Puss In Boots

Director, Santi Paradeda had picked a good script version of this panto and had presented the piece at a steady pace ensuring the story came across clearly which wasn’t blinded by lofty gimmicks or unnecessary flourishes.

Very unusual for a pantomime - this one had a narrator which was interesting though rather than carrying through and linking each scene, I felt it did the opposite and became a menace to the overall flow of the show.

The set was very simple (well….it needs to be), but at no point did it look as though something was missing.

I do look out for (in panto) how/if any recent news stories have been included in a gag or even mentioned in a passing comment, If nothing is particularly worthy of a mention from the news that week, there is always popular TV show plots to joke about – keeping it as up to date as possible.  There was also room for more mentions of the local area and poking at politics.

I liked Debbie Lewis as ‘Puss’, she underplayed the role with a ‘I'm here and I don’t care’ attitude which worked – but she was still friendly and bubbly when she needed to be.

Andrew Thompson was sincere and likable as Jack , Shelby Ward gave a sweet Princess with a hint of brashness to give a bit of an edge, Marian Rowbottom delivered a Helena Bonham Carter inspired Queen (I blame the wig!) and Stephen Moss was the King of the Kingdom though his queen was certainly the ruler!

Musically, a good selection of songs had been chosen with a mix of fairly recent chart music, Disney tunes and some Musical Theatre.

The numbers were performed with fun and energetic choreography – set by Lauren Livesey – though the ensemble singing was not as wholesome, volume being the major drawback.

Amanda Ernest & Justine Boardman were a lively comedy duo as the any-odd-job-men who always brought a burst of energy with them whenever they were on stage, both bounced off each other really well - I enjoyed all of their scenes.

For me, this show was stolen by the suave and slimy Lord Roger played by David Livesey. David delivered the comedy villain with triumph and thoroughly relished in his role, a very enjoyable and well-presented interpretation.

Dame Hettie Quette was in the capable talents of Simon Fletcher, a traditional pantomime dame of great calibre, although Simon was making every effort to be as visually comical whenever on stage, I felt (as the Dame) he needed to add or be given more gags and punch lines.

Overall – a very colourful, fun and enjoyable portrayal of one of the classics!

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