Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk a pantomime performed by St Michael’s Amateur Dramatic Society on Thursday, 12th January, 2023 at St Michael's Parish Hall, Shaw Street, Wigan.

Another St Michael’s Pantomime ‘penned’ and Directed by the amazingly talented Ian Field, who tells us in his programme notes that this is the ninth pantomime he’s written for St Michael’s ADS and the seventh which he has both written and directed!  Alas, again from his programme notes, Ian, tells us that this will be the last time he directs a St Michael’s panto… he thought it a fitting way to end his illustrious career writing and directing with Jack and The Beanstalk’, which was in fact the first one he directed for St Michael’s ….  congrats Ian another wonderfully entertaining production sir, be ever so proud!

It was great to be back at St Michael’s Parish Hall to see this very entertaining production of this traditional pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. The show was packed full of all the traditional pantomime experiences that audiences have associated with this genre over the years and when those curtains opened, you could just tell that the cast were ready to give it their all…

The Production Team… as stated above, written and directed by Ian Field with assistance in the directing department from David Palin.   Musical Numbers were staged by Debbie Jones and June Dowd with the “Ballet of the Flowers” number choreographed by Hollie Jones (a real Family Affair this … June is the mother of Debbie and Hollie is granddaughter of June and daughter to Debbie).  Hayley Bentham and Shelia Livesey were Chorus Co-ordinators.   Well done guys, there is little or no doubt that you got the best out of all the cast.

The Cast…  at any St Michael’s production, you always know and can always tell by the smiles on everyone’s face that the cast are not only ready and willing to give you their all, but they are also there to have the time of their lives and as soon as those curtains opened, the enthusiasm that evening came across in ‘waves!  St. Michael’s ADS are the quintessential family society, with everybody not only working with each other, but helping each other continuously, so whenever I consider saying that someone was better than someone else, it really does really feel ever so wrong… but there are people who I believe need to be given ‘shout outs’ for going ‘over and above’ so can I start by ‘highlighting’ MY personal favourite character from the evening  MY ‘Showstealer’ if you will… David Palin who played ‘Ben’ (an ‘odd jobber’ type person) and one half of the Comedy Duo.   Honestly, I’ve seen David many times playing this type of role and he always has me in stitches… but he went above and beyond in this one!  Facial expressions, mannerisms, his whole demeanour just oozed confidence and comedy!  During a duet with June Dowd, the other half of the Comedy Duo, I wasn’t actually sure if he knew the words to the song or was it just ‘crazy acting’… whatever the reason, he had me and the audience in stitches… it was comedy at its best, superb timing, his gestures, mannerisms and his facial expressions as soon as he should have started to sing… was amazing!  Well-done David, be ever so proud!   June Dowd, played ‘Willamena’, David’s partner in this duo and other ‘odd job person’.  The bossy one of the duo; June created a character that was the perfect foil for David!  Spot on characterisation, good comic timing, they made a great pair… the chemistry between the two was obvious throughout.  Well done, June!   Matt Morrell played the Dame… ‘Dame Trott’ and made a really good job with the role.  Matt had a really good stage presence and interacted with the audience really well throughout!  Had a lovely moment when four children joined him on stage and Matt sang ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ to them… great moment, be proud Matt good job!  Lewis Holding and Evie Birkett played ‘Jack’ (Dame Trott’s eldest son and our Hero) and ‘Jenny’ (The Baron’s Daughter who gets kidnapped and taken to the Ogre’s castle) respectively.  Both played these parts well.  There was good chemistry between them throughout… well done you two!  ‘The Good’ and ‘The Evil’ characters were played ever so well by Debbie Jones who played ‘Fairy Jewelight’ the good fairy and Rachael Sixsmith who played Deirdre Discontent (The Wicked Fairy).  Both were ‘perfect fits’ for these roles and oozed stage presence throughout.  Both interacted well with the audience, creating two believable characters… be proud ladies’ great job!  Dave Maloney took on the role of the evil ‘Baron Bluster’ and made this part his own.  Good characterisation… well done Dave, good job sir!  Freya Pennington took on the role of ‘Georgie’ (a page girl), Ruby Morrell played Georgie II (another Page girl).  Ian Field took on a number of roles including ‘Shylock’ (a strolling actor) and ‘The Evil Crunchbones’ (The Ogre) and made great jobs of both. Laurie Mountfield played ‘Skylon’ (an unexpected visitor from afar).  It was great to see Ann Wasley back on stage playing the role of Dame Trott’s eldest son ‘Simon’… well done Ann, really was good to see you back doing your thing!  Without doubt, one of the best ‘pantomime bovines’ I’ve seen in a long while… ‘Daisy the Cow’… under the ‘udder’ we had Hayley Bentham, Debbie Jones and Shelia Livesey… well done ladies, great job!   The Ensemble (Villagers and Dancers) …  Bella Bannister, Eva Bentham, Lola Cross, Izzy Hornby, Katie Jones, Ruby Morrell, Harvey Westhead, Freya Sixsmith, Virginia Birkett, Julie Bradshaw and Alison Hanson.

Staging/Set … simple, yet effective staging/sets were used which filled every inch of the St Michaels stage, with additional cloths and scenery being hired from ‘Chriska Stage Supplies’ in Ellesmere Port. When you see the amount of space available, both on and off stage, then credit, as always, as to go to Julie Clarke (Stage Manager) and the cast who make up the ‘back stage team’.  The ease in which scenery, props are moved around and on and off stage is a credit to you all… great job Julie! Technical Set Up and Production Design was down to Ian Fields and David Palin, with set and stage painting completed by Ian Field and John Gostelow… again great job guys!

Sound and Lighting… again in the capable hands of Caitriona Muir who, as always was ‘perched’ on her ‘Crow’s Nest’ Tech Platform.  There’s no fancy lighting at St Michael Parish Hall, there’s no ultra-modern tech/sound effects… but what you always get are lights that are appropriately set using the limited lights on offer… sound that is always clear and on time… with what Caitriona’s has, she makes the very best use of!  Well done young lady… great job!  

Costumes… were fabulous and apt for this production… hired from Charades Costume Hire, St Helens, with additional costumes provided by St Michael’s ADS all co-ordinated by June Dowd. 

Once again, another great traditional family pantomime enjoyed by everyone present that evening.  Well done everyone, was great to meet many of you after your performance and spend a little time chatting!

Thank you, as always, for inviting Susan and I… it’s always a pleasure and a privilege to come to St Michael’s to watch you guys perform.  Hope to see you all again soon…

Stay Safe, Keep well
‘Stronger Together’

Jim Briscoe
District 6 Rep
NODA North West

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