Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty a pantomime performed by Southport Dramatic Club, on Thursday, 22nd December 2022 at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport.

This pantomime was written by an ex-youth member of Southport Dramatic Club, Guy Unsworth who is now a renowned International and UK Theatre Director and writer based in London…as I always say, “they all have to start somewhere” and this is proof of just that… congratulations Guy… amazing career to date and still more to come I would suggest!  Guys version of this classic tale tells us that it is Beauty’s18th birthday, her evil and jealous Aunt Carabosse is trying to put a stop to the celebrations. She tempts Beauty with an enchanted spinning wheel, just one prick of her finger will send her into a cursed sleep, one which can only to be lifted by a ‘true love's kiss’.  Even when a happy ending is in sight, Beauty's pet penguin ‘Polo’ is kidnapped… yes Beauty has a pet penguin!  Can Beauty and her friends save the day and rescue ‘Polo’… Oh no they can’t…. Oh yes, they can!      

 

The Production Team… we had an experienced team in charge of this pantomime and they’d gathered together a cast which had a great mix of experience and youth who, as soon as those lights came up, were ready to give their all!  Stephen Hughes-Alty (Director), Pippa Morris (Choreographer) and Adam Dutch (Musical Director) ~ were the three overseeing proceedings and what a great job they made of this contemporary version of this classic tale!  I’ve said this before and I’ll no doubt say it again, but you can always tell a Stephen Hughes-Alty directed production… why, ‘attention to detail’; if you’re on stage, you’re there for a purpose… well done, Stephen! 
Pippa Morris had devised some simple yet effective movement and choreography which played to the strengthsof all concerned… be proud ‘Pippa’. Adam, had gathered a small, yet great sounding ‘band’... well done, Adam, well done folks, be proud!

The Cast… from the first note to the last… this looked like a great ‘team effort’ to me! There was an obvious camaraderie amongst the eight named principles and twelve young dancers who also formed the ensemble!  You could tell by the smiles and the effort, that everyone on that stage was having the time of their lives, so when you see this happening, it’s difficult to start ‘sticking your neck out’ and start saying someone was better than someone else… but, never one to sit on the fence… I think it only right I give a few ‘shout outs’… and I think for the first time ever, those ‘shout outs’ come in pairs!  The first of three pairs that I’d like to ‘shout out’ were…
Peter Forshaw and Rob McGregor who played ‘Brian Piper’ and ‘Dame Maris Piper’… son and mother, respectively!  These two worked really hard throughout, creating two great characters and if I was selecting a ‘showstopper’ then I think my choice may well have fallen Peter Forshaw’s way!  Both had great stage presence, great comic timing, interacted well with the audience and had between them, some great one liners!  Many of the ‘comic interludes’ both ‘verbal and visual’ were orchestrated by one or both... loved the ‘tyre sketch’… thought it was really well orchestrated and enacted… well done, be ever so proud!   Pair number two… ‘The good’ and ‘The bad’ … Sian Ross Woolley and Janine Burroughs who respectively played ‘Fairy Fizz’ and Beauty’s evil aunt ‘Carabosse’.  Sian was an ‘up to date’ good fairy… no long flowing dresses or twinkly sparkly wands here…just ‘baseball caps, shades, a raspy rapper’ from start to finish!  Another with great stage presence, who interacted well with the audience and looked comfortable confronting the evil ‘Carabosse’ portrayed ever so well by Janine. Janine was the ‘perfect fit’ for this role!  She engaged the audience immediately, demanding ‘boos’ from her very first entrance and was still getting them at the bows!  Great characterisation, oozed stage presence… again, worked the audience really well… be proud ladies!   Couple number three … Emily Bloom and Harry Corcoran who played ‘Beauty’ and ‘Prince Istuna’ respectively.  Emily and Harry gave us two confident and assured performances!  Both had great stage presence and what was noticeable, from the start, was the chemistry between them both, which added so much to their overall performance!  Emily has a great singing voice which she used well and I thought ‘Harrys’ rendition of ‘Everything I Do’ with everything that was going on around him and being thrown at him was something special… well done you two… think we’re going to see a lot more from you two in the years to come… be ever so proud!  Leaving the duo’s and completing the named roles were Lucas Goodman playing the ever so cute and cuddly ‘Polo the Penguin’.  A non-speaking role I suppose… Lucas was dressed from ‘head to toe’ in a ‘penguin costume’, communicated through ‘noises, mannerisms and movements’… good job Lucas not the easiest of roles for sure!  Finally, we had Nathan Power who played the part of ‘Tim’ and doubled up as dancer and ensemble member.  Completing the cast, we had our young dancers/ensemble who included Tabitha Armstrong, Gracie Barfield, Esme Barron, Helena Fletcher-Hill, Chloe Morris, Maddison Rose, Abbie Strefford, Katie Allen, Emilie Alty, Charlotte Gerring, Laura-Jane Palmer-Farrar and Nathan Power… well done one and all, there was some wonderful dance/movement throughout and you all looked like you were having the time of your lives… congrats, be proud!

Staging/Set/Tech… Radley Haynes (Stage Manager) and Lindsay Haywood (Deputy Stage Manager) did a great job keeping this production flowing!  The ‘Sets’… which were simple yet effective were designed by Radley and afforded the cast a great platform to perform from. Bob Jessamine was the Set Artist, whilst the SDC Construction Team were responsible for ‘putting all those pieces together’, well done one and all great job!  Stage Crew/Fly Operators included Mick Yates, Jess Carter, Brendan Gillow, Graham Hunt, Chris Morris, Phil Povey, Dave Sidey, Wendy Cox and Simon Armstrong.  The Lighting Design was created by Alex McKillop… as always here at the Little Theatre, this was excellent and enhanced the production so much!  Overseeing that operation was Phil Hutchinson, Phyllis Spencer and Thomas Armstrong.  ‘Follow Spot’ operators included Michele Martin, Jan Hale, Neil Langridge, Neil Yates and Laura Everett.   Sound… was great… under the watchful eye of David Proffitt and Dave Cox.

The Band… led by Adam Dutch, included Sarah Dutch, Corey Gerrard and Mike McKay… great sound!

Wardrobe… costumes were excellent, apt and in keeping with the production and under the watchful eye of the SDC Wardrobe Team… well done every one… costumes were first class and enhanced the show so much as did the Props… which were being looked after by Fi Billington, Sam Ashton, Phil Povey, Becky Collingham and Josh Jones… well done folks… a lot going on ‘prop’ wise!   

Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this entertaining panto to stage.  There was little doubt that the society’s loyal followers enjoyed themselves throughout as did my Granddaughter and I.  Thank you so much for inviting us and can I take this opportunity to wish everyone at Southport Dramatic Club a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you all again in 2023!

Stay safe and keep well…
'STRONGER TOGETHER’

Jim Briscoe
NODA North West
District 6 Rep

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