Robinson Crusoe

A lovely family feeling to the Swanage Panto, with a mixed-age company and everyone set to work, singing, dancing or banging the drum.  ‘Robinson Crusoe’ is a company-written script full of cracking one-liners and plenty of opportunity for the audience to get involved, given encouragement.  With a lovely backdrop to every scene, colourful costumes and great custom-made props, this is a true community panto.

The voracious Cannibals open the show with some nice singing, but perhaps make the singing a little less civilised, to complement the cauldron, the skeleton and other human body parts which are on the menu!  Reactions were good, but could be even bigger – let yourselves enjoy being bad, it’s good fun.  They are soon joined by Roger the Parrot, an over-sized Antipodean friend of the Crusoe family.  The voice-over works well in describing Roger’s journey to England, and perhaps a little background sound would enhance the flight.  Roger’s lines are sometimes a little muffled by the suit, but when he faces front they are much clearer, and we gain the full benefit of his wit.

Catherine Zeta Crusoe  is well-drawn, rather than over-drawn, and, rather unusually for the Dame, draws a genuine sigh of sympathy from the audience. Kevin is played  as a scatty, nice-but-dim character, who is funny and lovable. Robinson’s performance as the thigh-slapping romantic lead is strong, his speeches and singing clear and purposeful.   Britney Peveril-Point, the Squire’s daughter, is just as young, fresh and pretty as she should be, and played with spirit and a lovely singing voice to boot.  The Pirates make a lively comedy trio, tackling the task of being despicable with energy and relish, lurking in corners and behind mobile palm trees, scoffing at the romantic scenes and being entirely ineffectual in the nicest possible way.  Take care not to let the beard and the accent muffle the words, though.  Squire Peveril-Point has truly impressive skills in delivering difficult tongue-twisters, but he also succeeded in creating a character  who is memorable and charming, (whilst remaining the posh nincompoop), who might otherwise have been simply ridiculous.  It might be fun to make more use of the Gorilla.

To have a youthful chorus is to be the envy of many a company, and adults and juniors were kept busy and appeared in notable scenes such as at The Squire’s Arms Inn, where there was good vocal support and some nicely arranged choreography; in the recruitment of the ship’s crew, singing ‘In the Navy’; alongside the oh-so-convincing and hilarious Village People, again with good use of the stage, as with the ‘Go West’ number.   The Underwater Ballet, full of energy and drive, provides a tempestuous musical and physical transition to the island.  Lighting was particularly good in this scene, as in Britney’s song ‘It Must Have Been Love’.

A jolly good show, with heaps of potential.

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