Rumpelstiltskin the pantomime

This was my first visit to this group and I was looking forward to it.  It soon became clear that this was a true Village pantomime with a great deal of community support.

The Hall has a wide stage with a proscenium arch, which had been decorated with the name of the production, items relating to the story, and the words ‘Golden Panto’.

As the show started a masked, slightly bent character emerged between the curtains and started scattering straw on the stage and then drew back curtains on a SL area to reveal a witch’s grotto in the wicked wood.  The character caused a certain amount of confusion, as some people around me thought it was Rumpelstiltskin, as this is often how people think of the character, and not the attractive young lady with the evil makeup, who appeared later.  The main stage and ‘side’ sets were all well painted taking us to the various locations, with the clever use of the Castle backdrop which had smaller overlays for various locations, such as the kitchen and fitness studio; the sets for Ghost Town and Upside Down were particularly effective.  There were lots of well-made or sourced props.  A little more care was needed if things were supposed to be in a particular orientation as with the positioning of the cake, as I saw BACK written on it.

The lighting had been well designed and was well cued, the effect for the sacks of gold was good, and Upside Down was spooky.  There were well operated sound effects and the hanging microphones across the stage picked the voices well, so that the singing voices were not overpowered by the 4-piece band, who played well. There was a good choice of music, the songs had been taught and mostly sung well.  In the ensemble numbers most people had the opportunity to sing a line or two.  The choreography was in keeping with the story and everyone looked confident.  The costumes were colourful, suited the characters and fitted well.  Hair styles and make up were effective, the hairstyle for Baroness Beattie was very different and looked good. 

We were first introduced to three witches, who were Aunts to Rumpelstiltskin, who by using an electronic device took us to see what the villagers of Baron’s Stanley were up to.  The main stage curtains opened and we were greeted with a very lively opening number.  The show had a good-sized cast and everyone entered into the spirit of the pantomime and gave good confident performances, and performed with energy.  There was a good mix of ages and abilities everyone supporting each other.  The ensemble all worked hard to support the main action and took on the various roles, with the young ensemble being confident and well-rehearsed, the ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Goblins’ were very effective.  The young man playing the Melodica, added more atmosphere to the scene.  I would like to mention a few characters, but first say everyone should try to move in character at all time especially the principal boys.  The three witches who opened the show were a delight, they doted on their nephew, worked well together, they maintained their individual characters, and looked like pantomime witches, not too scary.  Everyone could see why the spoiled, petulant Rumpelstiltskin had no friends.  Mary and Charles made a lovely couple and worked and sang well together.  Baroness Beattie, the Barons mother, was a gentle motherly character, a really lovely Dame.  Quads and Squats, the Palace guards, were a real comedy duo, full of energy and amusing antics.  They had excellent timing and were very entertaining.  Handy Andy was desperate for a permanent job, he was a walking disaster always getting things wrong, but in a comic way.  The actress playing him worked the audience well and got them responding.  The fitness class scene and chopping down the tree were well timed and very funny.

The Pantomime, written by Simon Ives, had lots of local references and jokes.  The performers were known to the audience, which created some unexpected audience reactions, but everything was good harmless fun.  Director Siobhan Williams had used the talents of her cast well, and included some lovely touches.  She had been well supported by all others areas in producing a fun pantomime with colour, energy and audience participation.  The dancing baby caused great hilarity with the audience; the young performers were all very happy on the stage.  There were some well-timed moments when the actors gave the audience time to respond before moving on, and some lovely freezes.  I liked the dramatic disappearance of Rumpelstiltskin.  The audience and the cast all appeared to enjoy themselves.  It was an entertaining evening.  Well done everyone.

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