The Pied Piper

The Pied Piper a pantomime performed by Southport Dramatic Club, on Thursday, 4th January 2024 at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport.

I think we all probably know the original storyline behind ‘The Pied Piper’… which centres around the Pied Piper, being hired by the townsfolk of Hamelin to rid them of their rat infestation problem. The ‘Pied Piper’ sorts the problem out using magic music, but when the Towns folk refuse to pay him for his services, he again uses his musical magic to lure away the town's children who are never seen again. This updated version, penned by Alan P Frayn, introduces us to ‘Sour-Kraut’ (A Bad Witch) and ‘Rat-Worst’ (Chief Rat) who are battling it out with ‘Fairy Strudel’ and a host of other comical characters, including ‘Dame Helga Von Trump’ (local sausage maker) and her son ‘Willie’.  With some crazy fast-moving scenes and a very funny ‘Sausage Routine’… this was a fun family panto’….  Oh no it wasn’t… OH YES IT WAS!

The Production Team… we had a wonderful team in charge of this pantomime who had gathered together
a great mix of enthusiastic cast members… some experienced, some less so… but what was obvious from the moment those ‘lights came up’ was the obvious ‘family atmosphere’ on stage!  The ever so experienced John Coates (Director) was directing his first production for the SDC assisted by Paul-James Green. The talented Pippa Morris (Choreographer) did a great job with an array of junior and senior dancers!  The routines were simple yet effective and were balanced perfectly to ensure that everyone’s abilities and talents were brough to the fore… which isn’t always easy!  The youthful Joe Bloom, (Musical Director) was tasked with overseeing the musical side of things and what a great job he did, especially with the support for all the singers.  It was obvious throughout that the cast were well-rehearsed and from the smiles on their faces were just enjoying every moment on that stage! Well done folks… great job… be proud!

The Cast…  this pantomime had a real ‘family feel’ about it and you could just tell that everyone was giving of their all and just enjoying being part of the ‘SDC family’!  When you see a cast who are obviously ‘working together’ then, as I’ve said so many times before, it becomes really difficult to start saying that someone was better than someone else, without perhaps doing injustice to others… the success of this panto was all about the ‘whole’ and not an ‘individual’, but it would be remiss of me not to give a few shout out to a number of cast members who did go that little bit above and beyond…  so let me introduce you to ‘Willie’ played ever so well by Craig Billington. From ‘Joseph’ to ‘Willie’ is one ‘huge leap’, was impressive, but that’s what Craig did and he made a great job of it!  Craig is an experienced actor blessed with great stage presence… this ‘Buttons’ type role requires interaction with the audience from the start and Craig did just that! Confident, assured, loved the mannerisms, loved the facial expressions, loved the interaction with both audience and cast … great job Craig… be proud sir!   Don’t think I can move much further without introducing ‘Willies’ mum… ‘Dame Helga Von Trump’ played really well by Rikki Spofforth.  Having just done my twenty ninth panto as Dame, I think I can speak with some authority and say… “Rikki made a good job of this pantomime tradition!”  With stage presence aplenty, some wonderful mannerisms, dressed in some wonderful costumes, Rikki was able to make the all-important connection and interaction with the audience with ease. Loved the ‘Sausage Cooking Scene’ with Willie’ and ‘Splatter’ one of the Comedy Duo played wonderfully well by Bethany Hill. If I were to be very picky… I would have liked this scene to have been a ‘little messier’, but that’s just me… but be proud Rikki great job!   Comedy Duo…. ‘Splatter’ and ‘Blatter’ played by, as previously mentioned Bethany Hill as ‘Splatter’ and Edward James as ‘Blatter’.  I love a good comedy duo…  and I think, ‘sticking my neck out a little further’ that Bethany almost stole the show for me!  She had a terrific engaging personality creating this ‘highly charged’ dizzy character who just couldn’t stay still for long and always spoke with humour emanating from inside!  Great stage presence, wonderful mannerisms… ‘Blatter’ was the more ‘serious one’ of the duo, but again creating his own character. There was an obvious chemistry between them and Edward provided this great foil for Bethany!  ‘The Pied Piper’ … aka ‘Pippin’ was played really well by Charlotte Gerring.  ‘The Pied Piper aka Pippin’ is sort of magical figure…and Charlotte did a great job with it… and I was convinced when she first entered that she was playing that ‘pipe’… sometimes you can be fooled, be proud!             
Guy Tatler provided us with a really good character in the form of ‘Rat-Worst’… the leader of the rat infestation…never out of character, good stage presence... good job Guy!  We then had the ‘GOOD and the BAD’ ... with Zoe Findley playing the ‘good fairy’... ‘Fairy Strudel’ and Karen Nightingall playing the ‘evil witch’… ‘Sour-Kraut’.  Chris Gerring provided us with a good portrayal of the ‘Burgomeister’, the pompous, out of touch ‘leader of Hamlin’. We then had the ‘love interest’ ‘Heidi’ and ‘Hans’ played by Lucy Brown and Matty Higginson.  ‘Cheeky’, ‘Beaky’, ‘Leaky’ and ‘Squeaky’ where played by Rebecca Halsall, Jessica Kennedy, Andrew Dunnett-Edge and Serafina Campolucci-Bordi respectively… gave us some good comedy moments and supported the principals really well as did the ‘Ensemble’ who included… Katie Allen, Eleanor Armstrong, Elle Jamieson, Kiara Mawdsley, Summer Molyneux, Faith Richards, Abbie Strefford, Katy Watkins…  and let’s not forget our ‘Ratlets’, ‘Piglets’ and young Dancers from the ACE Academy… who danced and sang their hearts out whilst sharing the stage and help make up this ‘family cast’!  

Staging/Set/Tech… Radley Haynes (Stage Managers) and Francesca Bate (Deputy Stage Manager) and the SDC Stage Crew did a great with this production, providing swift and subtle scene changes that kept the production flowing. The ‘Sets’ were simple yet effective; designed by Alan Gosling, with ever so talented Bob Jessamine in charge of the artistic work … all put together by the SDC Construction Team. Well done folks great job!

Lighting Programme was really well created by Ged Campbell… operated by Philip Hutchinson, Neil Langridge, Brian Price and Neil Yates.   Sound… was, as always great… under the watchful eye of SDC Sound Team.

The Band… led by Joe Bloom (Musical Director) …  great sound, great support to all singers!

Wardrobe… as always were amazing and apt for this production…  and under the watchful eye Michele Martin and the SDC Wardrobe Team.  Props… really well thought out and used appropriately… SDC Props Team…well done folks!  

Safeguarding … whenever or wherever young people are involved in theatre the need for a safe, caring environment is essential and that safety was provided by the SDC Safeguarding and Chaperone Teams…
congrats to those unnamed people… youth in theatre could/would not happen without people like you!

Lynn Hawksworth … I know I’ve mentioned this before in a review, but having read the programme notes and John Coates’s personal tribute to Lynn, I just felt the need to include again… RIP Lynn… you are obviously so missed by the SDC Family!

Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this pantomime to stage.  Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I and can I take this opportunity to wish everyone at Southport Dramatic Club a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you all again throughout 2024!

Stay safe and keep well…
‘STRONGER TOGETHER’

Jim Briscoe
NODA North West
District 6 Rep

 

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