Searching for Santa

Ok so here is the backstory. 2014’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ was absolutely incredible. It almost was nominated for Best Musical and that was in direct competition with groups who do not have the same issues as this one. Inevitably the pantomime ‘Sleeping Beauty’ that followed left me just a little flat, but no harm done as the aforementioned triumph was always going to be a difficult act to follow. This time Panto had yielded to a musical original story called ‘Searching for Santa’ and I am delighted (and relieved) that after only 6 bars of the opening song I know it was going to be a winner!
‘Searching for Santa’ tells the story of Megan and Jamie, and Dolly and Teddy (their toys) who are struggling to believe in Father Christmas. They follow their Nanny on a search for Santa and the journey takes them (and us) through some familiar pantomime stories. We are introduced to some very familiar pantomime characters and, of course, good triumphs over not-so-good (no sign anywhere of evil) and all ends well for Nanny, the children and their toys. It was a cracking story beautifully paced with book and lyric by Les Miles and music and orchestrations from (The Maestro) Tim Rock.
The Corn Exchange stage always looks it’s best when these guys come to visit, with outstanding backcloths combined with colourful lighting, smoke and sound effects, all creating a magical world for the performers. As is traditional in a Lavender Hill Mob show, there were always plenty of bodies on the stage and as usual, they were enthusiastic, well drilled and very focused. Singing was loud, and dancing (Laura Farr) was simple but effective.
In the supporting roles there was excellent work from Andy Russell, Emily Key. Josh Large, Alex Nadel, David Howard, Darius Elsdon-Bird and Jordan Winn with Alana Gemmell and Chantelle Booth making a nice job of Tweedle’s Dum and Dee. The ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Tea Party scene was amongst the many highlights, with crowd pleasing perfomances from Sheila Anderson as the March Hare, Helen Fenton as the Cat, Kacie Butler as the Dormouse and Callum Elsdon- Bird at the top of his game with a lovely interpretation of the White Rabbit. I find myself complementing Ford Bailey in every Lavender Hill Mob review, but what can I tell you, he was perfectly cast and managed to extend his range even further with a brilliant Mad Hatter. In a similar vein, Kerry Bensley showed what a top performer she is with her delightful Alice!
The Seven Dwarves (Dippy, Dozy, Snotty,Cheery,Misog,Cringy and Chief) where brought to life with some style by Lucia Seco-Abad, Lily Edwards, Phoebe Smith, Atarah Gilad, Sophia Dawson, Alex Nadel and Sarah Newman. It was nice to see KLFM’s Simon Rowe on stage via Satellite (video) and his recorded insertions which must have been quite a technical headache were executed almost flawlessly! Cery’s Bush did well as the Squirrel, Jordan Winn equally so as the good-hearted Huntsman with the black-hearted task.
In the more significant roles I can confidently say that no ‘Mob’ show is complete without Zoe Adams, and this time out she turned in a good performance as banished Princess, Snow White. She had plenty of  help from George Templeman as The Prince and another crowd-pleasing (although there was boo and hiss) performance from Tom Bains as The Evil Queen. Sarah Hawkins is an asset in any show and, as Jack’s Mum in the ‘Jack and The Beanstalk’ segment, she was as good as ever. Also raising the perfomances up a notch in the same section was the incredible Vicky Reed who was perfection as the Giants Mum, who was helped by a great characterisation from the extremely talented Matthew (he lets me call him Matty) Smedmor who made me laugh out loud twice during his performance.
Aside from Nanny (more of him/her in a moment), the story is carried along by central characters Megan, Jamie, Dolly and Teddy. The four of them worked well together and always looked confident with their words and relaxed in their movement around the stage. Alex Page (Teddy) Megan Matthews (Dolly) Ellie-Mae Smith (Jamie) and Rebecca Smith (Megan) were four of the most talented juveniles in this cast and could probably get a part in any of the local shows. Between them they handled comedy and pathos with equal ease and were the backbone of this production.
Penultimate paragraph honours were never in any doubt with this production, it just has to be Michael Miles as Nanny. Mr Miles always looks a good performer but I have been a little disappointed in the past with his grasp on the script. In this production he was completely different, so confident with lines, moves and song words, he glided effortlessly through the scenes scooping up displaced children and scenery without missing a beat. He was dressed as a woman but this was no dame character. His delicate and moving portrayal of the wise and omnipresent Nanny was truly a remarkable piece of work and lifted the whole show to a completely different level.
My profound congratulations to Les Miles and Tim Rock for getting the Mob back to their best so quickly. I have thought long and hard, and Christmas Carol notwithstanding, I think this was the best piece of work I have seen from this inspirational group. It contained Some of Mr Rock’s best songs (that I am still humming two days later) and a script that left me blubbing like a child at the Father Christmas Finale. When Megan notices that Jamie has spoken …. I was a hopeless wreck! Well done Lavender Hill Mob, I am so ready for Christmas!!!!!!!!!
 

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