1ST. MARCH 2003

DIRECTOR: JULIE MAY
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: BRIAN SKINNER
CHOREOGRAPHER: JULIE PRICE
PRODUCER: JOHN ENDICOTT
STAGE MANAGER: OLIVER FLANAGAN

GENERAL REMARKS
This rather dated John Morley script was brought charmingly up to date by the Company, although I did detect reference to British Rail at one point. I suppose I have an advantage in reviewing this pantomime in that I have played Dame in it at least once before, an advantage to me but possibly a disadvantage to the Company. The plot itself is a bit thin but the Company made the most of what was on offer and the excellent dance sequences added a delightful touch of glitter and glamour to the overall production. An almost capacity audience had to be cajoled and threatened into joining in. The theatre was very hot and this together with the hard seats and the close-up toe boards made for an uncomfortable evening. However, as I have already said the Company were good and congratulations to everyone for a delightful and jolly evening?s entertainment.

BAND
The four-piece band was not overpowering, played well and contributed to the general chit -chat in an active manner.

MUSIC
Brian Skinner had obviously worked hard with the soloists and the chorus to produce a good musical sound. Music always suffers in pantomime as do the lovey-dovey bits as the kids in the audience become embarrassed and/or fidgety. I did not detect much of this and this can be said to reflect on the good quality of the music. In addition the choice of musical numbers, with a mix of old favourites such as ?It?s a lovely day to day? and ?The Harry Potter Theme?, kept the audience interested.

DIRECTION
Julie May dragged from the dated script most of the situations that presented themselves. She managed to stage a production that was full of interest and variety. There were little touches like the white/ black-spotted gloves used to get rid of props, the wheeled in Magic Mirror and the car numbers bit with the Traffic Warden. The script refers to a traffic warden and that figure has always been a figure of hate. Although the world has moved on to much more gauleiter type of local authority jobs-worth character, retaining the traffic warden was a wise choice.

CHOREOGRAPHY
I can do no more than repeat what I said for Music Man, except to add that the mice and cat routine with Snow White was charmingly choreographed and performed, which was:
Choreography was in the hands of Julie Price who had to choreograph many sequences in the show. She produced routines for the production numbers and the individual principal numbers which not only looked effective but which were also capable of being performed by the many and varied abilities of the people on stage. Hours must have been spent on these rehearsals and everyone should be justly proud of the results. We certainly enjoyed the finished product from the comfort of our seats.
Keep up the good work Julie.

SCENERY
Whatever the source of the scenery, as it wasn?t referred to in the programme, it was very well painted. The detail, and particularly the perspective, was good.

PROPERTIES
Again properties were not referred to in the programme. I would suspect that John Endicott had some part in this, I certainly recognised the goblet from a talk he gave to the NODA SE conference in October last year. The properties were extremely authentic.

LIGHTING AND SOUND
The programme tells me that the Brook Theatre staff handled lighting and sound.
Lighting was to be brutal, uninspiring. We had full lighting on most scenes, a sort of blue effect when the Magic Mirror appeared and some half lighting in other places. My question would be did you get what they gave you or did you have a hand in its design.
I thought that most of the principals were unmic?ed, is that right? They were heard clearly but the sound came from their months not the loudspeakers. The Dame was mic?ed and I?m afraid on many occasions the pick up was bad and the jokes and script went unheard. Clearly the dwarfs needed mics for their upstage scene with Snow White, as was she. This certainly helped in the quick dialogue. In general terms the sound projection was acceptable.

COSTUME
The costumes, every one, were very attractive, colourful and suited to the individual characters. The opening chorus set the colourful scene that was repeated throughout the production. I particularly liked Herman, Hagwort, Launcelot, Snow White?s costumes and those of the dancers in their various scenes

MAKE-UP
I made the remark in my review of Music Man that there was the need to improve the make up especially in terms of consistency and situation. It appears that this point may have been taken on board as the make up for this production was much better. However, I do still have to say that the male chorus members with one or two exceptions were still very pale. I wondered whether they were in fact wearing make up at all.

STAGE MANAGEMENT
Stage management was once again in the trusted hands of Oliver Flanagan and his crew. Slick, silent and accurate came to mind. Every change was seamless and on time.

FRONT OF HOUSE
The theatre staff and the volunteers from GODS certainly made us very welcome. In general terms all their efforts were directed to ensuring that the paying public were able to enjoy the production. All credit goes to them for coping with the usual huge influx just before the curtain.
My wife and I were fortunate enough to have interval drinks provided, courtesy of GODS, but I understand that the bar prices are somewhat steep.

CHARACTERS
At last we come to the characters. I make no apology for putting these at the end because without the paraphernalia that I have already described no one on stage would ever perform.
Snow White (Kayleigh Smith)- a charming performance, slightly hesitant early on but warmed as the first act proceeded. Nice singing voice and a good turn of ballet.
Dora Dumpling (Peter Lowe)- worked well with a script not designed to help a Dame, not enough to do as the part fizzles out in act 2. Tendency to talk to the front row.
Prince Launcelot (Zoe Parkin)- confident performance, nice legs, slight tendency to over do the arms akimbo attitude.
Queen Evilena (Claire Langdon-Shreeve)-very good performance, dramatic make up, confident portrayal of the character, did the Director tell you to walk up and down so much, if not you may wish to think about how the audience might react to your constant motion. Liked your transformation to traffic warden and the OTT characterisation you made of that.
Muddles (Matt Batey)- I think you were slightly overshadowed by the much more experienced Gerry Flanagan. However you gave a very convincing performance, working a difficult audience from cold. Take a tip and be even more insistent that they do what you want them to do.
Marmaduke (Gerry Flanagan)- the slip of paper in the programme told me that he had stepped in late to take the part. Just how late emerged in conversation (the Monday before the first night!). Any mistakes, which in the main, we didn?t notice were covered up by this experienced performer. If I have a comment it is that you tended to take on the funny role that rightly was Muddles?s instead of that as the fall guy.
Herman (Larry Davis)- quite surprised at the Scottish accent early on but warmed to it. A good disciplined performance in a supporting role that allowed the characterisation to come through. Knees not too knobbly either.
Hagwort (Jayne Davis)- isn?t it irritating to the major principals when a cameo part comes on near the end of the show does two scenes and steals the show. Well that?s show biz. Amazing portrayal. There is really nothing more to add.
The dwarfs (Sam Watts, Sam Green, Chris Knight, Jacob Collins, Glenn Knight, Jack Lewis and Matthew Marshall)- does that make seven? The first scene made we wonder if I was miscounting too. A very good team who worked well together and delivered lines clearly and in the right place.
Everyone else- well done everybody, you were obviously well drilled in your movements, music and dance steps. Your contributions made the show the colourful event it was.
I am quite happy to discuss my comments with the Company as a whole.

Thank you for inviting my wife and I to see this splendid production and for offering us the hospitality both liquid and spiritual.

Bob Drywood
AREA COUNCILLOR NODA SE
2nd. March 2003

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