Rapunzel

Shavington Village Festival Committee were back with their annual pantomime. This year’s offering was ‘Rapunzel’, which was directed by James Sambrook. Upon entering the auditorium, the audience were met with an impressive tower, which was situated stage left. A huge congratulations to Bob Snell for his work on the tower. It’s amazing that the set, costumes and props are all made in-house, and the group should be applauded for this, especially the quality of what they produce. The direction from James was good, with the pantomime traditions being adhered to. The pace in the scenes was generally good, and the scene changes were done efficiently. There were moments of comedy, but this could have been pushed further, especially in the genre of pantomime. The opening projections worked well, setting the story up well, with narration from Callum Faddes. The staging for the search of Rapunzel was well done, and ‘You Will Be Found’ was beautifully sung by the cast. The UV scene (a Shavington tradition) was a visual delight and executed perfectly. The costumes were very good throughout and looked great on stage.

Jenny Collis-Smith was the musical director for this production. Jenny led her small band well through a variety of music, from musical theatre numbers to modern songs. The cast did well with the songs.

Choreography came from Angela Snell. The cast performed the choreography well, and it suited the ability of the cast. There were different styles of dance, including a tap routine. The routine performed by Chloe Campbell and Bobbie Blackman in Act Two was very good, adding to the drama of the moment.

Technical elements were good throughout this production. The sound balance between the band and cast was good – everything could be heard. The lighting was good throughout the production, adding to the atmosphere of different scenes.

Taking on the title role of Rapunzel was Holly Yuill. Holly had a strong stage presence, despite her young age, which was wonderful to see. Holly delivered her songs well, and thought about the character portrayal of Rapunzel. This was a pleasing performance.

Playing opposite Holly was Sannon Vernon as Prince Ryder of Rope. Shannon did well in this role, and played the archetypal principal boy. There was a good relationship formed with Holly. Shannon’s vocals were pleasing.

Rachel Hadzik-Chesters impressed as Fairy Dandruff. It was a strong characterisation as the ditzy fairy, wanting to earn her wings. Rachel worked well opposite Megan’s Mother Gothel, really showing the good versus evil. Her vocals were good, especially in her performance of ‘Fabulous Baby’.

Lisa Smith played the pantomime’s comic, Pascal. Lisa had boundless energy, which suited the character well. Lisa was comfortable in the role and worked well with the audience. If anything, the comedy could have been increased a notch.

Megan Goode proved, yet again, to be the perfect pantomime villain, appearing as Mother Gothel. She was sultry and commanded the attention as soon as she was on stage. Her vocals during her number in Act Two were strong, and the routine as a whole was very good. This was a fantastic performance.

Eddie Bell donned the frock again this year as Dame Fanny Follicle. Eddie appeared comfortable in the scenes and worked well with the rest of the cast. There were some good audience interactions from Eddie.

Jacob Craven played King Bouffant. There was great physical comedy to this role with the ever-changing hairstyles, which Jacob did well with. There was a good rapport built with Eddie.

It was great to see a number of young people taking on principal characters. Belle Smith and Sophia Boyd were delightful as Young Rapunzel and Teenage Rapunzel; Bobby Finch was confident in his pre-recorded sequence as the News Anchor at the beginning of Act Two; and Oscar Anderson delivered the comedy as Gerald the Herald.

The ensemble covered a range of ages, which is always great to see. They were well-rehearsed and knew what they were doing, adding to the scenes. The numbers were performed well, especially ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair’. Well done all.

Overall, this was a good production. The staging was strong, there were some good performances, and it was great seeing the youth take on principal characters.

A big thank you to everyone at Shavington Village Festival Committee for their kind invite and hospitality.

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