THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

My first pantomime of the winter season, which was fun, with some good performances.

Technically there were some excellent projections, a particularly striking one was where Beauty was shown as a baby and aged through the years until she was 18, the passing years marked with younger cast members receiving gifts from the King and Queen – very well accomplished on all levels.  I love that Rik Fox is experimenting with projections, and using them so effectively, it adds so much to the overall look of a production.  Lighting was good, however there was a problem with the follow-spot on the night I was there, in that it didn’t always ‘follow’, and several performers were left in darkness, however they carried on regardless!  The sound balance between stage and band was slightly askew at times, band was a little too loud, which slightly overshadowed the quieter singers.  However, the music was well-chosen and very lively.

I liked the costumes, and understand that Maureen Wallis had worked tirelessly making the majority of them, and hiring a few – I know how much time and effort this takes and it was worth it.

Nicely directed with some good attention to detail, and different ideas for interest, some guided by the projections, and the choreography was suitable for the cast overall.

Mark Coltman (Minstrel) gave us a lot of wry and ironic lib, good facial expressions to emphasise a point, keeping the narrative going.

Clive Crowther (King of Arcadia) and Danielle Inglis (Queen of Arcadia) created a very regal couple, I liked the way they played off each other with some telling dialogue.

Maddie Norman (Princess Beauty) in her first role on stage, showed charm and a good understanding of the role, singing well – I was impressed.  Maddie played well against her dashing prince - Doug Hobson (Prince Maximus of Monrovia), they were a good pairing, with some quiet moments, their voices blended well.  Doug accomplished his stage fights well too.

David Howell (Bumble – The Chancellor) gave us a really fun portrayal – muddling words and giving them funny moments – I enjoyed this comic performance very much.

Becky Vernon-Clinch (Carabosse) looked the part and gave us an extremely evil character, but one with some humour as well – good vocally, and very effective as the ‘baddie’ of the piece.

Alice Regan (The Lilac Fairy) was whimsical and lovely, showing command of her role in all aspects, a good foil to the evil Carabosse – with Cecily Vernon-Clinch (The Gold Fairy) and Imogen Stockdale (The Silver Fairy) providing delightful fairies in training, a nice touch.

Rob Kirk (Nanny Fanny Cranny) was both loud and OTT, but looked and acted every inch the Dame, good comedy and appropriate expressions!

Sam Couch (The Huntsman) was his usual ebullient self, despite not being very well, a good example of ‘the show much go on’ – very well done Sam, good characterisation and comic timing.

Other parts and ensemble were played by Rosie Atkins, Megan Gillot and Addie Couch (younger members of the cast), with Lucy Goodchild, Benita Gilliam and Ann Mundye completing the cast in smaller and ensemble parts – all of which contributed much to the pantomime.

We enjoyed the evening very much – a good show, and our thanks to our host who, as Director, was able to give us broader details about the production and people involved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.