The Pirate Princess

Ottery Community Theatre

The Pirate Princess

Written & Directed by Lea Pryer

Assistant Director: Amber Waddingham 

Musical Director: Ray Kemp

The Institute, Ottery St Mary

Thursday 30th January 2025

‘Tricia Barclay

NODA SW Representative District 6

Following a good “in character” Front of House announcement proceedings opened with a bang with a striking opening number, and eye-catching costumes in black and white with splashes of red and gold. There were Pirates a plenty, and beards and whiskers in abundance, and as usual the company brought their own unique style to the production.

Cleverly written and directed with a sprinkle of local jokes audience participation was encouraged from the outset and continued much to everyone’s delight throughout the evening.

The story followed the adventures of Princess Aliyah as she rebelled against the wishes of her parents, King Asamoan and Queen Azalarf, to marry the scheming Lord Vultar and ran off to sea as a cabin boy aboard a pirate ship – great stuff!

All the principals were well played and were supported by a lovely chorus of enthusiastic youngsters.

The Princess was attractive and feisty, transforming well into “principal boy” persona on board ship. The King certainly lived up to his name and was suitably miserable while his Queen strived earnestly to find the “bright side”.

The ever-popular regular Dame stepped into “her” shoes again, and what a pair of magnificent shoes they were, forming an immediate rapport with the audience. There was a brilliant line at one point “Pesky Pirates, Pilfering and Stealing” delivered with panache!

Lord Vultar made an extremely unlikable and creepy “Baddie”, also with memorable shoes, but had a redeeming moment in Act 2 with a short rendition of John Travolta’s “Staying Alive” complete with the white suit! 

Captain Blueblood, earnest in his love for the Princess, was endearing but rather dim, luckily the sensible ship’s-mate Gus was on hand to take charge and point him in the right direction!

The one-handed Cook, complete with hook, and side-kick Cabin Boy made a delightful duo, and their short scene together was great fun! You could almost smell the slimy entrails as they investigated the bucket of slops, luckily the audience were only on the receiving end of snippets of tickertape!

The performer playing Jolly Roger, the Captain’s second-in-command, gave a superb performance. Warm and welcoming from the start she kept the audience on board with the action and was certainly the lynchpin of the production.

All the youngsters were very much involved throughout and were kept busy as guards, ship’s crew and cave creatures, the Baby Dragons, and the Dragon himself were just delightful, and all joined in perfectly with the chorus numbers.

Act I was brought to a close with an energetic South American number and Act II opened to a well-decorated “galley” set perfect for the traditional “baking” scene. As usual things didn’t go according to plan with Jolly Roger cunningly concealed in the dresser popping out at intervals to disrupt proceedings closely followed at the end by the “skeleton in the cupboard” – a clever touch!

The trio of musicians gave sterling support, the songs were right for the storyline and the choreography well performed.

The costumes were colourful and well chosen for the roles, and the red/gold finale was stunning!

The sound effects of the sea and gulls were spot on, there was a striking cloud backdrop and the Dragon’s Lair was particularly creepy. 

The pace did drop on occasion which slowed the action, but it was the second performance, and this can sometimes happen after the relief of opening-night! Perhaps it would have been an idea too to have some suitable “house music” before the start and the “house lights” taken down a tad, just to encourage the audience into the mood. Also, some music to “play-off” and link the scenes might be worth considering in the future, just a few thoughts. 

The final number was excellently performed by the entire company with a perfectly positioned picture ending! 

This was a refreshing tale with plenty of twists and turns and everything came together to make an entertaining and very warmly received evening. Oh yes it did!

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what they see at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that their assessment will be affected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

 

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