Robin Hood and the Merry Outlaws

Following a warm welcome from the front of house team, it was clear that the panto is a firm favourite event in Writtle, with a full house audience gathered in the village hall.

 

The show opened with a large squirrel (Jan Irving) within Sherwood Forest, a character that featured throughout as a gentle break from the action. Tracey Willmot then gave us a sung introduction as Alan-a-Dale, with hippie characterisation, before we met the comedy duo Jeremiah Clod (Sharon Goodwin) and Jacob Thicket (Juliet Pithers), who were en route to deliver a ‘Just Feast’ meal to the Sheriff – complete with recognisable orange rucksack. Clod and Thicket had great expression and timing, they’d obviously rehearsed alot together and were a joy to watch. Michael Raith played Robin Hood in an confident and earnest way, which worked well with the larger than life characters of Little John (Paulette Harris) with a well held accent and impressive beard, Friar Tuck (Daniel Curley) being the moral compass of the outlaws with a commanding presence and clear speaking voice, even during rambling stories and impressive singing range, and Will Scarlet (Katharine Thomas) usually striking a styling pose, though a bit hard to hear at times. The song An Outlaws Life Is Hard was good fun, with nice choreography.

 

Action moved to the Castle where we met the Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Kevin Stemp with flair and skill. He was mesmerising to watch, switching between arrogance, meanness, and comedic vulnerability, the song ‘I always get my way’ had vibes of Scar’s ‘Be Prepared’ laid back confidence. The whining demands of ‘I want my pies’ was followed by a scene with dialogue spoken through a mouthful of food resulting in much misunderstanding, very funny indeed.

 

The script was written by Director Jerry Thomas, with an entertaining balance of traditional panto elements and audience interaction, with modern references, and a gentle nod to some naughtiness. The songs featured were some lovely compositions by the in-house musicians (Neil Hamblin and Stephen Burdge) to original words from the writer, in particular I Wish I Was A Hero, a poignant ballad sung by Sir Guy of Gisborne (Liz Curley) who had great expression throughout the show, and a fabulous crocheted full set of chainmail courtesy of Kathryn Furnival. Andy Grant played the dame Nurse Baggypants very nicely, in some spectacular costumes, and spoke-sang the very funny song ‘When A Girl Gets Lost In The Woods’ wishing for a handsome woodcutter. No Robin Hood story is complete without a Maid Marian, Anna Sellers delivered a strong willed leading lady, and knitted herself a hooded short cloak to match the medieval dress. When Robin and Marian are united in Act 2 they are well matched and a solid pair. The last cast member to make an appearance was King Richard (Daniel Dodman), putting a stop to the Sheriff’s foul play at the Archery Tournament. His delivery was a little uneven and strained, though maybe just on the night I saw it.

 

The scenery was a single set of well painted trees, tree stump, and castle exterior wall, with large props to identify the locations, including Nottingham mile marker, tournament tent, massive log for sitting on, and castle furniture. Costumes were appropriate to the characters, with a nice range of colours, and variation within the Merry Outlaws. Sound and lighting was effective, particularly for the heist, and archery tournament, which was staged down the centre aisle of the audience. Without microphones good projection was key, and this was achieved by most of the cast.

A particular highlight was the recorder and drum interludes used for some of the scene changes, it sounded authentic and very pleasant to listen to. Thank you to Writtle CARDS for an entertaining evening, the director, cast and crew did a grand job with a classic tale.

 

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