Mother Goose

What a good fun pantomime this was with jokes and puns coming thick and fast. So much thought and effort had gone into creating another fantasy wonderland. The storyline of a rivalry between Fairy and Demon King had him plotting to overthrow the Queen and her son while also laying claim as his wife to Jill, the daughter of Mother Goose who owned the famous golden egg laying goose, Priscilla. The antics and evil intents of Jamie McArthur as the Demon King had the young, and the not so young, booing from the start and every time he appeared. This was a smooth and insidious character. In contrast, Stewart Borthwick as Silly Billy, engaged and roused the audience with good natured rapport and silliness especially in his pursuit of Mother Goose. Their pairing, and ease with each other, was key. Their jokes with local and topical references always hit the mark. As Mother Goose, Derek Easton delighted with his humour, quick retorts, managing ways and his fantastic costumes with outrageous - and sometimes unstable - wigs. The second wig and costume were really attractive and his black outfit with the high heels certainly took a trick. His slapstick decorating scene with Silly Billy was a hoot as was the bedroom scene with the Demon King hiding there. He was really convincing in his dilemma of wanting to be young again. The love interest between Prince Jack, the gallant rescuer played by Claire Coyne, and Jill, performed by Jennifer Brisbane as a feisty heroine, played out in traditional and satisfactory panto fashion. The Demon’s poisonous trick of turning good-natured characters into aggressive and unpleasant ones gave Tracy Allan as Queen of Gooseland the opportunity to show some versatile acting. So too did John Coe as the camp Harlequin with his singing showing great range and expression and his hand showing dexterity with his fan. Greer Robertson with a taking persona as Fairy represented all that was good and delighted with her solo. Light hearted humour and silliness was engagingly presented by Nifty and Shifty, namely Sophie Fairgrieve and Chloe Gibson, the Demon’s side kicks. The performance of Yolande Borthwick as Priscilla the Goose with realistic birdlike movements was maintained throughout. Musically the whole performance gelled. The chorus of Villagers lifted the spirits of all with their well presented songs and dances as in The Appropriate Step Back in Time, Abracadabra and Sweet Caroline. Stage space was well orchestrated especially when the full cast was on. The use of flower bowers presented a lovely tableau and the fluorescent scene delighted with its wonderful depiction of the natural world - loved the butterflies. Colourful costumes, especially the stunning sequinned turquoise display in the finale, enhanced the whole spectacle. Hard work in creating scenes with cloths, props and subtle lighting paid off. This was another enjoyable and entertaining pantomime. Well done all.

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