Sleeping Beauty

Never afraid of taking on a new challenge, HC Vocal and Performance Academy decided to take on a full scale Pantomime as their latest all Junior production and what a treat it was to witness a resounding success in Sleeping Beauty.

Co-written by Jamie Riding and Robert Wilson Baker, this version not only had all the traditional elements of a great pantomime but also a lot of fun new twists giving it an edge.

Having seen a lot of Pantos over the years I was thrilled to see new material such as the Band’s Vinyl sketch along with a modern plot twist where the Princess is not saved by the Prince but her faithful pup, Pip, played with lovely energy throughout by Freya Thompson.

With so much packed in it was not a surprise that the show was long by usual pantomime standards but the clever direction kept it moving along at a good pace.

Blessed with talent in the ranks of HC the ensemble numbers were complete showcase numbers right from the off with a lovely Fairy Dreamgirls scene, to some outstanding dance numbers (River Deep, Mountain High and the dance behind When You Believe) to name just a couple.

Casting this show must have been a headache with the ability of these young stars and it’s no surprise that the cast has been doubled up with my colleague Gordon reporting on the Saturday show. With this talent it allows Holly and Robert to really go to town on the song choices and they certainly didn’t hold back with some blockbusters. Combining huge hits originally from the 60’s (Dancing in the Street) with great modern numbers by stars such as Dua Lipa is a huge risk but this young cast smashed it out of the park.

2 huge numbers that stood out for me were the School scene and the wonderfully choreographed Baggy Trousers/Schools Out mash-up and the sensational number A Musical originally from Something Rotten which brought the house down. This number, wonderfully led by the brilliant duo of Lacey Simpson and Indie Allan had everything from great comedy timing to high Can-can kicks, Tap dancing and great Chorus Line routines. 

HC are not just a Vocal or acting group but boy can they dance too, as individuals they wow us with their talent (somersaults, splits and acrobatics aplenty), but when they come together they pull off some choreography that would scare off large scale adult groups.

It’s not just the main ensemble that gave the depth to this production but also the Mini HC stars, the Dancing Dolly’s aged as young as 2! They had some lovely moments in the show, from their super-hero scene taking down Carabosse to a beautiful song and dance mash-up of Doll on a Music Box and Truly Scrumptious. Little HC stars in the making and brilliantly led and directed by Anna Pavey alongside Holly. 

The Fairy Godmother and her associates play a much bigger part of this version than normal. Led by the Fairy Godmother (Loveheart) who was played with so much composure and grace by Faith Small, she certainly had her hands full keeping control of the comedy duo of Flump and Smartie. Faith not only looked the part but she sounded magical too, mastering tricky vocal lines with a lovely tone to her voice. Freya Warren and Amelia Hooper as Flump and Smartie brought a lovely slap-stick routine to their scenes with the dimwit and know-it-all bouncing off each other brilliantly. The three girls showed off their singing ability in the finale of Act One with When You Believe, the sound matching the lovely soft dance routine taking place behind them by the Ensemble. Smaller Fairy roles were well played by both Seth Cohen and Gabriella Boddy who continue to impress with clear dialogue and great stage presence.

Of course every good classic Panto needs its love interest and royal connections and Lucy Wilkinson was the perfect Princess. Such a graceful delivery with a cheeky edge giving us a lovely soulful voice and demonstrating some knock-out power in her Act Two number. The casting opposite Indie Allan as the Prince was a perfect match with their on-stage chemistry totally believable. Indie alongside Esme Giles as the King carrying out the straight roles with great nobility whilst chaos descended around them, not easy roles to play at all.

If you think what makes a good Pantomime really click then you instantly think of a strong village idiot and a great Dame. Well tonight I had the honour to witness both carried out by 2 incredibly talented comic actors in Charlie Vart as Nurse Nora and Chloe Craig as Silly Billy. 

Blessed with having some great written cheesy classic panto jokes, well directed sketches and some outrageous costumes ( I counted at least 6 for Charlie - well done costume team they were amazing). These two performers were sensational, showing an ability to ad-lib off script, interact with the audience and had us in stitches the whole show. The ballet scene in particular was a hoot as was Chloe’s ability to completely upstage a love duet with her constant interference!

These two also combined brilliantly with Lacey Simpson in one of my favourite Panto sketches - the 12 gifts of Christmas. The energy the three of them showed at the end of the show was exhausting to watch and had the audience completely engaged throughout. Young Lacey Simpson continues to prove what an absolute star of a performer she is. Playing Twisty Face, the accidental Henchman to Carabosse, she wonderfully played on her character’s real desire to be a West End Star. I can’t put my finger on exactly what makes Lacey so easy to watch on stage, whether it’s her comic timing, little cheeky facial expressions, brilliant dancing or the ease at which she controls a scene; so I can only assume it is an amazing combination of all of the above. 

Playing the Baddie in a Panto is never an easy task, everyone else is being silly, getting the laughs and simply having fun whereas you have to be disliked throughout. Amber Evans as Carabosse absolutely hit the nail on the head for how to play an Evil Queen. She had the wicked smirk, the pointed leg stance, the raised twisted arm and everything right in her posture. The lines were delivered with a snap and purpose without ever feeling the need to shout for the sake of it and she controlled the vocals in 2 huge songs with such maturity. You Know My Name (Casino Royale theme song) and I Will Prevail were delivered perfectly and despite being 2 massive power ballads Amber resisted the urge to scream the vocals instead allowing her natural tone and vibrato to shine through. A wonderful performance from a very talented young actress.

Earlier I mentioned what makes a good Panto. Well I forgot to mention the technical elements of sound and vision as they create the canvas and backdrop for these performers to shine. Robert led a small band of 4 who looked like they were having as much fun as the cast and the only time this overpowered the cast was when played under some dialogue or when there was an occasional microphone glitch - otherwise the sound was perfect and it was great to have the live music rather than a backing track.

The Set was colourful, bright and matched with a lovely lighting plot to bring the scenes to life. Matthew Clifford and his team created some easy to manoeuvre colourful backdrops which changed and moved around the scenes at a swift pace. The costume team had their hands full, not just with Charlie and his array of Nurses outfits, but with every member of cast needing multiple changes. The costumes were visually stunning and fitted each scene perfectly so a huge well done.

As I have mentioned before, HC productions are a huge team effort with every parent/carer heavily involved and it was lovely to receive such a warm welcome from Chris Hooper and the other members. But huge praise must go to not only the amount of work put in by these Junior members but to their Directors Holly and Robert. Not only did they give them excellent coaching, direction and choreography but it is clear they also gave the cast the belief in themselves. There were no signs of any nerves and this showed in the delivery of what was a brilliant start to my Panto season. 

To quote lyrics from their Act One finale, “Who knows what miracles you can achieve, when you believe”. Well you certainly achieved a fabulous show, not by a miracle however, but by hard work and great talent within the Academy.

Gordon's notes on the Saturday performers
My colleague John has already covered the mechanics and slickness of the production so I will simply concentrate of the young adults double cast for the roles on the Saturday performance.

Ellie Lofts took on the role of Princess Briar Rose with undoubted style and charisma with her character falling for the young Prince Bernard played with poise by Victoria Lightfoot. The pair worked well together in their scenes adding the ‘romance’ to the panto.

Adding the comedic element was Silly Billy (Avea Calvert) and Nurse Nora (Jacob Robinson). These two worked superbly together and equally as well as individuals with their undoubted comedy timing and ability to ‘adapt’ to the situation and the audiences reaction to draw out every last laugh (especially Jacob’s reaction to wearing high heels).

Holly Wake as would be ‘head fairy’ Fairy Loveheart was ably assisted by the two protégée’s Fairy’s Smartie and Flump (Lexi Thompson and Alicia Thompson respectively). These three added many funny one liners throughout, making mistakes but ultimately ‘saving the day’ with compassion and wisdom.

Would be ‘musical star’ and accidently cast as a minion baddie, Zoe Hardy, played the inappropriately named ‘Twisty Face’ – Zoe was anything but twisty faced and the stage shone when she arrived on it. Similarly Lyla Appleby was the cute but fiercely loyal ‘Pip the Pup’ showing her loyalty to her mistress Princess Briar Rose.

The princess’s father, King Gigglefitz was played by Libby Forsyth and was well cast as Libby had a very bubbly demeanour on stage and was a joy to behold.

Finally the last character to be double cast was that of Carabosse played by Leanna Honeyman. Leanna was simply stupendous in the role as the evil fairy intent on fetching down Princess Rose for her own benefit. Her acting ability (I hope it was acting!) played her character as truly evil and stole the show on every entrance. Her vocal range was sublime and when not used as Carabosse we saw what a good dancer she was.

The whole show was littered with talented youngsters and even though they have already been mentioned by John, I couldn’t finish without reiterating the cuteness of the ‘dancing dollies’ ‘tiny tots’ who (helped by their older helpers) stole the show.

As ever, HC Vocal, excelled and showed what a versatile group of performers they are. I hope I have the opportunity to cover again for this wonderful youth society.

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.