Rumpelstilskin with a twist

Rumpelstilskin, penned by the local talented scriptwriting team of Scott Millington, who also directed, Julie Daniel and Steve Kaye was sharp, witty and up to date with lots of local references, which the audience really enjoyed. It was a fast paced script in which everyone on stage, numbering 21, had at least one line, and to mention them all would take more words than I am allowed. 
Catworth Village Hall is one of the smallest venues I have been to, but lends itself to a warm friendly ambience that was well supported by the front of house team. The stage itself is tiny but the set designers compensated for the limited space well, by the use of some nicely painted book leaf flats, which left us in no doubt which scene we were in. The lighting was simple but effective with some nice colour washes. 
The live music played by Gerald Ward on keyboards and Steve Kaye on guitar, was faultless and very accomplished. Hair and makeup, especially for the old crone, a very funny performance by Pippa Ellson, was just right, as were the costumes.
Phil Ward’s Rumpelstilskin was suitably mischievous, while his wife played by Liz Murphy was absolutely hilarious. Lizzie Langridge as Rose gave us some lovely facial expressions which she maintained throughout her solo, and Jayne Kaye as the malevolent Cavendish was every bit the devious bad guy. As I have hinted earlier it is impossible to mention everyone with so few words, but I would like to mention the younger members of the cast, Eve Daniel, “Crumple“, Helen Murphy, “Bumble” and Fraser Ellson, “Judge 2”, who all performed with great confidence, but my favourite of the night was that of Peter Millington, who single handedly took on the roles of the entire palace guard. He never missed a cue and when not involved in the dialogue remembered to react whilst staying in character, a natural.

This was a show that was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole cast and in turn by the whole audience.

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