Puss In Boots

The tale of ‘Puss In Boots’ has been around since 1550. It originated in Italy and eventually made its way over to England as one of the ‘Mother Goose’ tales, the character and the story has certainly stood the test of time as a favourite children’s bedtime story ever since. The title character has also been used in other famous works with ‘Puss In Boots’ appearing in act III of Tchaikovsky's ballet ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ and more famously recognised to the youths of today as a character in the ‘Shrek’ films, famously voiced by Antonio Banderas.    

In its pantomime form it’s not as common today as it once was, admittedly this production marks the first time I’ve seen a pantomime version of ‘Puss...’ despite being involved with pantos since my early school days.

Megan Douglas shone as the title character with copious sass, swagger and attitude demonstrating she was every inch the star of the show with her prevailing stage presence and visual command.  

Absolute commendation must go to the dancers and the choreographer responsible for the ballet in act I, it was gorgeous, beautifully danced and the music was a perfect choice, quite possibly the highlight of the entire production for me.

Each year Sale Nomads give the panto pedals to a different director which does come with its pros and cons, it’s inspiring and nurturing to the membership to run it this way which is the biggest pro in my book but the con I’ve noticed over recent years is how it sees an inconsistency in the standard of some areas. Ceri Graves was back behind the MD keyboard with a quantity of musicians many panto MD’s can only dream of. I appreciate it’s an extra work load to sort and source dots for multiple instruments/musicians when it comes to constructing a panto score - MDing a panto is a thankless job for that duty alone, however, scene change music would really be in the productions favour for the fluidity of the presentation (playoff music from a previous song is all that’s required) so we’re not left sitting in darkness just waiting for the set to be changed, hearing nothing but the running of a curtain track or the positioning of bits of set. The absence of an evil sting whenever the villains appear was also a shame which made their entrances seem on the lacklustre side and doesn’t encourage the audience to “boo” – things that’re so straightforward can make such a huge difference in the overall presentation.  

Not uncommon for me to say, but as reliable as ever, Anna Simmons put in a sturdy and memorable performance this time as the steam punk inspired fairy, her jokes were delivered at exactly the right level – a little bit cheeky but keeping her good-natured persona at the forefront which probably made the cheeky jokes even funnier as they weren’t expected. Aladdin’s rug resulted in the biggest laugh from me.  

Howard Anson oozed menacing qualities as the villain with his powerful and resonant tone, though he does have the tendency to go a little too quiet with his aside lines, ably supported by Jenny Hollinshead as his nincompoop side kick in an excellently acquired costume too, Jenny looked a treat!

It was a pleasure to experience Derek Stuart-Cole as the Dame, coming up trumps once again! He’s got the knack for this artform and completely relishes his performance making us feel in safe hands. A delight as always.

The storyline is thin and not always clear, especially when dialogue becomes incomprehensible (amplification doesn’t aid poor diction), though the vitality of what is going on stops that from mattering too much.

Naturally, good will prevailed (show me a panto where it doesn’t!) and the traditional tale was furnished with humour, song and bright energy.

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