Rapunzel

Having nominated this group for an award in the NODA East ‘Best Pantomime’ category two years running, my expectations of a vibrant and sparkling “Rapunzel” were high.  In reality, sadly, the matinee performance I saw fell rather short of that.

“Rapunzel” is a rather dark tale from the Brothers Grimm, and although Steph Manning’s own script version had attempted to make the story more appealing as a pantomime, the subject matter does not lend itself easily.   In this adaptation, the King and Queen of the City of Steeple Bumpstead are preparing for the opening of the annual Fashion Fair, when Prince Daahz appears.  He’s hoping to gain his hand-in-marriage to the Princess, unaware that she had been kidnapped some seventeen years ago. The Queen’s lady-in-waiting Patch is captivated by Prince Daahz and makes a play for his affection, aided and abetted by her aunt Dame Tartan.

As commander of the local Nylon and Viscose Yeoman (N.A.V.Y.), Brigadier Brocade commissions some new uniforms for his men from a visiting silk merchant, who reveals that he has a daughter by the name of “Rapunzel”.  His two employees, Silk and Worm, it transpires, are orphaned brothers, taken in by The Merchant, who, in addition to kidnapping the infant princess some seventeen years earlier on a previous visit, had also killed the boys’ parents, for stealing some of Rapunzel’s long golden locks, which he had discovered had magical powers and weaves strands of the hair into all the garments he produces in his factory.

Along the way, we discover that Silk is secretly in love with Rapunzel as he constantly tries to persuade her to leave her tower and join in the local festivities.  After managing to steal the key to the tower from The Merchant, Silk and Rapunzel visit the City, with dire consequences for all, when The Merchant discovers their deception.  Goodness prevails in the end and the Princess is reunited with her parents and is betrothed to Prince Daahz.  However, in a final twist, the Princess declares her true love for Silk and asks him to marry her instead.  The Merchant, for his past evils, is spared and sentenced to a life in the City’s laundry and Prince Daahz happily marries Patch.

Steph Manning, as Fairy Bobbin worked hard to keep the audience up-to-date with the story as it unfolded and tried to jolly things along.  Steve Woolmer, who can usually create quite a stir as the pantomime dame, did his best to bring some humour into his performance as Dame Tartan, but much of this was instead provided by David Meecham, who, as the unintelligibly speaking Brigadier Brocade, did make the audience laugh whenever he appeared.

Tony Evans and Josien Woolmer as King Tweed and Queen Taffeta could have been a little more regal, though Lilo Philips was animated and smiley in her role as the lady-in-waiting Patch.  Some good inter-play between her and her aunt Dame Tartan.  Sheila Bronson, was commanding in her role as Prince Daahz, and Sammy Mann put in a spirited performance as Silk, though I would have preferred to see her long hair put up under a cap, to give the impression that she was playing a male role. As Worm, Silk’s brother, Henry Turner gave a confident performance as the rather more stern and supportive apprentice to The Merchant, which contrasted quite significantly with the performance by David Phillips, who, I fear, appeared to be struggling with his role as the evil and scheming villain – much too nice! 

Georgina Lowe in the title role, had a delightfully clear voice, which carried well from her lofty tower and her scenes with Silk and her imaginary friend Hair – well-played by Verity Lowe - were a high-light.  The Junipers, the group’s junior section, were recruited as members of the N.A.V.Y. and other cameo roles as models and factory workers.  Some lively choreography by them would have helped to break up the monotony of the over-long dialogue and a better choice of songs, most of which were accompanied by live music provided by Jonathan and Theresa Lowe,  would have lifted the whole performance to another level.

Although the set and colourful costume plot had been well devised, there were far too many scenes, which hampered the flow somewhat, despite the valiant efforts of the backstage crew, under the direction of Nigel Lambert-Jones and the dialogue seemed to ‘bog down’ some of the characters, who, at times, struggled with their lines, requiring assistance from the prompt on several occasions.  The whole thing felt, from my personal point of view, under-rehearsed, which is a shame, as I know this group can do so much better and they had obviously worked so hard to put on a good show.

To be fair, despite the cast’s best efforts, they just couldn’t captivate the audience, which were, in the main, fairly young children, whose attention span, as we all know to our cost, is short.  Unless there’s plenty of action to keep them focused, they become mildly disruptive and the parents are then left trying to keep them quiet and only half paying attention to the performance themselves.

Let’s hope the evening’s performance restored the cast’s faith in confidently being able to provide a good, fun-filled, performance to a much more appreciative audience.

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