King Arthur –The Pantomime

thornbury musical theatre group

King Arthur –The Pantomime, written by Richard Prior.

The Armstrong Hall, Thornbury                                                    February 21st 2019

Director: Mark Collins      Choreographer: Alice Walton                MD: John Mills

As the title suggests it is a Pantomime loosely based on the story of King Arthur and includes such well known characters as Guinevere, Merlin, Mordred, Morgana, Lady of the Lake; with the inclusion of many others such as Dame Bisto, and the comic duo of Simmer and Boil. 

The scene was set from the beginning with a sword in a stone permanently on stage. The backcloths were well painted, with the Camelot backcloth particularly impressive; the set changes took us smoothly to the various locations demanded by the story.  The lighting design gave the appropriate atmosphere to each scene with some nice effects for the Lady of the Lake and Morgana in their struggles of good versus evil.  The sound was well balanced and operated.  The props lady had acquired suitable items including all those swords.  The wardrobe team had provided a set of costumes, which were colourful and fitted well, with chain mail, and medieval style dresses which took us back to Arthurian times.  Alice Walton had devised some interesting routines, which were confidently executed; I particularly liked the casting of the magic spell and the chasing of the Grail.  The training sessions for the fighters were good, and the sword fights were well disciplined and effective.  Musical Director John Mills had put together a well-balanced and disciplined Band, which was always together with the singers.  The choice of music was interesting and different, and on the whole well sung, although I had difficulty in hearing some of the ensemble numbers, as the diction was not always clear.  The anthems closing each act were powerful.  There was a good mix of duets and trios, clearly sung solo parts, and ensemble numbers.

Everyone had obviously enjoyed being a part of the Pantomime, with the Junior Members being well disciplined, confident and giving us lots of smiles.  Canine Lily Collins, took centre stage as the Dragon.  The ensemble supported the principals well interacting with them and each other.  All the principals performed well it was lovely to see Gary Kennedy making a return to the role of Dame this year as Dame Bisto.  This is always a popular role with the audience, and he certainly brought a lot of fun to the role, particularly in the kitchen scene.  

This was an unusual Pantomime and hopefully one that interested the boys.  It had an original story woven through with the legend of King Arthur.  The collaboration of writer Richard Prior and director Mark Collins had brought some interesting ideas to the stage.  The audience loved the ‘training’ session with the mops.  It was a new venture for the group to have a signed performance and it seemed to work well.  The signer was in no way distracting and also appeared to be enjoying the show.  Everyone in all areas had worked hard to bring this show to the stage presenting live entertainment to the people of Thornbury.

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