Mother Goose

Traditional pantomime is alive and well with Woodlands Theatrical Society.  In addition to directing, Gareth Graham also writes this version of Mother Goose.  It is entertaining and amusing for children and adults alike, with some well-chosen and performed musical numbers.  The cast clearly enjoy themselves onstage and all those off-stage contributors work hard to make sure the standard of production is always maintained.
There seems to be a rather smaller cast than in some previous years but this doesn’t detract from the quality of the production.  The show opens with the delightful Marian Lane Dancers, tripping the light fantastic in The Elven Dell.  Then, off to Little Higgleton, home of Mother (or Madame) Goose played, with his usual pantomime-dame panache, by Malcolm Alderson.  The small chorus of just six admirably fill all the spaces around the main characters.
Ashley Waugh is Madame Goose’s son, Jacob, and plays him with fine, principal-boy enthusiasm opposite a pretty young lady, in her first pantomime, 15 year old Emma Forster as Eliza Gold.  Marion Faulkner and Holly Hutchinson are Rags and Patches, a couple of dubious characters, with poor Rags finding herself having to impersonate the goose, Priscilla – all part of a cunning plan, perhaps.
Luke Elliott plays the amusing, likeable Spoons, Thomas Berry is PC Bobby, a policeman or are those just his initials?  He did sport a rather tight policeman’s helmet so, presumably, both apply.  Ruano Sutton is Scribbles, an amusing secretary/right hand man, not quite as villainous as her boss might like him to be.  Pamela Alderson is everybody’s image of a fairy godmother, as Fairy Evermore.
I know I haven’t mentioned two or three of the cast.  Like everybody else, they play their parts well and add to the general frivolity of the evening.  However, before closing, I must mention the villain, Duchess Gold, played by Esther Beadle, who struts her stuff delightfully, evil and villainous, and her right-hand man, Captain Steel (Carla Dupree).  The Duchess really earned those boos and a few hisses from the audience.

The set, designed, painted and constructed by members of the company, is impressive; the costumes are colourful and attractive.  Lighting and sound, in the hands of Mike Austin and his team are, as ever, so well realised as not to be noticeable. I always enjoy the Woodlands’ pantomime, this was no exception.  My guest and I, together with the entire audience, left with smiles on our faces.

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