Robin Hood

Ulverston Pantomime Society (Formerly the British Legion Pantomime Society) celebrated their seventy fifth year with their production of Dave Crump's Robin Hood. Will Robin win the heart of Maid Marion? Will Little John get on with Friar Tuck? Will Robin's men be merry? Will Scarlet? Of course they will, but it will take a while….  

Opening the show, Nicky Diggle as Blossom the Woodland Sprite (complete with sparkly frock and beaming smile) set the scene, followed by a verbal set-to with one of the baddies of the piece, Prince John - as ever both were on top form bringing out the first of many audience participation bits, before opening into a full chorus song and dance number.  

The main romantic element in Robin Hood, is of course between Robin Hood (Kim Little) and Maid Marion (Helen Day) - Robin gaining the love of Marion whilst she tries to outrun the lusty advances of others. Kim and Helen took the roles in their stride, performing well together in both their reactions to each other, and everyone else around them.  

The comic duo came in the form of the ever ebullient Adam Atkinson as Little John and Friar Tuck, played by Denise King - who, on her day, would easily walk/waddle/bob into any Ministry of Silly Walks. Both Adam and Denise bounced off each other (quite literally) like an inveterate comedy double act.  

Steve Thompson had the unenviable task of getting the audience on board in the role of Will Scarlet, whilst Steve played it well, I did feel that on occasion his "comedy role" was overshadowed by the sometimes very enthusiastic Little John - whether it required Steve to up the ante, or for Adam to tone it down a tad, is anybody's guess. This said, the audience enjoyed them both in equal measure. Steve was ably supported by Carole Leech in the role of Jenny, Will's sweetheart.  

Bob Needham took on the role of the dame in this production, Nora Little. With all the trappings of a traditional Dame - over the top costume, facial expressions and make up akin to someone over applying it on a roller coaster, Bob played the lovable Nora well.  

Other roles, Mad Mary, Guy of Gisburn (with rather unfortunate helmet) and King Richard were all pleasingly executed by Sue Little, Peter Buckley and Chris Parkinson.  

Where's the Sheriff of Nottingham? I hear you ask. With a show so packed with goodies and baddies, it would be easy to lose what is essentially one of the best bad guy roles in any panto. In the same way Alan Rickman stole the film, Matt Berry stole the show as The Sheriff. In some ways his slightly understated Sheriff oozed evil from every pore- although there was audience participation, he was quite dismissive with the audience, which actually made his character more appealing. Matt looked as though he was loving every moment of being up there, and made light work of the musical numbers he'd been given. Well done.  

The chorus of Villagers, Merry Men, dancers and Servants were all enthusiastic and well drilled in both song and movement.  

A minor niggle for me was that there "seemed" to be too many characters/scenes in this very wordy pantomime, which could have been culled by the writer, making it shorter, and within the two hours plus interval slot that panto's generally go for, although I can also understand the need to give the performers, whether principal, chorus or dancer a chance to shine.  

Staging-wise, the set was good and the lighting complementary to the set, although I did feel that some things were a bit out of place with the story. For example, the opening chorus number was set against a backcloth that wouldn't have been out of place in the final scene of Grease- whilst I'm not great at history - ferris wheels and electric lighting in the 13th/14th century? I don't normally mention the costumes, but these for principals were great, though on occasion the chorus/dancers costumes didn't fit in with the period- and with the price of costume hire and other costs these days, I can understand why, though it would be remiss of me not to mention it.    

Choreographer Alex Mattinson should be really proud of how hard the chorus/dancers worked in this show, and how much they looked as though they were enjoying themselves.  

It's always a joy to hear a live orchestra at any production, and this was no different. Under Elisabeth Greaves baton, they and the performers were well polished.  

As ever, Director Sue little had put a lot of time and effort into the pantomime, and it showed in the smiling faces of both the cast and the audience.  

Thank you Ulverston Pantomime Society for your invitation and hospitality.

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