The Grinch

Triumphing over the mean spirited and anti-Christmas, Grinch was the theme of this unusual panto and a triumph it certainly was. Brian Hogson as the Grinch was wonderfully mean and always in character. His partner in crime Pinchit played by Audrey Doherty was a lively and enthusiastic foil to to the dour green character. The dame Nora Good brought smiles at every appearance and David Cheape worked hard as the ineffective Mayor. All these “goodies” were well rehearsed with Jerry Swinley as a very convincing Santa and Cerys Fitzgerald a very clear spoken and delightful Annie Good.

The magical side was also well catered for with a vivacious Spirit of Christmas (Emily Taylor) whose diction was “fairy” good. Muriel Gordon brought the right amount of regal cool to her role as Snow Queen - on the side of good for a change. Keeping the characters spirits up was the job of Colin the Cheermeister (George Doherty) and Widget (Santa’s little helper) played by Linzy Evatt – didn’t they do well?  Last but not least was a charming performance by Amy Duarte as Polly Watt.

There were highlights aplenty in all aspects of this production. A very clever gift wrapping machine brought a lot of fun to the plot and the graceful ballets by Darcie Bartle, Molly Boath, Heather Clark and Freya Ross were an unexpected pleasure. Both the senior and junior chorus were a strong backbone for the principals and their unusually bright and individual costumes brought a riot of colour to every scene.  The finale with Christmas costumes and lights was stunning. Congratulations to all the performers and their hard working back stage unsung heroes.

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