Sleeping Beauty

From ‘Dick Whittington’ to ‘Sleeping Beauty’, what a difference a year makes. Can it really be 12 months? Where did 2016 go? I honestly can’t remember, but as I found myself back amongst the lovely friendly people of March I was very much aware this would be my last Pantomime of 2016. As I took a quick look at the program notes I noticed a few new faces, and that Barbara Pepper had directorial duties on this shift. The Community Centre was well filled and it was all to play for as the lights went down and (Uncle) Gareth Dallender-Jones took his seat at the keyboard.
I am confident that the story of Sleeping Beauty needs no re-telling. Between the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney it is fairly well documented. The set (Michael Savill) was an absolute triumph with a selection of blocks allowing effective scene changing by simply rotating them. Combined with some excellent scenic design (Marian Savill - yes, they are married!) it really brought that stage to life. Light and sound (Purple Box Audio & Visual) was everything it needed to be with crisp and precise operation. Costumes (Barbara Pepper) were universally excellent as usual with complimentary hair and make-up (Society Members and Friends) adding nicely to the overall look. Incidental props (Michael Savill) were perfectly appropriate and caused no offence whatsoever!
I was pleased to see a nice large cast which didn’t really have (or need) a chorus. All the parts were named no matter how small and I wondered if this was a Barbara Pepper thing rather than from the script. All the supporting cast were enthusiastic and very well disciplined and I enjoyed Ian Crabtree as the Delivery Man (even if it was a bit surreal!) Ben Howlett as the Wolf / Box, Olga Mitcham as Lady Maud and Carol McEvoy as Lady Hilde. There was also good work from Maxwell Wright as Tom Bullrush, Joseph Sayers as Ben Mapletree, Maddy Rodney as May Poppyfield and a very evil portrayal of Prince Blackheart from Michael McEvoy.
Never less than a mighty presence on stage, it was lovely to see Francis Pepper as the Herald - and a special mention for Louise Smart and Stage Manager, Marian Savill as the two halves of the pantomime horse. When next you will see their amateur CV’s you will smile, as I did to see the part of “Sir Lionel” (rear) and “Sir Lionel” (front) highlighted prominently!
In the more prominent roles, Chris Ketteringham was in good form as King Wimple, ably supported by wonderful Jenny Bryant. One of the previously mentioned new faces, on loan (it would seem) from WAODS! She was perfection as Queen Grandilla using her magnificent singing voice to deliver a nice running gag. It is never anything less than a complete pleasure to see Jo Rix and Ellie Savill on this stage and, as comic leads Mop and Brushup, they did  a good job, even if the script didn’t give them much to play with. I also enjoyed (and I can’t remember last time I didn’t) Claire Lilley as the very serious Nurse Cecilia Beauchamp-Smythe. Mrs Lilley had a surprisingly large amount of dialogue which she delivered without incident and some considerable style! Another of the new face belonged to Teagan Lee who took the part of Fairy Nightshade and delivered a delightful characterisation.  Whilst they did everything right it was a shame to see the not inconsiderable talents of Dave Yates and Alex McAdam rather wasted as the other comedy duo, Bubble and Squeak. I can only remember a couple of scripted gags and the set piece went on way too long and rather lost me. These guys are good, and just needed some better material. Having said that, they stuck to the task and never gave up.
Another regular on top of his game was Derek Wisbey who never looked more comfortable as long suffering servant, Rupert Dilletant. It’s never easy being the romantic lead in a pantomime. You don’t get many gags and you have to do a lot of singing in the face of a person of the same sex! As Princess Beauty, Ellie Singleton did just fine and when I found out she was only 12 … wow! The makings of a good singing voice and a mature but delicate characterisation which was impressive for one so young. On the other hand, Kerry Casey is not nearly so young, but she is always a class act. She sings like and angel and managed to maintain her composure throughout. Miss (or indeed Mrs) Casey remains one of my favourite MADAOS performers. The part of Prince Florizal was not overly taxing but she did a brilliant job.
It is definitely the case here that the ‘go-to’ Dame is Stewart Bettles. In line with almost everything I have already said, there wasn’t much in this script for him but he looked good and the audience loved him. I waited around at the end hoping that Lizzie Bryant (or her mother Jenny) would come out for a chat but sadly neither did. The question I wanted to ask was, was Lizzie here for Jenny or (as I suspect is really the case) Jenny was here for Lizzy? Either way, I was glad they were both omnipresent! Lizzie Bryant is an incredible actress with a singing voice that nearly matches up to her mother’s. In this production, Miss Bryant took the dual role of the evil Mother Blackheart and her extremely good sister, the Fairy Queen. Both parts were played with a level of comprehension and expertise that left me speechless. Lizzie is a really nice girl as well, which is always a bonus.
There is no doubt that almost any other time I would have been awarding penultimate paragraph honours to Lizzie Bryant, but not on this night. Wisbech Players regular, James Wetherall, is a superb character actor and, as the ludicrous Wizard Wombosa, I believe that only he could have made the part even remotely credible. Many really good performers tend to leave their ‘A’ game at home when doing Panto, but Mr Wetherall just stepped it up a notch and stole the show. After a confident start he did look a little shaky with his lines in the middle section but I have a feeling that things were going to settle as the run continued. A top-class act from a top-class actor.
I am continually trying to reconcile what I enjoy with what is good, and this production was a really good case study. Hearty congratulations to Barbara Pepper for a flawless piece of direction and to most of the cast for a good delivery. Technically this was a triumph with brilliant sound and light, great set, mostly (yes I did see the block turned the wrong way!) great scene changes and the right song choices. You know what I am going to say …. It may have been a NODA script, but this was a dud and consequently was always going to be a struggle to save. I would end by mitigating my previous statement by saying that the audience had a great time, the performers looked to be having a great time and do you know what? I just felt I was amongst friends so I had a great time too. Happy New Year MADAOS … New Year, new game.
 

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