Scrooge's Christmas Carol

     

This was a fun and laughter inducing family pantomime cleverly written by talented husband and wife team Amanda and Adam Webster and I had the opportunity to discuss the performance with them both at the end. Adam who is currently Chair of the society directed the production.

The script certainly had a twist on the much loved original story with some of the nine characters totally different to the originals. All were well cast and interpreted their characters well. Zoe Bell was a rather grumpy Scrooge but seemed more like a traditional principal boy. Grahame Searle was Auntie (the Dame) loud, garrulous and totally ‘over the top’ as befits the role. Very well acted and certainly he kept the audience entertained. In fact the audience was noisy and ready to boo and hiss at every opportunity. Jaclyn Byham  (Charles) and Jenni Ribbits  (Dickens) were well matched as the comedy duo and worked well front of stage encouraging audience participation as scenes were changed. Malcolm Hollister was excellent as evil Uncle Tim (not Tiny Tim!) casting a darkness about him. Michael Challis played Bob, the ’clown’ of the show. He was energetic, stupid and had some amazing contortions and facial expressions and, of course, the children in the audience just loved him. Fiona Haskell, as Marley was a brilliant foil to Bob’s silliness and the pair were well matched.  Of course, there had to be a good fairy and Susana Concheso filled this role well. Finally, Carol, Auntie’s niece was played by Natalie Allen, constantly working to keep up with Auntie.

Music was to backing tracks with mainly a selection of seasonal songs included. Charles and Dickens opened Act One with We Need A Little Christmas and Act Two with Bring Me Sunshine. Audience participation song was Merry Christmas  Everybody which was enjoyed by all.

Costumes were well chosen and to character. Auntie’s outfits were particularly striking and outrageous. The action took place in two settings. Firstly, Scrooge’s office/counting house with desks, books and a large clock. Secondly, Auntie’s kitchen, with table, cooker fridge etc and a radio broadcasting the local radio station.

The sets were designed and built by the society and were fairly easy to change efficiently. The major prop was the ‘exploding’ cracker! Sound levels were fine with all the actors projecting well and lighting was appropriate for the production.

Many congratulations to everyone involved in the fun evening which was very much appreciated by the audience, young and old. Most of all my thanks and congratulations go to Amanda and Adam Webster for their ingenuity in writing the script and to Adam Webster for directing this into an original and thoroughly enjoyable pantomime.

 

 

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