HUMPTY DUMPTY

I've seen a number of Pantomimes this season but what a good one to end on. HUMPTY DUMPTY! I’m not sure I’ve seen this pantomime for a number of years, but I do have memories from around 20 years ago watching Humpty Goes Splatt! by Tutti Frutti theatre company at Lawrence Batley Theatre.

So back to 2023 and to the fantastic Halifax YMCA Pantomime Society production and what a great show.

The story tells the tale of how, many years ago, a wicked Sorcerer tried to usurp good King Cole of Eggshellia to claim the throne for himself and how, fortunately, the Sorcerer was banished, but not before laying a curse on the town. As in all good fairy tales, the curse was suspended and in this version was trapped inside a giant egg.

As the performance starts, we find it is a day of celebration, the Egg has been kept intact for another year and thus the town is still safe...that is until Madam Miniver and her servant Snivel arrive in town and somehow we know things are about to get scrambled!

The script is clever, with references throughout to well known Nursery Rhyme characters, Old King Cole, Polly Flinders, Tommy Tucker, Mother Hubbard and of course Humpty Dumpty himself who is the Guardian of the Egg. I’ve spent this evening revisiting these rhymes and realise my own children don’t remember them ... so thank you for the reminder to keep these tales alive.

Madam Miniver is played brilliantly by Karen Parkin. She simply oozes evil in this role and commands the stage throughout. Her servant Snivel (Mark Verity) is her perfect patsy, not too slimy and with just the right amount of deference to his mistress to stay in character without losing pace in their scenes.

Mystic Myrtle (Karen Rice) and Tommy Tucker (Stevie Comer) have roles which hold the story together and ensure the dynamics of the production are held throughout. They have some great dialogue and as storytellers they move us swiftly between one scene and the next. These are tricky elements to keep on top of, particularly with panto being such a dream for characters such as Humpty Dumpty (Coral Carney) and Mother Hubbard (Daniel Summers Jowett), who have characters that simply want to stop the world, engage with the audience and keep the laughter flowing. A great team effort everyone.

The dancers and young ensemble kept the energy levels high. They were focused and performed really well. There are some real stars in the making here, especially when you see those smiles and the excitement in their eyes.

As usual we have some wonderful sets in this production. The colourful village and creatively designed forest cloth make way later on for a magic journey to the vine filled, murky swamp scene, complete with Dr Who style transportation sound effects.

With direction by Lynda Jowett and choreography by Melissa Hoe, Heather Kemp and Bethany Stott, this is a production with a funny cast who delivered the story with good pace, confidence and who developed a great banter with the audience .

The costumes are fully in keeping with the village and Palace themes but I particularly loved the colour choices for Mystic Myrtle and of course the many changes made by our dame, Mother Hubbard, particularly the “I’m a Celebrity” take on the outfit for the Swamp. The finale costumes were stunning, I loved the use of the tartan, so regal, vibrant and looked really good across all the characters.

This society seem to have a great team of volunteers behind the scenes too, but as usual certain names crop up across a number of areas. I know the audiences leave having had a fantastic time, but I hope on their way out they realise what a fabulous team effort this is.

 

Thank you once again for a fabulous afternoon!

Jane 

Jane Marescaux

NODA North East, Region 10

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