Once Upon a Time

It’s panto time of the year again (oh, yes it is!) and this year SADS are presenting Once Upon a Time (from Lazy Bee Scripts), not a panto I’ve come across before, but an excellent script where numerous well-known fairy tales collide giving us all the traditional panto elements, and lots of fun and laughter.

The daughter of Cinderella is about to marry the son of Snow White, banishing evil from Pantoland forever, or so the ancient prophecy says. Naturally the baddies aren’t taking this lying down! Evelyn, the head of the Nastily Immoral, Terribly Wicked and Indescribably Troublesome Society (NITWITS for short), spirits Princess Lottie and her two idiotic helpers Nick and Nack away from the palace and drops them on the edge of Pantoland in the hopes that Prince Marvellous will despair and abandon his plans to marry her. Of course, the Prince embarks on a rescue mission and good triumphs over evil in the end.

First on stage was the evil Evelyn, a marvellous cackling performance by Karen Garside, clearly relishing every insult she could throw at us NITWITS. Then the curtains drew back to reveal an impressive set (designed by Director Liam Gray) and the stage was immediately filled by the huge cast in beautifully colourful costumes, performing their first big number, immaculately choreographed and very stylish – every move with the masks was so precisely executed! Choreographer Caroline Powell had obviously rehearsed you all well.

Next we met Nick and Nack (Stanley Sealey and Ria Gray), the comic duo, who bounced off each other really well, their energy and enthusiasm really getting the audience going with the responses. The two families of Cinderella and Snow White (“Ella” and “Snow” - shades of Romeo and Juliet here?) Nicky Cresswell and Shauna Rose as Cinderella and Snow White, and Dave Lee and Mike Clay as their Prince Charmings, bickered well together about the wedding of their children Princess Lottie and Prince Marvellous, with both husbands clearly well under the thumbs. Molly Dyer gave Princess Lottie a nice sparky character, which matched well with Emily Sandoval’s strong and determined Prince Marvellous. Roger Minors made an excellent dame – Gertie, Snow White’s cook, and is a dab hand at interactions with the audience, while making eyes at the Prince’s aid, Jack – a nicely judged long-suffering performance from Emilie Morgan.  

There was so much that impressed me: the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” scene – a  clever idea well executed;  The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – such well-made props (Susie Fellows and team) and we all love a custard pie fight; the two Prince Charmings drinking all the wine – nicely controlled drunkenness; the underwater scene – looked really effective, lovely dancing too; and everybody’s costumes – such good quality - Brenda Austin and the costume team really excelled themselves, enhanced by Lesley Norster with hair and makeup. I could go on, but I’ve already exceeded my 500 words!

The younger members of the cast all did extremely well, taking part in all their scenes with gusto and obvious enjoyment, more than a match for any of the adults on stage. I must give a shout-out to Barnaby Lee who played the Big Bad Wolf so well, with great charm and style. A star in the making there! It is also really encouraging to see younger members of earlier pantos progressing to take on lead roles.

Music was from the SADS Band – just three of them (plus Dave Lee playing the sax on stage) – but they made a great and varied sound and are such a refreshing change from recorded music. Jack Fellows on the sound desk made sure they never drowned out the singers while Charlie Holland’s lighting added great atmosphere to the show.

Managing such a massive cast must have been a daunting prospect for first-time Director Liam Gray, but the end result did not show any lack of experience. It was an extremely well put-together show with all the usual high production values I expect from this society. What a great evening we all had, and your audience showed their appreciation with the tremendous applause at the end.

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