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Mother Goose

Author: Victoria Carey

Information

Date
2nd February 2024
Society
Kelvedon Players Amateur Dramatic Society
Venue
The Institute, Kelvedon
Type of Production
Pantomime
Director
Barry French
Musical Director
Barry French
Choreographer
Rosemary Townsend

Reps name: Victoria Carey
Reps district: 8
NODA East

I received a very warm welcome from the front of house team at my first visit to see Kelvedon
Players perform.


“Mother Goose” is a well known tale, however this is the first time in a while that I have seen it.
As the curtains opened the audience were treated to a bright and cheery set that was well lit. My
guest and I had excellent seats that gave a good view of the whole stage. Although there were no
microphone’s in use I was really pleased to be able to clearly hear every cast member during both
their dialogue and vocals.


There were some nice performances throughout the production and as this was quite a small cast
each Player could be clearly seen. During the ensemble numbers everyone was well spaced to make
full use of the stage.

Heading up the cast was Sam Fish in the title role as our Dame, Mother Goose. Sam gave a lovely
warmth to his performance which was particularly effective during his scenes with Heidi the Goose,
nicely done by Charlotte French. I do question some of the song choices he was given however, I felt
he was uncomfortable in his solo vocals and perhaps alternative choices could have been made to
suit him better. That said, he looked and acted the part well.

Millie Etherington, as Freya, the daughter of Mother Goose, gave a natural performance and sang
well throughout. She was well matched with Millie Finch as love interest Sven. I enjoyed their duet
and appreciated the harmonies.

On the subject of vocals, very well done to Lucy Greenaway as Smorg, the evil troll, hell bent on
eating Heidi the Goose for her dinner. Initially I felt she was holding back a little but as the
production unfolded she really grew into the role and her solo was excellent. I thought her costume
and make up was also very well done.

Comedy came in bucket loads from the brilliant Heidi Hamber as Baron Von Rumpensmakka. A
confident performance both in dialogue and vocals. She really owned the role of the frisky, self
obsessed Baron and was well supported by Rosemary Townsend as the consistently bullied but loyal
servant Gonk. A great pairing that had the audience giggling.

Completing the Principal cast line up, Lesley Hill as Fairy Aurora seemed very at ease on stage.
However, I felt she was a little let down by her costume when compared to some of the others.
There could have been more use of her fairy wand accompanied by suitable sound effects too. But I
enjoyed the way she directed her dialogue so clearly and naturally.

A mention must also go to the ensemble, Glynis Yates, Ben Garwood, Katie Dunmow and Malcolm
Greenaway. All of whom were smiling, singing out and had individual moments to shine too. Ben’s
“Cuckoo Clock” was a particular highlight for me. Well done to all of you.

On the whole I was really impressed with the set and props. Especially Mother Goose’s moving
house and the fantastic Bog of Beauty complete with smoke machine. There was also excellent use
of the snow machine in the Haunted Hunting Cabin. Costumes were mainly good and lighting was
extremely well timed. Well done to all involved both on the desks and backstage.

Barry French as both Director, MD and Stage Manager must be commended on creating an
enjoyable Panto and I very much look forward to seeing the next production from Kelvedon Players.
Thank you all for a lovely evening of entertainment.

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