Pirates from Atlantis

Pirates from Atlantis was a brave choice for Redbourn, I appreciated the characterisations and local references.  More children in the cast was nice to see, as they always add something extra to a pantomime, and they performed well.

The sets worked nicely, with suitable lighting, and sound was good.  However I would have liked to have had more modern music to lift the proceedings, as young people particularly relate better to contemporary pieces.  Overall I enjoyed the production, but it could have done with a little more pace and energy.

The costumes were good, particularly Squibs and Sharkina, but all were colourful and suited the parts. I liked the headdresses, they were imaginative and behaved well, in that they stayed put and were effective.

I liked the broom percussion number which was very catchy and well done.

The three Mermaids – Lucy Goodchild, Kim Marston-Taylor and Ann Mundye were very animated both facially and vocally.  I liked what they did very much.

Hilary Violentano as Squibs wore an imaginative costume well, and also delivered on the animation front too. 

Benita Gilliam and Mario Violentano created a droll duo as Mr Fish & Mrs Chips, Benita was very lively, whereas Marion was more studied in his approach, which created a fun dimension to their pairing.

Andy Turner always steps up to the mark, with a well-projected  character, loads of facial expressions and energy for Winkle, a delightfully camp sailor!  Peter Davies was a very dry and rather grumpy Bosun, which formed a nice contrast to Winkle.

I liked David Howell as Captain Cutlass, good costume plus well-delivered and projected lib.

It was lovely to see Molly Goodchild taking part, she looked so serene and pretty in her dress, with a super crown – a charming moment, well done Molly.

Holly Howell created a nicely evil Sharkina, with a very throaty and meaningful laugh as she delivered her nastiness to her poor subjects!!  We enjoyed boo-ing her.  She also looked good in her lovely robes and headdress.

Clive Crowther in his first ‘Dame’ role, created a really good character, a little more refined than the usual Dame – very nicely made up and quite quietly spoken, but it worked well on the whole.

Nancy Goodchild was a good Polly, she looked charming in her girls costume, and very dashing in her midshipman’s costume, very well accomplished in two differing roles.

Once again Will Brown showed his experience as Jack Courage, delivering his lines well, although perhaps a little more facial expression would have lifted his performance.  However, he is a very accomplished performer.

The Cabin Boy was a small part, but Freddie Goodchild made an impression, he spoke clearly and with vitality.

The youngsters all performed well with dance routines from Laura Jennings – good to see them all participating with obvious enjoyment.

I liked Euan Howell as Rhed Rhum – very swashbuckling and dashing.

The sword fight was a little slow, if it could have picked up a little speed it would have been more exciting, I was aware that it was probably done that way because of the children involved, but the two main characters could have been a little more forceful!

Martin Howe as the Grand Godolphin and Martin Boutland as a sailor, completed the adult cast.

I enjoyed the tap number – it went really well.

A different story and an enjoyable evening.

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