Jack and the Beanstalk

What a fun afternoon was had by every member of the audience who attended Codsall Dramatic Society’s Children’s play. There was such a of of ttjoyous atmosphere created by the welcoming party front of house and this continued inside the hall. 

"Jack and the Beanstalk" is a folktale about a poor boy named Jack who trades his family's cow for magic beans. A giant beanstalk grows, and Jack climbs it to find a castle in the sky inhabited by a giant. After a few adventures, he is chased by the giant, whom he eventually escapes from by chopping down the beanstalk, leading to a prosperous life for himself and his mother.  

I must begin by congratulating Jackie Sherlock who stood in as ‘Jack’ at virtually the last minute, and even though she had a script in hand it did not detract from her performance on stage. Jack’s love interest throughout the play was Jill, played by Kelsey Dornan, she was very convincing and played the role with the necessary sweetness required. Jack’s mother, Widow Wotsit, played by Anna Hallett, did like a good bargain in the shops! She kept the plot moving along nicely and added good pace to the action. Plays like this always demand a great deal of audience participation and there were no two people better to encourage this than Grabbit and Ron, played by Jemma Williamson and Andy Cholerton respectively. Both were at complete ease on stage, performing in the round is never easy, they had a great rapport with each other, and nothing seemed to phase them – not even the unexpected comments from members of the audience. They both appeared to have a wealth of experience, and this certainly shone through. Sam Kick as Hetty, the Giant’s housekeeper, was another confident performer, she had good stage presence and delivered her lines confidently. Wayne Jones’ voice sounded everything a menacing giant should be, and then he appeared………it reminded me of the Wizard in Emerald City! A big hit with the children in the audience was Daisy the Cow, Kira Squire and Liam Jones were led admirably around the stage and reacted accordingly to every pat (no pun intended!) from the audience and every line delivered on stage. To complete the fairytale, we had a garden statue that came to life in the form of Fairy Thistle, Rachael Goodson appeared from the shadows to cast her magic on the characters and assist Jack in his quest to woo Jill, amongst other things.  Kelci Vickers completed the cast as the villager and, of course, the obligatory ghost! 

The entire performance moved with pace and kept the audience’s attention. Everyone used the space to good effect and involved the audience on every side. The costumes were eye-catching and the village hall is well-equipped with a substantial lighting rig which was used to enhance the performance. I also must congratulate the cast on the projection of their voices; there was not a microphone in sight yet not a single word was missed. 

It was a well-directed performance, and congratulations go to Brigid and Wendy for this, there was no hesitation and the cast were confident in all they did.

This was my first visit to Codsall but hope that it is not my last. Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome.

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