Mother Goose

Mother Goose is the classic story of good versus evil, as the Good Fairy Collywobbles and the evil Demon King, Lord  Mallignum, battle over Mother Goose, who despite being kind and good-natured, is ripe for corruption from the manipulations of the Demon King. Directed by Jules Jones and with a witty script written by Kei Bailey, this panto  (the society’s first for thirty years) is a hilarious and entertaining romp through the village of Uphill Struggle and the wonderful, bizarre characters who live there.  Gloria Goose, a poor widow, lives in a tiny cottage owned by the odious Squire Skinflint, with her son Buddy and her daughter Rose, and neighbour Professor Whimsey. When Fairy Collywobbles sends Mother Goose Priscilla, an amazing magical goose from the Planet Gander who can lay golden eggs, she is suddenly incredibly wealthy, but will she fall for the evil Demon King’s manipulations to have the one thing she truly wants and desires the most – beauty and youth?    

Our story starts with the hypochondriac Fairy Collywobbles (Emma Gilbert) complete with a bent magic wand and a first aid bag, complaining bitterly about how the smoke sets off her asthma and affects her bronchioles. Emma was delightful as the accident-prone good fairy and the perfect foil to the Demon King. I loved her sneezing and constant whinging to the characters about her medical misfortunes.  Then the evil Demon King, Lord Malignum (Glen Barker) made his entrance, oozing malice as he playfully sparred with Fairy Collywobbles. His masterful command of the audience as he scornfully taunted them encouraging more booing was excellent. These two ethereal beings, spared over fury tale characters, to find a ‘good soul’ while the Demon King (in true lawyer style) perverted each fairy tale character’s intentions to highlight that everyone is equally as bad as he is.  Glen was a wonderful villain with his obvious relish for his part shining through from his red patent shoes and stunning coat to his evil laugh, as he tried in vain to corrupt Gloria Goose firstly by trying to get her to steal money to pay her debts and finally succeeding at last as he tricked her by appealing to her vanity.  

Mother Goose’s daughter, Rose Goose (Melissa Roberts) was a delightful leading lady and played her part very well with excellent vocals, interacting with the enthusiastic and colourful townsfolk of Uphill Struggle. Rose was in love with our Principal boy, Colin Skinflint played in true gender-bending tradition by Dominique Spinks. Dominique played the Principle Boy part well, her amazing vocals harmonising perfectly with Melissa during ‘Walking on Sunshine’ and ‘Best Day of Our Lives.’ Dominique played Colin with her arms firmly behind her back as she battled with her upper-class upbringing and seemed almost embarrassed to be seen with the lowly Rose Goose and in constant fear of his father’s wrath. In contrast, Rose is a feisty character with a heart of gold and a moral conscience evidenced by her wanting to give to the needy, much to Colin’s bemusement. His revelation that he would spend his inheritance on exotic holidays and designer clothes very nearly put the kibosh on their blossoming relationship!  

Rose’s brother, Buddy Goose (Adam Patman) provided the comedy with his infectious personality and winsome likeability. My favourite part was the bunny-bashing routine with him getting constantly clobbered by Gloria in a variation on the ‘when my I nod my head, you hit it’ joke. He really got the crowd going with them yelling ‘flower power’ every time he came on shouting, ‘Hello my petals.’ I loved the scene in the deep dark forest as he tormented the audience about the ‘ghostie’ in the woods when he was the Security Officer for Uphill Struggles Easter Parade with his hi-vis jacket and walkie-talkie and later his rendition of ‘The Fast Food Song’ with Professor Whimsey.  His rapport with the audience and generous acting style was magnificent.

Other characters included the Goose’s neighbour and madcap inventor, Professor Whimsey (Kelly Taylor) who nearly stole the show with her costume malfunction during the Morris dancing routine! Whimsey complete with mustache and zany body language provided us with a selection of wacky inventions including a gold testing machine, a Spaceship ‘SS Compromise’ (a tongue-in-cheek homage to Star Trek) that took the cast to Planet Gander to rescue Pricilla the Goose.  

Then we meet the ladies of the WI, a patronising bunch preoccupied with planning events for the forthcoming village  Easter Parade. Led by their chairperson the condescending Hilda Bunting (played with snobbish charm by the brilliant Colette Buchanan-Gray), Secretary Mavis Doyley (Linda Smith), Miss Prim (Bev Moore), and Miss Proper  (Stella Turner). My absolute highlight was their appearance, alongside Mother Goose, as the ‘Spice Rack Girls’  dressed as the Spice Girls – Posh, Baby, Scary, and Sporty they gyrated hilariously along to ‘Spice Up Your Life.’ The ladies also joined the space adventurers with Star Trek themed outfits serving tea and cookies to the crew.

Our other bad guy -  Mother Goose’s pompous landlord and would-be paramour, Squire Clarence Skinflint (David O’Brien) - who threatens to evict her from her lowly cottage and tries to encourage his son, Colin to follow in his footsteps. David’s overbearing manner and need for repeating each of his jokes reminded me of the late-great actor James Robertson Justice. He was accompanied by his henchmen and bailiffs - Malcolm Powder (Geran Jackson) and his assistant, Bert Toast beautifully played by Renae Sanderson. These characters were a hilarious double act,  bouncing enthusiastically around the stage to the ‘Laurel and Hardy’ theme showing excellent comic timing and physical comedy skills.  

Lastly, we have Gloria Goose, the wonderful Kei Bailey playing the most glamorous pantomime dames. Kei’s facial expressions were excellent and he used the audience to excellent effect bantering playfully while delivering cringe-worthy jokes, he commanded the stage with his larger-than-life portrayal. Kei encouraged us to laugh along with  Gloria’s predicament asking for moral support when faced with the evil manipulations of The Demon King. Kei dazzled the crowd with an array of over twelve costume changes each highlighting a different aspect of her character. My favourites were the short black and yellow stripy 80s number (displaying her shapely legs) while she tried to seduce the Squire and a hilarious knitted ensemble (complete with wool and knitting needles themed hat)  for her scene with the WI ladies who left her to finish the washing up!  

Mother Goose was tricked by the Demon King to enter the ‘deeper dark forest’ where seduced by promises of youth, she plunged into the shimmery waterfall watched over by the Spirit of the Pool of Eternal Youth and Beauty (Wendy Carter.) Following this transformation, she showed that beauty was only skin deep turning increasingly vain and cruel, rejecting the squire, being mean to her friends, and becoming ugly on the inside. The Star Trek outfits were a nice touch as the cast raced across the galaxy to rescue Priscilla and Mother Goose quipping wittily that ‘NODA are in’ while performing her big emotional moment was very funny! Another highlight was the hilarious chase scene to the ‘Can Can’ as various characters (including an inflatable T Rex) raced across the stage and around the auditorium to the delight of the audience.  

Another special mention must go to Edward Griggs who played the delightful goose, Priscilla. He must have been boiling in that huge furry suit (loaned by Heckington players) but still managed to dance and cavort around the stage bringing the character of Priscilla to life. I also spotted him wearing the only red shirt in the Star Trek themed space scene and we all know what happens to that character! (If you’re too young go and ask your parents!)  

The costumes were bright, colourful, and appropriate to the village theme of the show. Well done Jules Jones, Janet  Staple, Stella Turner, and Arline Evenden for creating a stunning collection of costumes and (as most amateur dramatic groups) - on a shoestring. The cohesive look was created by using similar colours for the Goose Family and bright primary colours for the villagers. I especially liked the matching dungarees/pinafore worn by the Goose children and the golden costumes worn by Queen Goosequill (a very imperious Mandie Collier) and Arline her Lord Chamberlain.  

The set had painted scenery which was simple with a brightly painted village background practical cottage door and an archway to Professor Whimseys’ home with a central arch leading to the rest of the village. The action took place in front of the tabs for some scenes allowing the stage crew (Stage manager Arline Evenden) to set the next scene. Both sides of the box set opened to reveal the deep dark wood on stage right and 2 other elements on stage left. (The pool of youth and beauty and a spaceship).  I liked Mother Goose’s dilapidated cottage with its thatched roof and broken windowpanes and the small details like the painted spider and the cat on the window. The spaceship scenes were very well done with the use of swirling coloured lighting to create a space ambiance. There was also a projected space-themed backdrop, a blue sky over the village, and a golden throne room on Planet Gander all designed by Jules.  

All in all, a wonderful show, with many comedy highlights allowing the principals to shine, and an ideal choice for an Easter panto, Well done to Jules and her talented team of creatives and every single person on stage and everyone behind the scenes - set builders, scene painters, costume creators, musical directors who all helped to bring Jule's vision to life. It was an honour to meet you all on stage and chat with you afterwards. Thanks also to the friendly front-of-house team, especially Nigel Hancocks, who looked after David and myself on arrival and at the interval. The colourful programme (designed by Hannah Pilkington) featured all the necessary elements and will be entered into next year’s competition.   

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.