Snow White

                                     

I was warmly welcomed on arrival and met the  Director, Tom Hitchcock and producer Lisa Butler after the performance. This was an original script written by society member Lisa Butler with other characters eg Hansel and Gretel and Old Mother Hubbard woven into the traditional story.

The stage had been maximised by placing the Brothers’ house to one side of tabs and the Hansel and Gretel detective agency to the other side. All the attractive sets had been designed and created by the society. There were several scene changes all  achieved very slickly  Costumes were colourful and looked good and technical support ie sound and lights appropriate.

Katie Hinson, as Fairy Nuff, appeared at the beginning of Act One. I must congratulate Katie on her performance as, due to illness, she had only taken this role a few days earlier and had kept her small role as Magic Mirror. The  seven Brothers ( What, Who, Why, Where, When, How and Whatever ) were constantly on stage and provided much of the comedy and humour throughout. Really well coordinated actions and movement by the Brothers.

Arjan van Heuveln was Queen Charming ( the Dame character). He was loud, outrageous and flamboyant with good ad libbing and  audience rapport. His costumes were magnificent and colourful. He was “assisted” by his side kick, Willy, played by Albert Roberts who was rather dense and slow to understand. Faith Arnold was a strong Prince Charming, thigh slapping and with good expressions and movements.

I liked the pairing of Natalie Dwan, as Gretel and Ben Wilkinson, as Hansel , the owners of the Detective Agency seeking the missing Snow White. Natalie was the confident risk taker whilst Ben was rather laid back. Angie Heath had a small role as Old Mother Hubbard ,a clerk in the office. Kellie Morgan was the baddie ie Queen Villania encouraging plenty of boos and hisses from the audience. She displayed a powerful voice in ”Who Do You Think You Are”. She was aided in her plots by Richard Heath as a very subservient and bumbling  Lord Chamberlain. Mike Brown was an impressive King  trying to control his Queen.

The two princesses, Rose Red ( Elizabeth Diamond) and Iris Blue ( Megan Palmer ) were loud, spiteful and argumentative, constantly competing for the Prince’s attention and throwing tantrums on stage. This was another good pairing. Well done.

Lauren Carrigan as Snow White, had a lovely stage presence, was energetic on stage and performed “ This Is My Song” beautifully.  She also led the Brothers and Queen in “ Car Wash”which was colourful and humorous. David Chilton put in a magnificent performance as Ingrid, the Evil Queen’s mother. His costume, walk and voice were all perfect for the character.

There was a small ensemble, most of whom doubled as woodland creatures.

All the actors delivered a stellar performance, aided by good movement ( Frankie Swan) and musical direction ( Sian Rees)

Many congratulations to Directors, Tom Hitchcock and Mark Hinson and Producers Tina Burns and Lisa Butler for their innovation and skill in staging this production.

Well done to everyone involved.

 

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