Rapunzel - All Tangled Up

Mr Murderies’ Players, are an amateur theatre group, whose performances raise money for charity and have so far raised thousands of pounds for worthy causes. This is their second panto following their successful production of ‘Aladdin’ last year. 

This year’s panto, ‘Rapunzel - All Tangled Up’ was written by Hannah King, inspired by the Disney animated film ‘Tangled’ which itself, was loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, ‘Rapunzel.’ 

Our story commences with the narrator (Nadene Higgins) introducing the magical flower which has miraculous healing powers and can reverse the aging process.  The flower has been used for centuries by the evil witch, Gothel (Janine Smithson) who uses its powers to keep looking youthful while reciting a magic rhyme.

Meanwhile, in the palace in Branstonia, the king (Gerry Higgins) is concerned for the welfare of his wife (Caroline Smith) who is gravely ill and expecting a child.  The guards are sent to retrieve the magic flower (watched by Gothel) which is then turned into a pie and given to the ailing queen. She quickly recovers and gives birth to a beautiful baby girl with long, golden hair. 

Gothel goes to the palace and snips off a tiny piece of the princess’s hair.  Unfortunately, once parted from the princess, the magic is useless, so Gothel abducts the child from her loving parents.

Skip forwards eighteen years, and Rapunzel (Teghan Bradley) is confined to a tall tower and has been living with the woman she calls Mother Gothel.   Rapunzel has very little do all day so she fills her time with endless activities which she details in her opening song.  All the time hoping she will finally get the chance to explore the outside world and see the wonderful glowing lights that seem to only appear on the day of her birthday.  Teghan had a lovely, sweet voice, capturing Rapunzel’s wide-eyed innocence and yearning for excitement.  She wore a pale pink and lilac dress to mirror her real parents. The ensemble dressed as Rapunzel ‘Mini Me’s’ and performed a dance routine behind her.  Rapunzel is very lonely, as Gothel keeps her isolated making her easier to control. Her only friend is a cute chameleon, which Rapunzel wears on her shoulder. 

Mother Gothel, is one of the most sinister of all the Disney villains, in that she is a narcisstic mother figure who gas lights poor Rapunzel, filling her head with horrific stories of ruffians who would capture her for her magical hair telling all the while undermining her self-esteem saying 'mother knows best.'  She then uses Rapunzel’s magic hair to restore her beauty while Rapunzel recites the rhyme. Janine played the part of Mother Gothel very well with just the right amount of sinisterness and she had a beautiful singing voice. 

In her script, Hannah has also incorporated some traditional panto elements and now we have Dame Bucket (Andrew ‘Rue’ Watson) who calls herself Bouquet a nod to Hyacinth from the TV show ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ who has been asked to organise the celebrations for the missing princess’s 18th birthday.

Dame Bucket has two sons, Spud (Liz Watson) and Pickle (Joy Lintin) who are always up to mischief and provide much of the comedy. They have a colleague, Bryn Strider (Bethan Clark) who has designs on stealing the princess’s golden crown.  

Next, we meet the Royal Guard, who to the Monty Python theme, march down the aisle.  They are led by the Handsome, the Chief Guard (Chris Matthews.)  Bryn tricks the guards and steals the crown, then further tricks the gullible Spud and Pickle into believing that the crown is fake and makes off with his booty.  Handsome and his horse Maximus (a white hobby horse) Spud and Pickle, all vow revenge on Bryn.

Back in the tower, Bryn climbs into Rapunzel’s room and is quickly knocked out by Rapunzel with a bag of potatoes. She hears Mother Gothel coming up the tower and places a lampshade on Bryn’s head.  She then despatches Gothel to fetch some special birthday sausages so she can interrogate her captive.  Once alone with Bryn, she blackmails him to taking her to see the mysterious lights.  In true panto style Rapunzel asks the audience if she should go with Bryn and the audience reassure her. 

Next, we see Dame Bucket, dressed in dayglo sportswear, and the ensemble doing an aerobic routine.  After which she wittily asks for an inhaler after all her exertions.  Handsome wants to know the identity of the culprits who have stolen the crown, telling the Dame they looked like they had been to a ‘German beer festival.’  Dame Bucket recognises her sons from the description and draws an artist’s impression of them.  

Outside at last, Bryn takes Rapunzel to an inn with a fearsome reputation, ‘The Fluffy Wuffy Unicorn’ convinced she will get scared and run back to the safety of her tower and deliberately causes a riot.  However, the perky Rapunzel quickly wins over the ruffians (Zoe Henderson, Eunice Watson and Yvonne Bennion) telling them that she had a dream prompting them to share their own dreams and ambitions.

Bryn is starting to realise there is something very special about Rapunzel and this is further confirmed when he is injured, and she uses her magic powers to heal him.  Mother Gothel tries to entice Rapunzel back to the tower, but Rapunzel now finally stands up to her telling her ‘No’ for the first time in her life.  Mother Gothel is shocked, singing sarcastically that now Rapunzel knows best and, as the stage turns red to reflect her evil nature, she hatches a wicked plan to win her back. 

Will Rapunzel ever find out that she is the missing princess and the significance of the lights, or will Mother Gothel trick her back to her tower forever and will Dame Bucket use her womanly ways to finally get herself a husband?

Highlights for me were the rapping rabid rabbits (Alyssia Howard, Esmae Oliver and Caidence Vickers,) choreographed and led by dance captain Lo Osgerby.  Also, the beautiful lantern display created by members of the audience holding up illuminated paper bags to create the effect of soaring lanterns, while Rapunzel and Bryn duetted in a rowing boat.  This is where she and Bryn finally realise, they are falling in love.  There were also the usual panto scenes such as the ghost kidnapping Handsome, Spud, Pickle and Dame Bucket, who repeat with a cheery ‘Well, we’ll have to do it again then won’t we?’ which the audience enjoyed joining in with.  

Poor Dame Bucket did very well to resist the constant, but good-natured, heckling coming from the back of the room and managed to stay in character – just.  Bethan Clark played Bryn with a winsome cheekiness, and I enjoyed her duet with Tegan and nearly being eaten by bunnies!  Spud and Pickle worked well together, and I liked the line ‘prop his eyes open and make him watch Love Island.’  A special mention goes to Edward Henderson as ‘The Child’ who delivered his lines confidently.

The set was very simple with rotating panels to create the brick walls of the tower and the trees of the forest.  Rapunzel’s tower had a cut out in a panel covered with a black curtain, where Gothel and Bryn could make their entrances.  The aisle was used well for entrances and the stage used for the chase scenes. 

Costumes were good and reflected the character.  Mother Gothel wore a red dress, black cape and a black wig tinged with red which changed to grey as she aged.  Rapunzel’s clothes mirrored her parents, and the peasants wore shades of brown to differentiate them from the royal family.  Spud and Pickle wore lederhosen with their initials on and the guards all wore shiny blue tabards with the outline of the magic flower. 

Unfortunately, the tech gremlins were very much evident, resulting in crackling mics and periods where the mics were off, resulting in some dialogue being lost.  This did not seem to detract from the performance however, since the audience were joining in and clapping to show their appreciation.  

I enjoyed the script, but found it a bit tricky to follow.  This could have been addressed by using the narrator effectively to introduce parts of the action and give some additional continuity to the story.  

Overall, an entertaining panto, very much aimed at the local people of Branston, who were obviously delighted to see their friends and colleagues giving their all.  After the show, I was delighted to chat to director Hannah and Lo Osgerby the dance captain and the leading light of the ensemble.   Follow your dreams, Lo!  I’m sure we will see you in further productions.

Well done to Assistant Director, Graham King and the stage crew behind the scenes, who have helped with the show through painting back-drops, sourcing props and costumes to help bring Hannah’s vision to life. 

Also, congratulations on your programme which fulfils all criteria and will therefore be entered into next year’s poster and programme competition.

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