The Pied Piper

The Pied Piper was my first show of the year as the Region 10 representative and it really cheered me up from the cold weather outside. It was done in the village hall at Gosforth which had a lot of charm about it. We all know the story of Pied Piper but I was curious to see how well it would work as a panto and may I say I was not disappointed.

Helga played by Andy Williams and Willie played by Clare Temple were a perfect double act with their comedy timing and good interaction with the audience, I really enjoyed their tongue twister about not being able to pay the rent, etc which had me laughing in my seat.

Fairy-Strudel played by Hannah Kessler told the story well and with her magic and charm, the audience really took to her but I cannot say the same about Sour-Kraut played by Megan Evans as she really had the audience hissing and booing her every time she came on stage which goes to show how well she performed in this role. I cannot forget the role of Rat-Worst played by Chris Walton who was full of energy and in a way was a likeable character so the audience did not know whether to boo him or not.

Hans played by Alison Fligg sang very well and you could see the chemistry between Hans and Heidi played by Tina Wilson-Ferris grow as the show went on.

What can I say about Blatter played by Abi Stanley and Splatter played by Elsa Whiteley, they delivered their lines with great timing as they needed to because a lot of their one liners were very funny and the audience really responded to this as sometimes in shows good one liners can be missed due to cast members rushing their lines so well done to you both.

Pippin played by Jake Phizacklea gave a wonderful performance with his singing and dancing and looks to be one for the future, Jake was also the Choreographer and what a wonderful job he has done with this, it is hard enough playing a part in the panto but to be the Choreographer as well shows a lot of commitment and dedication.

And lastly Burgomeister played by William Sands done the part at the very last minute standing in, although he was reading from a script he acted the part so well it was not noticeable about the script as I was looking for movement and direction on which he executed very well, what he was carrying could easily have looked like a prop for the character he was playing and I am not sure if a lot of the audience realized it was a script so once again, well done.

I would also like to mention the dancers and ensemble on their part they played in the panto as it is not always about the main characters we all need to be entertained with good dancing, singing and this was really entertaining to watch. I always like to see members of the Ensemble delivering some lines and may I say how good you all did by coming to the front of the stage and delivering your lines with confidence.

The show was well directed by Karen Polmear and it ran smoothly from start to finish. I really enjoyed all the songs which kept the energy in the room.

The sound and lights were of a high standard and everything ran well on the night.

I must give a huge well done to the Stage Manager Annette Johnstone, the set looked incredible and with minimal downtime on change over.

A really good performance by all of you and I am really looking forward to your next production.

 

Jim Morgan

 

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