The Witches

The Witches by Roald Dahl and adapted for stage play by David Wood is a sheer masterpiece in writing, brought to life before our very eyes. Characters we remember from our childhood, leap off the pages onto the stage to bring a story of gruesome witches wishing to eradicate the world of children. A lesson of love, loss and the ultimate sacrifice of the hero “Boy”. A lesson that sometimes one must make a sacrifice for the greater good.

Congleton Amateur Youth Theatre took on a big challenge in choosing this piece but they didn’t fail to impress. A difficult production to stage from the demands of the script to have many scene changes and visual illusions. Overall, this was delivered quite satisfactory.

On entering the venue the audience were greeted with a projection which was an animation taking over the whole stage. This was creative and you could grasp from the content what was in store for us. The running mouse really tickled me and hats off to the designer Simon Matthews. Other projections were used to create the sea crossing, which was also effective, I felt a tad sea sick watching the waves move up and down.

Once the gauze was lifted we had the most amazing three tier set behind. Really impressive work and very creative. A kitchen to the right full to the brim with utensils, attention to detail was so impressive. This piece has a secret compartment behind where our hero Boy could operate the mouse puppet. Grandmothers chair to the left side offered a sign of comfort, it was very homely indeed. The levels of this set were used to great effect and the team seemed to have a very clear vision throughout, the cast were confident in climbing and using it to its fullest potential. The stage crew must be commended as they at times where requested to change set as “hotel staff “. The character playing the hotel manager ordered them about and it really worked well. The illusions were projected on to a smoke ‘screen’, this worked well visually but the smoke was a tad over powering when it hit the audience.

The direction throughout was of fine detail, each player understanding their roles completely. I can imagine a lot of work was done to achieve this level of characterisation. My eye didn’t draw to one person that wasn’t fully involved in this piece. Lovely use of puppetry which was well delivered by the players.

Visually the costumes and wigs looked remarkable and it finished the whole look of the production.  I got the sense that the boys disguised as ladies were quite comfortable and rather enjoying their new look. We saw some wonderful characters and the meet and greet section of the scene the characters really went for it, a few very comical moments.

Hannah Bleackely, what an actress. She portrayed the part of the hero “Boy” with curiosity, fear, empathy and confidence. Miss Bleackely processes the ability to draw you in and feel her every emotion. Her facial expressions were always appropriate, her use of her body to create the mouse like traits was commendable. She worked very well with the puppet and her fellow cast. Right to the very last scene, this young lady was living every emotion, never dropping out of character.

Bronwyn Jennings- a warm portrayal of Grandma, lovely work with “Boy”, they had a lovely connection. She carried her role well. On a few occasions we lost some of her lines but I feel it was due to the movement she was doing (hugging) as opposed to her not projecting.

Mason Bell, played a good role as the Events manager, ordering the stage crew around came very easy to him and he got everything in order. He had some nice comedy with the doorman.

William Vickers, gave a great rendition Bruno Jenkins, at first, we cannot warm to this spoilt boy but as he became a victim of the witches we do feel sympathy for him, especially in the scene where he learns he is a mouse. He interacted well with Miss Bleackely, the pair worked well in their scenes.

Clara Jackson had a fine accent for her role as the High Witch, she looked every inch the glamour puss with dark undertones, her eyes spoke a million words, dark and drawing visually. We could have had a bit more volume from this player. She instigated her scenes and was always in control.

Oscar Eckersley played numerous roles and very well may I add. His Mr. Jenkins was urgent and unsettled, his relationship with Bruno was lacklustre and unaffectionate. You could understand why Bruno was the way he was. Lucy Fitzgerald on the hand played the doting and very glamorous mother of Bruno, Mrs Jenkins. Her son can do no wrong. I would have liked to see a bigger reaction to the news that their son was a mouse.

Lewis Bell and Marcus Wesley as the chefs made us laugh out loud with their antics, self-made gravy and the result ending with a mouse down the pants. A classic slap-stick type moment. Great chefs but I don’t think I would risk eating anything they cooked.

What really stood out from this production was the array of parts each member played, the development of characters, the concentration and the enjoyment that was evident on the stage.
Worthy of mentions are the doorman, display witch, headwaiter, chambermaid, nurse and sailor.

Sound overall was good but there were some missed lines due to projection from the players. The music used throughout gave a magical feel and added to the ambience, also to mention the sound effects they were very accurate and on que. Lighting was executed very well. There are a lot of timing factors involved in this play and require everything to work simultaneously, the lighting ques were spot on.

I would suggest that the pace could have been improved upon at times and the transitions from one scene to another were a tad on the slow side.

Overall, this was a good production which really challenged the young players. Plays are so very important and give a young player a chance to develop other areas of performance. Well done to the whole team.

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