Rapunzel

It’s panto season again (oh yes it is!) and Retford Musical Theatre Group, under the direction of Alison Darkus, have brought to life the story of Rapunzel to the stage with a panto twist.  The classic tale tells of a baby, stolen from her loving parents eighteen years ago by a wicked witch Gothel, who locks her in a tall tower with the only access being via her extraordinary long locks.  Throw in a fairy in training whose spells always seem to backfire and a spoilt playboy Prince and his valet and you have all the elements for a fun family panto. 

The dame Beatrix (Trixie) Bouffant is a hairdresser, played by Jamie Savage, who runs a busy salon called ‘Curl Up and Dye’ which gave lots of opportunity for hair related puns.  Jamie brought enthusiasm to the stage with his interpretation of man-hungry Trixie and lots of the humour came from his chasing after the poor Captain of the Guard (Richard Bell) who she had romantic designs on.  Jamie worked well bantering with his son Frankie and the audience, and he even joined in with some of the dances. 

Fairy Flora in delicate shades of lilac, was played by Briony Dale, who brought a sweet innocence to the role and had a beautiful voice showcased in her Second Act solo.  She acted as a narrator speaking directly to the audience to describe her predicament when her spell goes wrong.

Her evil counterpart was the wicked witch Gothel played by Natasha Mackay, bathed in green light, she tormented Rapunzel making her cry so she could collect and use her tears to keep her youthful.  Natasha connected with the audience well and encouraged them to heckle her.   Gothel also had some hapless minions who she sent out into the village to get food and supplies.  These were played with gormless naivety by Lottie Noble as Bob and Caitlin Gorwood as Curly and provided some of the slapstick humour hitting each other with mops.  I liked the upbeat 60s theme each time they appeared which was the perfect showcase for Lottie’s dance skills. 

In the Royal Court we had the King Geoffrey and Queen Gertrude who treated us to a witty version of Chu-chi Face from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  The Queen, Jayne Cox played the part of the over-protective mother very well, spit washing Frederick’s face and clinging to him much to his embarassment. Ian Hilder played the ineffectual King who had allowed his spoilt son to waste his life shirking his responsibilities, who then, under Flora’s misguided spell’s influence, turned into a tyrant banishing his son from court.  

In her isolated tower was Rapunzel (played by Rowan Houghton) oblivious to her past believing the wicked Gothel was her grandmother. Rowan had some solos which she sang well and shared a duet with her newfound love interest - Prince Frederick.  I liked the way she showed her curiosity of the world outside her tower and the villagers.  

The best double act and ‘Bromance’ had to be the combination of Frankie the Valet and the selfish playboy Prince Frederick played by Sam Taylor.  Sam was hilarious as the playboy Prince sporting dark glasses, hiding from the paparazzi and flirting with the ladies.  His turn of phrase like an over-the-top actor (think Matt Berry in the TV show Toast of London) and his principal boy stance of hands-on hips was very funny.  He also had a lovely singing voice showcased in his duet with Rapunzel.  

Frankie, played with perfect comic timing by Ollie Ward, was Trixie’s son who worked as Valet to the Prince. Ollie worked the audience squeezing every bit of comedy from the script with his facial expressions and body language.  On the night we were there, while performing a dance routine to the ‘Friends’ theme, Ollie slipped on some bubble mixture and turned the fall into a hilarious ‘worm’ move.  He then proceeded to weave the incident into the rest of the routine with asides at the audience who were helpless with laughter at his antics. 

The ensemble supported the story well joining in with big numbers such as the opening ‘Footloose’ and the clever choreography tribute to Bucks Fizz ‘Making your Mind Up’ with the villagers in primary colours.  

Once again, it was lovely to see the young dancers from Staples Dance Academy providing a showcase of their talents in different dance genres from traditional ballet to 50s theme.  The highlight was the principal dancers performing as a ghost bride and her suitor surrounded by dancing dayglo skeletons. 

Costumes (Yvonne Smith) were bright and colourful and appropriate to the theme of the show.  Trixie wore dresses reflecting her job as a hairdresser and the makeup was good. I liked the matching outfits for the King and Queen and Rapunzel’s lilac dress and flower woven hair a tribute to the Disney princess in ‘Tangled’ which the younger members of the audience would recognise.  I particularly liked the bright pink themed walk down finale costumes for each character.

The set relied on back drops for the village and a rotating tower (provided by Retford Snooker) which was used very well for the external views and for the window leading to Rapunzel’s room at the top of the tower featuring a secret door which was used by the cast. Props were used well and were appropriate to the theme with Trixie’s salon having trollies of hairdressing items.  

Sound (Vanessa Smith and Adam Pace) and lights (Cody McGinty and Dominic Rogers) were used well with lighting effects to represent the good and evil characters - a red light for when the cast were under Gothel’s spell and pink light wash for romantic scenes between Rapunzel and Frederick. 

Adele Beaumont’s choreography was pacy but not too complex so it enabled everyone to join in with the dance numbers, and it was lovely once again to see the live band, ably led by Musical Director Martin Yates, who was providing musical support in his very last panto for the society.  I wish him all the best for his retirement.

Well done Alison and your hard-working team for producing another fun-packed panto that was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.  

It was also a pleasure to meet Society President, Betty Teanby, who gave a lovely speech to the cast members after the performance. 

Thank you for the warm welcome to Retford Little Theatre from programme sellers and bar staff, it is always a delight to come and meet everyone.  I look forward to seeing the society’s next production ‘We will Rock You’ in May 2026.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.