The Elves & the Shoemaker

This excellently scripted pantomime was written by a member of the society and contained all the elements required to make a successful production. All the references and jokes about the local area were greatly appreciated by a full theatre.

The good versus evil sections were well managed by Magnificent the Merciless (Marie Bell) and Justin Goodbody (Simon Newman) who interacted with the audience with much abiity and confidence. They and we were also being guided throughout the performance by The Voice (Damone Whittle) who also acted as a narrator to the storyline.

The well enacted love interest in this charming story is between Charlie Cobbles (Kelly Manchée) and Sally Fortescue (Steph Sutherland). Their three songs were most enjoyable. Sally’s father was Alfonzo Fortescue (John Carroll), a likeable but rather pompous and over-bearing person.  

The Dame in this show was Charlie’s mother, known simply as Mother Cobbles (Barry Bastable). The rapport between the audience and the Dame, together with the outlandish costumes and dreadful puns was just right.

The above cast had superb help from the many cameo parts - first of all Bilge (Giselle Ball) and Scuttles (Justine Hargraves), the well meaning but useless pair of not-so-bright characters. Next there was a pair of pseudo-heavies, Brutus (Archie Keet) and Hercules (Will McAdams), who were sidekicks to the evil Magnificent although the proverbial fighting paper bag would win every scrap.

First billing on this pantomime is “The Elves” so they deserve a special mention. Three in number - Snipperty (Isobella Buckley-Denton), Clipperty (Alfie Tye) and Fred (Olivia Jacobs) - they were absolutely delightful and brought a breath of fresh air with all their entrances throughout the evening. Their words were clearly heard and amusing, if not funny.

The choreography was also well learnt and looked  natural and organised.  The music was provided by four musicians and the band/singing balance was good in both solos and ensemble  numbers. An excellent choice of varied types of music was chosen including “I could be so good for you” (theme from “The Minder” series and Coldplay’s “Fix You”.  

There were two particular highlights for me, and they were the UV sequence for the Elf workshop scene and the song “Bigger isn’t Better” by the elves, Brutus and Hercules. I was also impressed with the amazing blue and white theme for the final wedding scene. Costumes for the rest of the show were also plentiful and must have kept the wardrobe department busy for many hours.

Thank you to the actors, backstage, musicians and production team and writer for an excellent evening of entertainment.

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