manta for his pantomimes is to ‘recycle, renew, re-invent and revive’ and, from experience, he knows that audiences just love the traditional aspects of panto, the slapstick, gags, music, dance and without question audience participation… it looks like 2023’s offering is already in the pipeline… can’t wait Bill!  

Production Team… in charge this year we had the experienced Tracey Dawson (Director).  Tracey had pulled together a great cast, a mix of ‘youth’ and ‘experience’ who, when those curtains opened, gave us everything and more beside! Mark Lloyd (Musical Director) who also took on a major role… we had the experience of Louise Hawkes (Choreographer) and the versatile Joey Wiswell as (Production Assistant) (Joey seems to ‘pop up’ in all sorts of different guises … like a ‘Snowman’, an ‘Old Crone’, a ‘ghost’ … all four should be congratulated for another great panto… great job, be ever so proud!

The Cast… its ‘sticky neck out’ time… never one to sit on the fence… this is where I start identifying MY favourite performances from the evening!  It’s never easy to do this when you realise that everyone on stage has given their all… but I do believe there are a number of ‘cast member’s’ who deserve ‘special mention’…

I’ve gone for a ‘fab four’… who seemed to be involved in anything and everything this panto had to offer… ‘Showstopper’… honestly, put this man in a dress and all you get is ‘experience and excellence’… John Churnside once again played Wigan Little Theatres ‘Dame’… ‘Nanny Hennypenny’.  This man is outrageous in a good way!  His commanding presence on stage, his comedic timing, his facial expressions, his mannerisms, his energy, his ability to ad-lib and interact with HIS audience is unbelievable!  I feel like a broken record… be ever so proud John!   Next in line… ‘another man in a dress’… Mark Lloyd took on the role as the ‘Queen’ a role which he made his own!  To ‘stand out’ in a dress, as a bloke, alongside John and get noticed is an achievement in itself… but ‘stand out’ he did!  A complete opposite to John… a more sophisticated approach, but I just loved the simplicity in which he developed this character… perfect comic timing, real stage presence, a really well-judged performance, be ever so proud Mark… wonderful job!  My third choice was Craig Pinnington who took on the role of ‘Pickles’ a ‘Simple Simon’ type role… a role that he also made his own!  Craig created a really warm character, who engaged with the audience as soon as he first entered the fray, a perfect fit for this role!  Good stage presence, plenty of energy and commitment, worked really well with all the cast… be proud Craig, good job!  Making up the fab four… was Chris Roberts who played the ‘King’.  Again, a perfect fit for this role, good stage presence, good characterisation and again worked really well with everyone… well done Chris, be proud!  These four characters… were involved in so much of the ‘visual comedy' … including the ‘Mop Dance’, the ‘Parcel Scene’ and in particular the ‘Twelve days of Christmas’ sketch’ which was a ‘HIGHLIGHT’ for me… well-staged, well-choreographed (congrats to Louise Hawkes, who I presume created this masterpiece of comedy), well-acted and interpreted… simply hilarious, brought the house down!  Grace Ball and Becky Brown played ‘Princess Melanie’ and ‘Tommy Tucker’ respectively, some outstanding vocals girls, be ever so proud!  Stacey Vernon made a lovely, graceful ‘Fairy’, Maureen Schofield and Darran Robertson, took on the role of the sinister and evil villains of the piece … ‘Salmonella’ and ‘Sir Dudley Knightshade’, well done you two! The versatile Joey Wiswell took on the cameo roles of ‘Snowman’, ‘Old Crone’ and our ‘Ghost’ and finally Lavina-Rose O’Loughlin took on the title role of ‘Humpty Dumpty’ and made a good job of it, be ever so proud young lady!   

The Dancers… (From the Buckley Theatre School) included Phoenix Roberts, Lilly Rothwell, Isabella Rhead, Zara Tilley, Amelia Reeves, Belle Halliwell, Macie Jones, Niamh Birch, Lanie Campbell, Maddie Taylor, Ruby Farrall, Cara Richards, Josie Butler, Lyla Brown, Scarlett Stockwell, Naomi Ryan and Taya Powell. The inclusion, involvement and ability of these young dancers, who opened and set the tone for the entire evening and who enhanced this production so much should be congratulated… be ever so proud girls!

Staging/Set/Tech…. the experienced Alan Sharples and Shelia Cleary (Stage Managers) oversaw everything stage related and what a great job they made!  The sets… designed by Brian Heap and John Gostelow were as usual, home-made/made to measure and provided the cast with the perfect platform to work from.  Brian and John had a team of Set Constructors/Painters working alongside them... Phil Wood, Dave Flanagan, Kevin Fairhurst, Gary Hill on construction and Christine Armstrong, Val Miller, Veronica Teesdale, Pat Ashurst, Ellen Fitton, Amanda Leamon, Darran Robertson, Maureen Schofield, Maggie Hall and Mary Hill armed with ‘paint brushes… be proud one and all great work! The Tech Team… Will Nelson,
Owen Rasburn, Rick and Sandy Kershaw, Becky Hampson, Rachel Taylor, Jacob Latham, Colin Hayes, Kim Brown, Evie Fanning, Alex Horrobin, Sabrina Hayes, Lauren Brown and Neil Brogan… be proud everyone!

It isn’t my style to be negative in my reviews… I see my role as supportive, helpful and encouraging…so I hope what I say next is taken as ‘constructive advice’ and ‘not criticism’!  I’m more than aware that ‘smoke’, ‘haze’, ‘mist’, call it what you like, is something that can and does enhance a show, enhance the lighting etc… BUT, the amount of smoke, haze, mist used in parts of this production was just too much.  It rolled off the stage like a wave, it swept across the audience causing people to cough, use programmes as fans in an attempt to dispel it.  At one stage, John Churnside actually made comment about the amount from the stage… probably at its worst!  I suffer from issues affected by many things (along with many other people) at one stage, just as John was commenting, I was about to leave the theatre for health reasons… please be mindful when using this type of effect… it can and does cause issues!  Hope I haven’t caused offence!

Wardrobe… costumes were wonderful!  Apt and ‘perfect’ for this production – keeping a watchful eye… Stacey Vernon, Ian & Teresa Trumble, Mary Hill and Barbara Rimmer… well done guys, great work!
Props… looking after the many props were Elaine & Caitlin Delaney, Jacqui Dutch, Katie Davis, Anne Martin, Amanda Newton, Karen Kelly, Calli Crook, Jess Sinclair, Kacey Makin and Evie Fanning- well done!

Once again… the societies loyal followers loved every minute of this production and rewarded the cast generously with cheers and applause.  There really isn’t anything not to like about Wigan Little Theatres Pantomimes, they truly are ‘traditional and authentic’. Well done everyone, great production, be ever so proud!

Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I, we really do like coming to watch your pantomimes. So, to everyone at Wigan Little Theatre, have a great Christmas and we’ll see you all again in 2023!

Stay safe, keep well…
Stronger together!

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep
 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.