Sleeping Beauty

Once again Corby C.A.T.S has produced a lovely, traditional Christmas pantomime. What a pleasure it was to sit amongst a packed and enthusiastic audience at Corby’s Core Theatre.

“Sleeping Beauty” was ably directed by Andy Hall who has certainly added his own style to the production, making it one of the best pantomimes I’ve seen in a long time. Musical director Barbara Hockey has once again woven her musical magic into the pantomime, with some great music choices, excellent harmonies and a very talented four piece band who gave wonderful backing throughout the evening. I must say that I agree with Andy Hall in his director’s letter that Barbara is probably the finest musical director in the area! Choreographer Marcia Mitchell and Junior Choreographer Paige Mitchell have both done really well, adding lots of original routines to “Sleeping Beauty”. The principals, company, rainbow fairies and junior dance troupe were all well rehearsed and clearly enjoyed performing the dances.

Eleanor Adamson as Princess Rose and Paige Mitchell as Prince Alexis/Alexander both worked extremely well together; a lovely touch in act two had them performing a beautiful dance routine whilst two vocalists, Erin Anderson and Jess Nicholson, sang, thus giving Eleanor and Paige the opportunity to show off their considerable dance skills. Heather Bunnewell as Good Fairy Lilac and Sophie Tranter as Bad Witch Hazel gave excellently contrasting performances, giving the audience plenty to boo and cheer about. They both had great voices and their number “Defying Gravity” was stunning. Luke Campbell Simcoe in the role of Muddles worked the audience wel l- he had good comic timing, a great deal of charm and lovely facial expression. Nurse Dottie Dettol played by Gordon Richie had us all laughing at her zany antics, Gordon had a good rapport with the audience which he sustained throughout the show. Kevin Aitkin and Janet Askew in their roles as Fetch and Carry gave the two performances that I most enjoyed this evening; they both had great timing, working the audience throughout the pantomime and sustained their characters with ease. There were very good performances too from Jimmy McLarty as King Cactus, Leona Andreanne Simcoe as Queen Marigold and Ashley Malcolmson as Town Crier. The principals were given excellent support from a very able company, four delightful Rainbow Fairies and a talented Junior Dance Troupe. Well done to all the performers!

The set design was excellent, adding greatly to the visual effect of “Sleeping Beauty”. The props and costumes were also of a very good standard. The makeup and lighting were good too and I thought the sound quality was excellent. Well done to all the technical team.

Thank you very much Corby C.A.T.S for a most enjoyable evening and for the warm hospitality I received. I sincerely hope “Sleeping Beauty” has been a great success and look forward to seeing you all again in the future.

CAROLINE JERVIS                                                                                                                    NODA EM DISTRICT 7 REPRESENATIVE.  

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.