Rumpelstiltskin

Catworth Village Hall is the probably smallest venue we visit and is definitely the smallest stage, but CATS certainly know how to get the best out of it, as amply demonstrated by this home written take on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale from the pen of the director Scott Millington using a cast of sixteen.

In this version of the story the King’s mother is looking for an heir to the throne and summons all potential brides to the castle, whereupon to give his daughter an advantage the Miller lies and tells her his daughter, Rose can spin gold out of straw. The King’s mother demands Rose demonstrate this skill and locks her up to carry out her impossible task. Enter Rumpelstiltskin who agrees to spin the straw into gold for her in exchange for her first born child, as demanded by his wife, the local witch!  Add in a few unlikely characters, including some from other pantomimes such as Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel and we had a cracking script to watch, which was very well aimed at its local audience with plenty of tongue in cheek insults about the adjoining villages and local events.

The set, under the management of Justine Hughes and constructed by Paul Goodyer, Stephen Cawdell and Mike Brazel was absolutely splendid, with two basic scenes, a really dark but very rich woodland scene and the King’s castle. The incredible detailed background clothes, which had been bought in were then stretched over frames giving a very solid appearance, as if they were painted flats. Excellent job!

The lighting, which had recently been upgraded to include LEDs , was designed and operated by Mike Brazel and Jim Daniel was very well thought out and highlighted the set perfectly.  

Cathy Goodyer, Liz Murphy and Julie Daniel had certainly gone to town to source a rich array of costumes, from the usual OTT dress for the dame (The King’s mother) to Knights in top hats to French Berets to, my favourite, a splendid red and black ‘Tin Soldier’ outfit complete with old fashioned French army cap for the guard.  Not to forget a wonderful green wig for Mrs Stilskin. All with makeup by Emma McCreath and Justine Hughes. Loved their eye make up for the Queen’s Mother in particular which gave very appropriate piercing eyes.  It was certainly all very colourful.

Props which included the splendid working spinning wheel were also sourced by Cathy Goodyer and Liz Murphy. And the splendid wooden “hobby-horse heads for Knights, sorry I mean Ladies!

Jeff Knott as the Rumpelstiltskin crept around the stage bend double with an evil grin, eliciting boos in true panto style, whilst somewhat henpecked by the equally evil Mrs Stiltskin played by a well-matched Pippa Ellson. Steve Kaye was our Dame, The King’s Mother, lording over the court. Our young but regal King was Peter Millington, and our heroine Rose was Ljijana Sljapic, who also amply demonstrated her musical talent with an unexpected but excellent rendition on the Oboe.

Julie Daniel played Madam Mischief as a French woman with a superb OTT comic accent and all the mannerisms to go with it. Paul Goodyer looked every bit the artisan Miller. The author and director himself, Scott Millington confidently narrated the play from the side in the front of the auditorium.   

Just to confuse, this show had another Dame, Dame Beatrix played by Sarah Postins who wasn’t the real Dame, and the real Dame, The Kings Mother wasn’t called a Dame. Yes well, I said it was confusing! Then we added on other gentry in the form of Lady Isabella and Lady Bernadette, both played by Liz Murphy.

Our two interloping characters from other pantos were Basia Outram as a very tall Red Riding Hood and Rachel McCreath as a very credible Rapunzel. And Ken Payne played Mr Lott and Duncan Outram a very splendid toy soldier like Guard.

And the star of the show was Vlad Sljapic as a very splendid Minstrel, keeping us all entertained with his accompaniment to the musical numbers. There were also quite a few pop songs or songs from musicals where the words had been very cleverly changed, the ones I remember best were Annie’s Song, If I were a Rich Man and Diamonds are forever. Brilliantly done!

The programme by Mike Brazel & Pippa Ellson, which sadly doesn’t meet NODA guidelines for entry to our programme competition, is an absolute scream, all the CV’s of the actors decry their own talents, for example for the Director himself it comically ends, ‘CATs were forced to dredge the bottom of the barrel in accepting one of Scott’s scripts.’ Well worth the read!

This is grass roots theatre at its purest, a home-grown script, lots of local references, and an enthusiastic cast and crew to pull it off. Perhaps the pace did drop in one or two places, especially towards the end, but all in all a great example of what Grass Roots amateur theatre is all about. So well done to Scott Millington and his cast and crew, keep up the good work, we very much look forward to your next production.

Finally, many thanks for your splendid hospitality, always appreciated.

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