Muskateers the Panto
Information
- Date
- 15th December 2022
- Society
- Clavering Players
- Venue
- Clavering Village Hall
- Type of Production
- Pantomime
- Director
- Matt Elliston - Assisted by Megan Elliston & Kym Elliston
- Musical Director
- -
- Choreographer
- Charlotte Neal, Cera Pickering & Megan Ellison
- Written By
- Megan Elliston
I was impressed with Megan Elliston’s last panto for Clavering Players so was very much looking forward to seeing this year’s production. Glancing through the programme I could see that this was a family pantomime in every sense of the word. There was also a large cast, several of whom I am told were replacements, some at the last minute.
Of the principal characters, Jean Schofield and Claire Abrahams as King Louis and Queen Anne, together with Rachel Betts as Cardinal Richelieu gave strong performances as did Matt Elliston as Captain Treville. He was well supported by Jamey Benson, Andrew Brown and Tudor Owen as Athos, Aramis and Porthos.
Very well done to Martin Gouldstone who was obviously enjoying playing Dame Baguette. I loved the character’s array of outfits which included a quite hilarious nautical get-up. Daughter Constance and D’Artagnan were nicely played by Megan Elliston and Clare Fuller.
John Bell made quite an impact as Rochefort and Milady was well played by Bastie Colclough.
Well done to those members of the cast who had to step in and learn their lines in a very short period of time. I would never have known, as I only remember hearing the prompt come in on one occasion.
It was great to see a good cohort of children on stage but they do need to understand that as well as granny and grandad and other family members coming to see them, they are performing to a paying audience, therefore it is important to remember what they have been taught by way of stage craft. For the most part they did well, especially those who had dialogue. Unfortunately it’s always the ones that are in a world of their own that catch the eye. Most of the children had a good go at the dancing but I felt it could have been a lot crisper.
The set was simple but adequate and enhanced with good traditional painted scenery. Lighting and sound were good. Musical accompaniment was pre-recorded and tended to end very abruptly which was a shame. Playing long intros under the dialogue is something that might be worth considering, leading to a smoother transition.
Wardrobe was in the safe hands of Rachel Betts resulting in the production being very well costumed with excellent attention to detail.
Looking back over this report I notice I have made a number of criticisms and I do hope these will be looked at as constructive. Writing and staging a pantomime may seem like fun but in reality it is very hard work. Taking this into consideration I congratulate Megan and Matt and everyone else involved in putting on this very entertaining production.
Thank you for inviting me. We had a very enjoyable afternoon.
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