Sinbad and his Eighth Voyage

Sinbad had been looking forward to some sort of retirement in Constantinople after seven voyages, presumably spent sailing the seven seas, when he is falsely accused of stealing the Persian Pearl of Peace, after it was presented to Princess Miranda on her 18th birthday.  Prince Said, to whom she has just become betrothed, gamely agrees to stand in for our hero under the right of substitution rules, so that Sinbad can embark on his eighth voyage in an attempt to recover the pearl and return it to its rightful owner.  His efforts at so doing, accompanied by a motley crew and to overcome not one but two villains in the process, form the basis of this production.

Having started as an 8-year old, Abbie Goodwin is now in her 13th production with this group, during which time she has progressed from junior chorus to a variety of principal roles.  Here she showed her experience in a confident performance as Sinbad with clear delivery of her lines and a good singing voice.  Abbie Pearce is another whose career with the group can be traced back to her junior chorus days and, after an absence of a few years, returned with a charming performance as Princess Miranda. She it is who is the real love of Sinbad’s life, the proposed marriage to Prince Said being for political reasons, which makes the latter’s offer to risk execution in Sinbad’s place all the more commendable.  Lily Worth made the most of the opportunities the role provided.

Sinbad’s crew comprised a number of his friends, although their nautical experience could best be described as limited. Norma Snickers runs the local pub with the aid of her daughter, Silly Sally and the two find themselves on board.         Geoff Dickson enjoyed his opportunity in the role of the “dame”, with suitably outrageous costumes whilst                     Jane Richardson contributed much humour as she certainly lived up to her character’s name.  Also on board is Tinbad the Tailor who seems to have desires on Norma and Ella Reynolds’s smiling face and lively moves ensured that the audience quickly engaged with her. Every pantomime seems to have its couple of rather less efficient types; here they are Trace and Snaffle, a pair of debt collectors and Tina Salden and Joanne Johnson amused us as these two, especially riding their camels in Bernie Clifton style.  The whole thing is introduced to us by Fortuna, a sort of good fairy and Serena Bean tried her best to assure us that all would be well, handling her rhyming verse with great skill. As her less friendly counterpart, Evilena, Courtney Hunt left us in no doubt that her intentions as regards our hero were less than favourable and quickly received the appropriate response from the audience.  In the second act, the evil-doing passed to the octopus-like Demon of the Sea in which role the rather stentorian voice of Glen Griffiths promised all sorts of trouble, including possession of the pearl.  Glen had earlier appeared as the Caliph, the Princess’s father and was supported by Helena Tarren as the Wazir, a sort of Prime Ministerial role.  An auction of slaves is necessary at one point and Sarah Pope carried out the duties of auctioneer.

A senior and junior chorus and a group of dancers added support on several occasions and the dancing jellyfish were particularly memorable during an underwater scene.   Costumes by Cath Colman and     Hazel Barker were colourful and appropriate, sometimes sailors, sometimes Middle-Eastern or Egyptian.  I understand some material had even been bought from China, evidence that Ripon did not need the recent visit of our Prime Minister and a trade delegation to establish a trading relationship.  Antony Prince and  Mike Spurgeon led a team responsible for the design, construction and then efficient changing of some good sets and the icing on the cake, as it were, was the presence of a live band, the Panto Pirates. This was such a welcome change from the backing tracks which are popular elsewhere and this 5-piece group is unusual in including a cello in its number, with a resultant pleasing sound.       

All, of course, ends well as the pearl is returned, Prince Said realises that Miranda should really be marrying Sinbad and even Norma and Tinbad seem to have a future together. The usual sing-a-long followed and we were all encouraged to reconvene next year when “Jack and the Beanstalk” is on the agenda. This will be another home-grown script by Ryan Stocks, who has undertaken all sorts of roles over the years, director, dame, villain, drummer and this year on piano. He is only one of several loyal members of this group which continues to raise money for good causes, whilst entertaining us all in the process. 

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