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Robinson Crusoe

Author: John Holliday

Information

Date
19th January 2025
Society
Northallerton Amateur Variety Company
Venue
The Forum, Northallerton
Type of Production
Pantomime
Director
James Cornick
Musical Director
Maeve Hird
Choreographer
Becky Porter
Written By
Kei Bailey

There are very few certainties in life yet one that you can always bank on is that you are guranteed a great 2 hours of entertainment by Northallerton Amateur Variety Company and their annual Pantomime. This year was no exception with a side splitting, energetic and well polished performance of Robinson Crusoe.

On their opening show, an early matinee, the Forum was absolutely packed with a great mixture of all ages and despite being the 1st show there were no signs of nerves or teething problems as this experienced group of performers gave a lovely faultless showing.

Kim Boagey as Fairy Marina set the standard high with a lovely expressive opening monologue. Her clear diction providing the perfect setting for the story that was to follow. Her costume was bright and sparkling perfectly matching the under water theme and her cheery disposition matched the beaming smile she gave us as she appeared from scene to scene. Very often these pop-on speeches can be lost or almost a throw away but Kim managed to capture the audience’s attention, later showing off some impressive vocals too.

Director James Cornick did a great job of maintaining great space on the stage. Despite a large cast of principals, cameo roles and a strong Junior chorus the stage never once looked crowded. This allowed Choreographer Becky Porter a lovely blank canvas to work with and she certainly made the most of this in the large numbers. At every turn in the show we were spoilt by a great lively showcase number, whether performed by the Pirates or the Villagers the energy was high with lovely syncronisation between all the cast. The routines were clever by not over complicating the steps and moves to allow the whole ensemble to be in harmony with each other.

A great example of this was the explosive opening number Something About This Night, a packed stage working in small groups to paint a lovely animated picture of the show and life on the ship.The vocals were slick and really well balanced with the 5 piece band led excellently by Maeve Hird.

Weirdly for a Pantomime there was no Adult Ensemble in the show but with 18 named roles every member jumped in and out of scenes to create a lively atmosphere. Aided by the Junior chorus of Alexandra, Catherine, Jennie, Maisie, Ruby, Sophie, Eloise, Eliza and Grayson each scene was full of life, with everyone staying in character throughout. The Juniors are always at the core of these shows and it was great to see previous Junior Chorus members stepping up to main roles now. In particular Maya Scott and Eilidh McMillan. Each 2 of the girls had parts as the Pirate crew and alongside Rebecca Gooding, gave their roles a lovely personality. From the Diva Eilidh whose focus and jokes centred around her styling to the busy body chef of Rebecca and the grumpy hypochondriac of Maya. All three were wonderful in their roles giving a new dimension and depth to the Pirate crew.

Also bouncing around the Pirate ship in true comedic fashion were Phil Bargewell and Lewis Wilde as Ricky Squidsquisher and Sam Skullduggery. Bouncing off each other in true Chuckle Brothers style, they both brought lovely pace and energy to every scene. Lewis’s word slips were brilliantly written and Phil’s facial expressions and fabulous dance skills were both excellent to watch. 

Every evil Pirate Captain needs a good side kick and in Kimmi Chapman we had just that. As Peggy Sharkfin, she gave us a real downbeat grump strutting around the stage. Not only did she give us a great characterisation but she also had the chance to show off a beautiful voice in the show adding another side to this versatile actress. Her moody edge worked perfectly against the OTT lively Tracie Birdsall as Captain Kilkraken. Every time the two appeared on stage had the audience ready with the boo’s and hisses and Tracie did a great job in working against the crowd. Her lines were delivered with a lovely punchy Cornish twang, her snears were sharp and her overall physical performance was spot on. She led a viscous rendition of Money, Money, Money which showed another side to an actress becoming almost type-cast as the villain now! 

Act One has a great split between scenes on the Ship and in the coastal village “Much Piddling By The Sea” so we get to meet a vast mixture of characters. In addition to the Pirate comedy duo we also have the debt collecting duo of Berni Slobber and Barney Dribble played by Millie Sample and Stan Parry. These two were absolutely brilliant together, they had true Laurel and Hardy style comedy about them with dumb Barney, obsessed with getting a new girlfirend being kept in check by his slightly bossy partner Bernie. I loved the characterisations of these two and combined with a really silly rendition of Summer Holiday gave me a good belly laugh in every scene. I especially liked Millie’s role in the Panto favourite comedy mop sketch.

Also from the village we have the flambouyant and refined Mayor Perkins played with true style and dignity by Will Jackson. His lines were delivered with great refinement and his posture and mannerisms just oozed class. He had a lovely connection with our love interests of the show and in particular his daughter, Polly Perkins played delightfully by Jess Stamper. She gave us the perfect sheltered daughter, eager to please her father yet desperate to go on the adventure with her true love Robinson, delivering a character we could all warm to.

Adele Mcnally was perfect as the title character Robinson. Aided by wonderful costumes which painted the perfect picture of knee-slapping principal boy with her long legs, high boots and great hip holding stances. She really owned the stage in each scene demonstrating great stage presence, clashed wonderfully with her opposing characters and painted a lovely picture in the love scenes with Jess. Both actresses had plenty of opportunity to show off their vocals and dance moves throughout the show and I loved the song You’re The One That I Want, a great routine between the two. 

The villagers would eventually land on, and remain deserted on A Tropical Island and thankfully meet and be saved by Gladys Friday, a glamorous lady with upper class voice who had been stranded there 10 years ago. Lisa Walton was ideal as Gladys, her mannerisms spot on, the quirkiness of someone who has been alone for so many years excellently portrayed and she kept the scenes pushing along at a pace at a point where the story could have been seen as winding down. 

What I love about NAVC Pantos is they do not try to over-complicate things. They keep the costumes excellent, the scenery topical, the song choices are perfect for the scene yet they also keep in all of the great moments that everyone loves. The Ghost sketch (this time a Gorilla sketch as the main characters get harrassed by Phil Bargewell as an over zealous Gorilla), the audience participation number and as we have come to love with Northallerton the messy and chaotic kitchen scene played by two absolute stand out performers in Nik Browne as Ma Crusoe and Nigel Thomson as Billy Crusoe or silly Billy as he became known.

It is difficult to find the words to describe just how good these two are in Panto. Not just as individual performers but also when they combine. As the Dame Nik just has the audience in the palm of his hands, always ready with a cheeky innuendo or sharp comeback but also a great physical actor too. He carries off the amazing array of flambouyant costumes with style, masters the small gestures wonderfully and interacts superbly with all his fellow cast members.

His relationship on stage with Nigel as Silly Billy is a joy to watch. Hard to put it in words but they just have this connection, the cheeky glances, the perfect off script ad-libs and the hysterical chaos with water, flour, cream and even stage mishpas are all taken in their stride.

Nigel continues to dazzle as the comedy clown, perfect timing in his vast collection of silly jokes matched by his Frank Spencer glances after jokes specifically aimed at the parents.

It is hard to tell what is script and what is not with Nigel as he plays the role like everyone’s best friend, or daft brother. But that is what makes these two so brilliant in these roles - they are warm, funny, daft, the action never stops and they bring the Panto to life.

The music choices were great for the show, from a stomping Club Tropicana to an outrageous Spice Girls Tribute it had everything and Maeve Hird (MD) kept the tempo and pace of the songs pushing along brilliantly. The costume team did an amazing job bringing so much colour and realsim to the vast collection of costume changes - the finale was sensational with the stage filled with glamorous blue wedding outfits for everyone as we were played out to S Club 7’s Reach For The Stars, a great lively and warm number to match the energy and passion from the cast throughout.

A huge well done to Director James Cornick, Choreographer Becky Porter and the whole cast and crew for another brilliant Pantomime. I hope next week’s audiences enjoy it just as much as my family and I did this afternoon and I can’t wait to see what 2026 has in store for you all.

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