Sinbad the Sailor

The Pantomime captures the spirit of the original tale of Sinbad the Sailor, but is re-imagined with a modern twist as written by Alan P Frayn.

Princess Mirander is presented with the priceless Pearl of Peace for her 18th. birthdqay by Prince Said. Evilena steals the pearl but the blame falls on Sinbad who has just returned form his 7th. voyage. He is sentenced to death but his old friend, Prince Said,does not believe he would do such a thing and claims 'the right of substitution' and changes place with Sinbad who then has seven days to find the Pearl or Prince Said will be executed.

Following The Prologue from Fortuna and Evilena the curtains opened to a scene in Constantinople where characters on stage were joined by what seemed to be a cast of thousands entering the hall from a side entrance whilst singing and dancing, some staying in front of the stage and others performed down the centre aisle. Such a rousing first number was followed by the arrival of Sinbad, again through a side door, who 'high-fived' audience members as he made his way to the stage. As Sinbad, Cohan Wildgoose perfectly embodied the charming and charismatic traits one expects from a swashbuckling adventurer. He obviously relished playing the role which he did with such eagerness, energy and enthusiasm. Paul Holland was in his element playing Norma Snickers, an innkeeper in Constantinople, better known as the 'Pantomime Dame'. His comic timing was impeccable as was his rapport with fellow cast members and with the audience - a great portrayal. Norma's daughter, aptly named Silly Sally, was brilliantly played by Katie Watkins. She brought out every inch of comedy from her lines with exquisite facial and body gestures - she was terrific. Fortuna was certainly uplifting and so well played by Donna Knowles who delivered the rhyming lyrics splendidly. Wendy Blunt was excellent as the conniving Evilena, her characterization was definitely deserving of the boos and hisses she received as were those for Janet Koszegi as the Demon of the Sea. Bethany Thomas was delightful as Princess Mirander and Sarah Coupe was perfectly refined as Prince Said. I loved the portrayals of Trace and Snaffle, a pair of bungling debt collectors, which were superbly delivered by Abbie Proud ans Tara Foster. They were hilarious - what a perfect pairing they made. Strong performance came from Istvan Koszegi as The Caliph, from Peter Maddison as Tinbad the Tailor, from Chris Nussey as The Wazir and good support came from Chloe Thomas as the Slave Seller. As I mentioned ealier there seemed to be a cast of thousands, well that might have been a slight exaggeration, but there were fifty two other named cast members ranging from the very young who excelled as Citizens of Constantinople, as The Royal Entourage, as Sailors, as Diamond Spirits, as Evilena's Minions and as Egyptians.  All of the ensemble numbers were well sung, choreographed and superbly executed. Scenes I especially loved were 'The Eighth Voyage Begins' with the sailors so well turned out, 'The Land of the Roc' where everyone was just so menacing, 'The Valley of Diamonds' with the young ones having fairy lights around their heads and skirts and what a treat it was to have an underwater Ultra Violet scene which was awesome. Of course we had to have a 'sing-off' which was so well carried out by Norma and Silly Sally. The costuming of the whole show, overseen by Dawn Blackburn and Angela Mitchell, was top notch as was the makeup by Caitlin Wilson and group members. It is such a small stage but all the various scenes were enhanced by beautifully painted back flats by Scenic Artists Andrew and Sabina Aucock. The taped music was added to by Nigel Taylor  on Keyboards. The script was full of corny and topical jokes, as is befitting of pantomime, but cast members delivered them with great assurance. Audience participatrion is a pre-requisite of pantomime and we had it in abundance but on this particular occasion it was added to by the exuberance of a party of Scouts in the audience who were totally absorbed in the actions on stage and responded with such vocal enthusiasm whenever the necessity arose, they were just great - Oh yes they were! Congratulations to the Production Team, to the Technical and Satge Crew, to the wonderful principals and cast members and to everyone else involved in what was a super show also, many thanks for the warm hospitality that I and my guest received.  

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.