Little Red Riding Hood

My first ever visit to Trusthorpe Village Hall to their annual panto was a true delight.

Bernard Dobbs, Chairman of the Hall, led the welcoming party who were great. He told me that between him and his wife Pauline they had been coming to the panto for 132 years. Is this a record I wondered? The quirky, old time Village Hall was reminiscent to me of the charming Kinema at Woodhall. Only here in Trusthorpe we were going to be treated to the joy of live entertainment rather than a silver screen classic.

The audience was packed, full of people of all ages, including babes in arms. I loved the pre show announcement about putting your phone in aeroplane mode (whatever that is). The announcement continued, ‘if you don’t know how, ask a young person!’ There was a delightful feeling of sheer happiness in the Hall as the audience clapped along to the recorded overture music.

The children of the junior chorus were happy too as they appeared, managing to sing and dance quite proficiently at the same time. They had some good numbers through the show, full of energy and wore lovely bright costumes. I really enjoyed the ‘Be Our Guest’ routine at the beginning of Act 2. The moustaches on the young lads were very artistic. The ‘Thrilling’ UV dance routine was effective even in the afternoon when a complete blackout wasn’t possible, complete with a scary exit through the audience.

Grandma Hood, our dame, was played most confidently by Rob Ives. I loved the eyelashes and the very glittery makeup. There was some good rapport with the audience with topical references to Brexit and Harry and Megan and funny local asides including, ‘Everyone from Alford is moody!’.

Whilst a radio mic would have helped us hear every word of Rob’s solo ‘Hero’, we nevertheless got the idea of it as he came down among us and even attempted a little pole dancing, using one of the supports that I think may have been holding the whole place up.

The three witches were wonderful all through the show. Well done to Zoe McNamee, Jack Herbert and Lynnette Pryke. I loved the reactions of a little boy in the audience when they wiggled their bottoms in their opening number. The little ones also loved it when the dastardly trio said they could smell the children in the audience. ‘Everyone knows that children make the best sandwich fillings!’. Quite. I especially enjoyed watching ‘Beautiful’ summoning the wolf.

I liked the plot of the story, concerning the witches trying to sell off the wood to caravan park developers. Very topical I’m sure for Trusthorpe. Well done to Christopher Pratt for writing the witty script, updated by Charlotte Elson. I especially liked how the action moved on, meaning the show was a manageable length. There was certainly no jiffling in seats from the younger members of the audience. The come uppance of the witches, having to become dinner ladies at the local Primary School was very apt. As for the incredible shrinking wolf – very clever!

Whilst we had the baddie witches there was also the wolf too – a soft but still quite scary performance from Derek Hollingsworth. Scary enough, but not too scary so as to give the children nightmares. Very well played and pitched just right I thought.

Fighting all that wickedness was the goodness of our fairy – the Spirit of the Forest, played beautifully by Davina Louise Silk, whose singing voice was as good as her acting.

And so with Simon – played by Megan Coyle. I loved the harlequined patterned costume and the excellent relationship Megan had with the audience. ‘Hi Simon’ couldn’t have been shouted any louder.

Wit and Less were completely witless of course. LJ Astill and William Tait were a very good double act. Real cheeky chappies and of course as ‘useful as a chocolate teapot.’

Red, our heroine was played beautifully by Leah Dixon. I was very impressed with her singing too and especially enjoyed  ‘Bring Me a Higher Love’. Annie was a very effective friend to Red, played by Imogen Newman. Well played both of you.

Hugo, our somewhat unconventional hero, was played by the show’s writer and director, ‘Christopher Pratt’ who rode on, on his hobbyhorse, with real confidence. ’Everyone knows men don’t ask for directions’, was a very well observed line I thought. His sidekick Terence was ably portrayed by Isabel Wyer.

Technically the society had to work with a very small stage with restricted opportunities for scene changes, but these were always covered well. Congratulations to Stage Manager Andrew Elson and all the crew. The earlier than usual audience participation song was nevertheless incorporated well to cover such a change. The Frog song was lovely and got everyone involved. Well done to Rob and Davina for handling this scene so well with an intelligent use of ad libs and lovely interaction with the children.

As the story of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf reached the bit we all know, in the cottage, we were in for a treat. The wolf managed to get everyone in a state of agitation. In the woods there were so many cast on stage at the same time. I liked the use of Christmas trees for everyone to hide behind. Maybe all Christmas trees would have looked better rather than one cut out tree included too.

The scenery was so well painted, I loved all the scenes but especially the witty writing on the menu boards in the restaurant including ‘fat chips looked in lard’, ‘lumpy Bird’s custard’ and ‘Whine by the glass.’

Costumes by Joy Crighton and Niesha Manning were spot on as was the sound and lighting by Adele Pratt and David Cawthorn. I know the society have tried radio mics in the past but it may be worth revisiting them again as they have improved over the years and it would make the use of hand held mics unnecessary. But I know this is a tricky thing to get just right. And it costs money.

There was a whole team involved with the choreography, but it worked so well, making the very best use of every little bit of the stage. The musical numbers worked really well too under a trio of musical directors. The ‘500 miles’ song near the end was very uplifting and of course the traditional rendition of Aubrey Parker’s ‘Cheerio Song’ at the end, a fitting finale to a wonderful show.

 

I’ve been to lots of pantos over the last few months, starting off with the legendary London Palladium panto in December. But I have to say that Trusthorpe’s offering had something so very special. I’ve seen shows with much bigger budgets and much more advanced technical abilities and possibilities, but they did not all have that extra ‘something’ that Trusthorpe had. Here we have a group that knows and values its audience. The show was not overlong and kept even the youngest members of the audience interested throughout. All the youngsters who watched the show were so well behaved and a credit not only to their families, but also to the ability of the show to hold their interest.

Trusthorpe’s panto, I’ve come to realise, truly and simply was good old fashioned family entertainment. The society resisted the temptation to descend to smutty jokes to keep the adults happy. Everything they did almost harked back to a more innocent era, perfect for this setting in a lovely old village hall. And what a young cast!

Well done to the whole team for really making my day. I LOVED IT!!!

PS. I really would think about putting on a fund raising show for the Hall during the year, you are far too good for everyone to have to wait another year for your next performance – and the Hall needs the money. Good luck to you all.

 

Andrew Key

 

 

 

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