Rumpelstiltskin

Once again, a lovely warm welcome at the Langtoft Village Hall by the front of house team, Genevieve Stocker, Vylma Denniston, Helen Dunmore, Michelle Marshall, and Val Gregg. A packed house and exciting atmosphere were a very welcome sight and catching up with Emma Taylor (Producer) before the show was great.

The show opened with a bright and well-choreographed musical number. The junior dancers and chorus were excellent. I had the pleasure to see ‘Team B’ - Annie Crichton, Ayla Evans, Ashleigh Goodall, Toby Hawkbridge, Lucy Hudson, and Jessica Pratt. But I am sure that Team A were just as good. Alice Foot, James Foot, Emilia Dunmore-Houston, Lily-Rose Marshall, Emmie Parker, Jorja Ward, and Leanna-Rose Worthington. I would like to thank the chaperones for helping with the children, with out them the show would not have been allowed to happen. (Lead Chaperone Kim Crichton.)

The staging is always imaginative and resourceful, as the Langtoft hall has rather limited facilities for a full-scale pantomime.  This year was no exception, steps up from the floor, entrances decorated to enhance the storyline and the players used the hall side doors and back doors to come on and exit. The stage was decorated by many elaborate stage props, toad stalls, trees and bushes, wooden signs, a story book, and other items which were made for Langtoft Players by the members of Don’t Lose Hope Charity. Lead by Dom Brister the community garden and shed located in Bourne is a local mental health charity and a lovely way to integrate the wider community. www.dontlosehope.co.uk .

A familiar face was Martin Baines the creative wizard who sits at the back of the hall and makes everything sound and look really professional. You are so lucky to have Martin on board and I’m sure you do appreciate that. This year I saw projection, different lighting effects and complex plotting, all excellently manipulated. The musical arrangement was by Michelle Marshall and expertly choreographed by Kathleen Crichton and Michelle to bring the stage alive with sound and movement.

The program was lovely too. A full colour A5 with introductions to different players, the words for the Omelette Song, a game, pictures, cast list and sponsors. I will be entering this into the NODA competition. Well done Michelle Marshall (design) and George Parish (photography).

The players themselves were all fabulous. Both singing and dancing with excellent diction and good musical style. Notable performances were Charles Dickens (Chloe Gleadhill) the mill cat, and Samantha (Kathleen Crichton) who had genuine chemistry on stage. I also enjoyed Kathleen’s singing voice. Brian Aird in the titular role, so many funny mannerisms and Wisteria Witch played by Anne Fenson hilariously naughty, and the audience loved to boo, but ultimately cheered at the walk down, always a good sign of a baddy played well.

Poppy Dalton and Ruby Hirst were the story tellers, and they were great, moving the story along nicely with good diction and pace. How and Why the palace guards, Sandee and Peter Lane, old hands at the comic duo it seemed, as their timing was perfect and they acted out the story well. Rub and Dub, Michelle Marshall, and Val Gregg another comic duo, were really funny and added to the comic chaos in the show.

I particularly liked the pantomime standard with the Giant Rabbit (Louise Lee) picking off the intrepid explorers in the Wild Wood. The scene was very funny and the children (and adults) enjoyed the shouting-out game. It's behind you! The King was played by Joan Thompson, and she did a very good job of putting the character across and her court, Gina Espinsa, Sue Beeden, Matthew Lee, Sarah Pratt, Annie Crichton, and Jonathan Ireland all added mirth to the proceedings, acting well in the background and filling out the story.  Klare Ward gave an excellent performance and great singing voice with the character of Charlotte, who eventually through hard work and lots of pining, gets her man. Emily Bronte the other cat in the tale was played by Louise Molina very well and I enjoyed the story line of the two cats helping to save the day. Another Panto tradition is a sing a long and with the words in the program, the audience joined in enthusiastically.

Wardrobe – Kim Chrichton, Sue Beeden and Emma Taylor, was good, plenty of colour and movement and enhanced the characters. Make-up Michelle Marshal also well done. The backstage crew lead by Richard Gregg were slick and swift in changing the scenes. Val Gregg and Michelle Marshall and Carole Walker (curtain), and Vylma Denniston (prompt), all worked well together.

Overall, a wonderful evening of panto fun, well executed and fabulously directed, with a large cast and excellent staging. Brilliant! But on top of that, I felt the love and camaraderie of the Langtoft Players, their love of entertaining the public and training youngsters to enjoy stagecraft. A truly family feel, and I can’t wait to see the next production ‘Death By Chocolate’ in March 2023.

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