Jack & the Beanstalk

Elspeth Fisher is to be congratulated for directing and writing this pantomime which definitely fell into the category of the traditional genre. We had a large and strong cast, lots of dancers and chorus and of course the Smiley Sprites from the younger end of the spectrum. It was all great fun.

There were 15 principal parts including Daisy the Cow; more than I have seen for some considerable time in any Panto and the Director made the most of their talents ably assisted by Choreographer Claudia Molyneux. They must have had their work cut out with such a large and varied group of Dancers and chorus about 33 all told. Wisely the choreographer did not attempt to overdo the dancing but what was done was in keeping with the action and very well done. All the young people on view were well disciplined on stage a credit to both Director and Choreographer.

We had all the main characters plus a few new to me including Scary Mary a forgetful fairy, Lady Lavinia, Hans Nees and Bumpsadaisy and Flip and Flop. Add to these The Dame and her 2 sons Jack and Billy, King Bellylaugh (string vested and with a fine Yorkshire accent) the"baddie" and of course a lovely princess as the romantic interest.  It was nice to see a more traditional principal boy in the shape of "Jack" a rarity these days at least in nearly all the Pantos that I see. Not least of course was Buttercup the cow complete with tap-dancing and mathematical skills.

Plenty of comedy, good songs and boundless enthusiasm from the cast made this a very enjoyable evening.  No production can be complete without a strong backstage team and there was ample evidence of their contribution on this occasion. I was standing in for their usual NODA Rep and was delighted that I did.  Budge

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