Jack and The Beanstalk

Diggle All Stars took on the gigantic task of performing the pantomime, "Jack and The Beanstalk", it was a cold, foggy evening when I went over to see it - however there was nothing cold about the hall it was being performed in - it was lovely to see that it was packed to the rafters with an audience eager to see the show! The set had some beautiful, very elaborate backdrops designed and painted by Stage Manager, Truda Sutcliffe, Rachel Fish, Gill Haywood and her team. Their attention to aesthetic detail is second to none. The lighting and sound  by Steve Crabtree and McKenzie Moran was fitting to the scenes and pleasant, but personally I would like to see more depth and personality although I don`t know what their lighting desk is capable of, so that may be out of their hands. Sound was solid throughout with no gremlins or drops, all sound effects came in on time. Costumes by Janet Iles were bright and colourful, a favourite costume of mine was the one worn by Edina The Eco Fairy – it went that extra mile with the green makeup, glitter and hair. Mike Hindson was Musical Director, he kept some good pace during the musical numbers, vocals were nice by all the Principals. Rachael Russell as Simple Simon gave a strong characterisation, she made a good connection with the audience and had some nice chemistry on stage with the rest of the cast. Laura Derbyshire played Jack and she was partnered by Zoey Sweeney as Princess Demelza – neither are strangers to the stage and looked very at home on the stage as we moved through the story. Emily Drake played Slimeball. Emily is no stranger to playing a baddie however we have never seen her play a” geezer “ type baddie so it was interesting to see. She kept up her accent and swagger throughout the performance and her diction was clear. Edina The Eco Fairy played by Hazel Edmends brought some good pace, she used her stage space well and always entered from the good side of the stage, even with a lilting accent her diction was clear and she made a strong connection with the audience. Graham Unsworth as Dame Trott soon had the audience eating out of his hand, personally I did feel that some of his jokes missed the double entendre, but the audience around me certainly loved them. Choreography by Alex Barber was geared for the mixed abilities on the stage, it was simple and effective .

Thank you for inviting me, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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