Jack and the Beanstalk

Morpeth Pantomime Society once again wrote their own panto under the expertise of Gordon Carr and Chris Davies and it was a winner.  The society continues in being very successful in encouraging youngsters to take part and it is so lovely to see so many of them on stage performing with confidence and enthusiasm. As ever the community spirit that is so evident in this society begins the minute you enter the doors into the foyer where as always, I was warmly greeted by the ever enthusiastic chairman Bruce Enion. The age old panto story of Jack and the Beanstalk is a classic and with Morpeth’s now familiar brand of ‘pantoisation’ the imagination of the writers made this panto unique and very successful.

A choice of good musical numbers from the upbeat band soon had us tapping our toes and relaxing into the thrills and spills of ‘Pantoland’.  The staging, lighting and sound are all managed extremely well by the in house crew of youngsters from the King Edward VI High School. These youngsters are to be commended for their efforts to make the show run smoothly and efficiently. The sets were artistic and authentic and with good lighting which was imaginative we were treated to very colourful scenes. The set construction team certainly showed what wonderful skills and vision they had, with help from the production team. Lucy Gammer showed her artistic side with very imaginative choreography and the routines were slick and emphasised the enjoyment everyone was having by the enthusiastic participation on stage. Costumes were all in house and what an achievement for Pat Ennion assisted by Lucy Gammer. They were superb and must have taken endless hours to make and co-ordinate and Pat and Lucy are to be fully commended for their achievement. What an imaginative spectacle they created led by Pat.

The cast as usual were spot on and very well cast in their roles. Main principals were strong and complimented by those who played the minor roles. ‘Dr Z Rocketoff’ Eric Tolman created an electric atmosphere on stage as the ‘baddie’ which he plays to perfection. His diction is excellent and he is always dynamic on stage.  ‘Jack’ Martha Hornett gave a very sound performance and against ‘Gerty Gogglebox’ David Clarke the dame the duo worked so well together. David was very funny and had the audience in stiches with his characterisation. The introduction of the ‘Delilah’ cow was loved by the children and Helen and Willaim Stewart inside operated their moves in walking together superbly for such youngsters. This is always a well-loved character in panto and this cow was no exception. There were so many commendable performances in this production, ‘Rambo the Robot’ William Cottis, ‘Harry’ Adam Kirby, ‘Samantha’ Lily Athey, ‘Professor Goodman’ Claire Cooper, ‘Libby’ Rosie Bowden were all good in their parts and had obviously worked hard to develop the characterisation of their parts.

Special mention must go to Shirley Clarke as ‘@thecloudfairy’ she is such an excellent character actress and her stage presence is second to none. This was a stalwart performance and as ever I thoroughly enjoyed watching her, she just has the knack of holding the audience in her hands. Minor parts were well covered and though too many to mention they are to be congratulated in keeping the action going at a steady pace.

Once again a full house which reflects the wonderful following this society has which is due to the ability to produce a really good evening of entertainment. Well done and congratulations to all both on stage and off stage for another ‘Pantomime’ winner for both audience and yourselves.

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