Robin Hood - The Pantomime

Many thanks to Preston College for inviting me to see their Foundation Learning student’s version of the pantomime Robin Hood, which was performed at the college theatre on Friday 19th January 2024. The performance told the love story of Robin Hood & Maid Marian. All the pantomime centric characters were integrated into  the storyline, with Sheriff of Nottingham being the villian, Robin Hood’s mum, the dame & included in the merry men was Will Scarlett who was the Silly Billy style character. In good panto style, Robin Hood is captured as the Sheriff wants Maid Marian all for himself. The rescue mission set out by Marian & the Merry People (the panto made a point of calling out that not all individuals are men & women & the term Merry Men is highly inappropriate!) is a triumphant success and we end up with 3 weddings at the end, where all the various subplots resolve in harmony, cue S-Club7 Reach for the Stars!

The production team were Sara Hartigan as Director, Rachael Soar as Musical Director, Dec Murray on Technical & Samii Porter as Stage Manager. It was very notable that the team worked in collaboration on this production & the amount of dedication and investment they provided. I was smiling like the Cheshire Cat from start to finish, so much so that my cheeks hurt at the end of the production. All the cast were extremely well drilled across the arts disciplines. The set was minimal & was amplified through projected backdrops, which added further dimension to the production. 

Now onto the cast. The first thing I must say is how inspiring each and every member of the cast are. I was very fortunate to be asked to help with the audition process, from which it was enamoured with the levels of  enthusiasm & passion the cast instilled into this part of the process. To see the development of the casts’ skills and talent  from the start to the final product is a testament to the hard work and dedication from the cast and their tutors.

As a general note for improvement, which all of the cast would benefit from to some degree, is to slow the pace of the dialogue down as when the words are spoken really fast, they can be lost, which in turn, loses some of the storyline and the moments of comedy. This being said, being neurodivergent myself, I understand that nerves & excitement can get in the way of this, but just be conscious that the audience will need to understand clearly what is going on. Another general comment is around the timing within the song as quite a few numbers got ahead of the beat, I won’t call out specifics, but there is a skill to listening to the backing to ensure the rhythms stay aligned, maybe try recording yourselves at home practising & listening back to where there and moments out of sync, or work with the cast to understand when this is happening and allow for a continual feedback loop within your peers to help advance this skill.

Robin Hood was played by Jamie Jackson who was a charm to watch in this role. He portrayed the character gentilly & very likeable, with a smiley & endearing persona. His counterpart, Maid Marian, was played by Melanie Williams who again gave a warmth to this role. They both sang in these roles which were to a good standard.

Dame Dora, the pantomime dame, was played by Rory Graham who really shone in this part. Offering both excellent comedic timing, & also retaining all of his masculinity, which provided the dame a grotesque quality, adding to the humour ten fold. He has some nice audience interaction which retained our engagement throughout.

Sheriff of Nottingham, the pantomime villain was played by Harry Lock, and his wingman, Denchman the Henchman, played by Kristian Haslam. Both were very menacing at times in these parts, but had some great light and shade to their roles, providing moments of comedy at times. I loved the variance between the high animation of the Henchman versus the more collected personae portrayed by the Sheriff.

Will Scarlett, the Buttons-esq character was played by Kristian Wade who was fabulous in this part, providing high energy throughout with lots of audience participation to help keep us energised. He has an outstanding vocal ability which was displayed throughout the performance. I must also note the investment of energy & developing technical ability within dance, which he also stood out  for.  His counterpart & Maid Marianne’s best friend,  Juliet was played by Reanna Crossley who portrayed the character with a nice innocence, but  with a slide slice of sass & provided nice visualisations within her performance. I really enjoyed her vocal tone in song & performed a stunning lyrical dance solo as a part of one of her numbers.

Friar Tuck was played by Charlie Worthington who was nothing short of hilarious with her impeccable comedic timing delivering some punchy and at times satirical text with finess.

Long Face the Pantomime Horse was played by Danny Segev who had a wonderful presence on stage, and although the dialogue was restricted to a vocabulary of ‘neigh’ and ‘yey’, he delivered this with alternate intent which added additional humour to the role.

Other parts were played by  Hannah Pattison as Little June, Luke Young as Alan, Elisha Harrison as  Mystic Meg/ Leafworm and Lewis Leigh as King Richard  who all portrayed these characters well and also did a fabulous job of playing other characters within the narrative.

Overall, this was one of the most heart warming pantomimes I have seen to date, mainly because of the joy which it brought to each of the performers, which radiated through to the audience. Tremendous work from everyone involved and I pray the cast continue their theatrical journeys throughout their lives.

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