The Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man

Wickham Bishops Drama Club

Wickham Bishops Village Hall

Directed by Pauline Roast

7th January 2023

Wickham Bishops Drama Club are always the first in my district to produce a New Year show and this time found this little gem of a panto,  with a cast of only 6.  The play, written by renowned children's author, David Wood was first produced in 1976 and has become an international success with a dozen West End seasons and several national tours

First I have to commend the two gentlemen who built and painted the set.  This set would not look out of place on the West End Stage. Indeed we were both stunned by the detail and the extreme amount of work undertaken for just three shows. Charlie Willett and Alan Roast gave us a huge dresser which went over the whole of the very large stage. Up on the top shelf was a teapot, which was the home of Old Bag, Herb bottles, all beautifully painted, a matchbox and a huge honey pot.  On the bottom shelf was a mug, plates, transistor radio, working cuckoo clock, and a rolling pin. All were beautifully made and I was surprised to hear that they would be getting rid of them all as they had nowhere to store the set.  As they had been making this since last September I did wonder if it could have been donated to another society - as it was excellent.

Next I have to commend the Wardrobe Mistress, Jenny Higgins assisted by Ruth Johnson & Nicola Thomas.  Every one of the characters had wonderful costumes which had been well thought out and each looked great.  I especially loved Sleek the gangster mouse suit, with the mouse ears poking through the hat and the long tail. I also liked the cuckoo with the Tyrolian green costume and wooden wings. So much work for such a short run.  Ladies you must love what you do and I’m sure the audience really enjoyed seeing the colourful costumes.

Based on a 19th Century nursery story, The Gingerbread Man takes place on a huge kitchen dresser. While ‘The Big Ones’ sleep, the activities begin.

On the bottom shelf live Mr Salt (James Milne) and Miss Pepper (Leigh Perry). This couple are always a joy to watch as both are totally professional in their approach and know how to work an audience. Clear projection, with great voices, they sing and dance with ease, obviously enjoying being on stage. Leigh particularly has a beautiful voice; her renditions of the songs were crystal clear.

In the cuckoo clock lives Herr Von Cuckoo who has a sore throat and can’t cuckoo, thus threatening to land him in the dreaded dustbin.  Ross McTaggart was super in this role and kept his Austrian accent up throughout the entire night. I loved the clock changing time throughout the play and the hands going round. Yet another little extra put on by the stage crew.

Together, Mr Salt and Miss Pepper find a newly baked Gingerbread man and make him come to life with a face.  Nick Hewes played the Gingerbread man with a huge amount of energy and total happiness. I think the children in the audience loved him, as did the adults.  I was told by director Pauline Roast that Nick had suffered from a bad back prior to the show but you would never have known this as he was terrific in the role, running around at top speed and climbing up to the top shelf to get help from the old Tea Bag when Cuckoo was poisoned by mistake. I loved his saying ‘Not to be eaten, Not to be beaten’.

Old Tea Bag was played with a wonderful cackle, by Debbie Irby. What a great role to play, seemingly nasty and not wanting anyone up on her shelf, she finally helps the Gingerbread Man to heal Herr Von Cuckoo with her herbs and realises that all she wanted was to have some friends for company.

Another baddie was Sleek the Mouse. With excellent gangster costume and plenty of boos from the audience, Charlie Willett played this very hungry mouse with conviction. Desperately looking for food from his hideout in the dresser, he found The Gingerbread Man and of course wanted to eat him.  He was foiled in his efforts by the rest of the characters who lured him with a huge sweet hidden in the mug and then got the audience to scream and shout to make him freeze so he could be sent back to his hideout and blocked by a huge plate.

The voices of Mr & Mrs Big One were the talented Joanne Greed and Graham Pipe. Music was supplied by Leah Harding-Payne on the piano and this added to the whole show.  Lighting and sound were good and the programmes very colourful.

Director Pauline Roast, took time out of her busy schedule to talk to us in the interval about how they are urgently looking for new members.  This group are truly talented and the quality of their productions are always to be looked forward to, so I do hope they get back to the thriving company they once were.

Thank you so much for the refreshments in the interval and for inviting us to come to your show.  I’m so glad the audience have returned after such a hard time during the pandemic and look forward to your next production. Congratulations for an excellent evening’s entertainment.

 

Christine Davidson

NODA East District 8 Rep

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