James and The Giant Peach

Rugby Theatre performed James & The Giant Peach the story which follows James embarking on a great adventure, overcoming evil forces and enlisting the help of talking creatures.

The Principle cast consisted of a mix of young and old, we meet a variety of characters 

Jack Jones (James) played the part superbly.  This part consisted of a lot of lines, both in the character of James and as narrator which were impressively articulated.

James Grady (Mr Trotter) and Jo Litten (Mrs Trotter) had small but effective roles with a touching duet.

Gill Pratt (Aunt Spiker) and Felicity Peck (Aunt Sponge) were deliciously evil and portrayed each part with fantastic characterisation.

Christopher Allen-Mason (Old Grasshopper) played the characterisation of the part very well and easily slipped between the narration and his character.

Emma Marshall (Spider), Bryan Jones (Centipede), Senga Veasey (Ladybird), Laura Hopwood (Earthworm) all looked and played the parts with ease and were wonderful to watch.

Mike Lynch (Old Man) had a small but potent role and a lovely song. 

Marie Phillips (Tour Guide), Gemma Kettle (TV Reporter), Gary Van Sluiters (Captain of the Queen Mary), Georgina Hopwood (First Officer) and Matt Robinson (Second Officer) all had small effective roles and great characterisation.

Overall the whole principle cast were very effective, had great characterisation and delivered each song lovely.

There was a large children ensemble who were all marvellous from start to finish.

The music, set, costumes, make up, movement all added to the production.  There were a lot of props and each looked very professional and brought many surprises including a flying peach which if you’re not careful could get you on the head! The projection was also used to great effect during the show together with the originality of the music.

Although some issues with sound meant you could not always hear congratulations to Robert Sloan and team for an entertaining evening. 

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