Jack and the Beanstalk

I am very familiar with Alan Frayn scripts having directed them for many years and I believe that they are some of the best pantomime scripts on the market for amateur performance. His scripts are updated every year to ensure that the jokes are fresh and relevant and this is a big bonus. I have directed this script twice myself and it is one of his more entertaining scripts.

As always Newton Abbott fielded an excellent company although their ensemble was somewhat smaller than usual but this did not have a detrimental effect on the production. Naomi Keegan and Carla Stapleton made an attractive pair as Jack and Princess Primrose and formed a good core to the production. Good and evil were very nicely represented by Tracy Kennedy as a lovely gentle and whimsical Fairy Sugardust and Chloe Wheatley who gave a very strong and entertaining performance as Piccalilli the bad witch and who really came into her own in the opening of act two. Her sidekick Rancid was played with relish by Jeremy Parker and this was another strong performance which ensured that the evil side of things got given good measure. However, he was not to be outdone and I particularly liked the comedy duo of Snatchet and Scarper played by Sam Dishart and Mark Forward. They worked well together and presented the set piece routines with good comic timing.

The bulk of the energy in this performance, however, came, as usual from Katie Parr as Simple Simon. She really was a powerhouse and how she kept up this energy for the entire performance I really don't know. Her empathy with the audience was excellent and the kids really warmed to her. His/her mum was nicely played by Andrew Malcolm as Dame Dottie. I know that Andrew relishes getting into the dames frock and also dishing out nice Double entendres and knowing glances at the audience. He got a good response to this and added to the jollity. The Royal parents have less to do in this production but Isobel Burley as Queen Hyacinth and Mike Crane as King Hubert contributed much to the action and added to the fun with their slightly dodgy characters aided and abetted by Steve Smith as a very entertaining, and somewhat camp Humphrey.

Scenery was well chosen and very attractive although I would've liked a somewhat bushier Beanstalk (it had clearly suffered from under watering) and, from where I was sitting at extreme right of auditorium, unfortunately I couldn't see it growing at all which was a disappointment. Costumes are also well chosen and with excellent lighting the visual side of things was well maintained.

Obviously the music is just as important and this production had a good choice of musical items which were wisely kept short to ensure that nothing outstayed its welcome. The four piece pit band led by musical director John Amery played excellently and supported everything very well indeed as is to be expected with this group.

The giant was an excellent construction that looked very impressive on stage. I should know as it came from my own production in Paignton the previous year !! As always with this pantomime story there is a bovine presence in the form of Buttermilk the cow, which was nicely portrayed by Cat Laird and Maxine Hobson. It is a difficult, not to say sweaty job, playing a skin character, and these two managed to give Buttermilk a nice friendly character.

Elizabeth law choreographed some very attractive musical numbers and the chorus and dancers were well drilled. Andrea Dobson, who was directing her first production for the society, kept a tight rein on the production and should be well pleased with the results of her efforts. It was clear that there were great efforts to keep pace in the production and to ensure that scenes linked together in a logical fashion. And there were also a number of attempts to link the audience with the action on stage by bringing cast into the auditorium which isn't always an easy option in this venue as the cast can only enter and exit the auditorium from one side. I know that this production suffered a number of problems in its preparation, right up to the last minute, with cast changes and dropouts but the production team need not have worried because the end result was fast paced and hugely entertaining and the reaction from the audience at curtain call told its own story.
 
Every society that presents pantomime has its own traditions, as well as the main traditions of pantomime, and all of these were maintained with this production and the Newton audiences will have seen a show of the style that they were fully expecting and it is so important not to confound your audiences expectations when staging pantomime, otherwise they will be sorely disappointed. Happily that was not the case here. This group presents one of the best amateur pantomimes in my NODA area and once again I was not disappointed.

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