28TH FEBRUARY 2004

DIRECTOR Julie May
MUSICAL DIRECTOR Brian Skinner
CHOREOGRAPHER Julie Price

I start my review by stating that the overall production was presented with pace, accuracy and without any noticeable faux pas. It was received by an audience which warmed up quickly, greatly helped by the persistence of Dame Dumpty (John Endicott) as soon as she (he?) was on stage.

I was confused by the order of the characters detailed in the programme. It would have helped for you to have listed them in ?order of appearance?. I really had to guess at times early on who was who.

Scenery was nicely descriptive of the particular scene. I understand that it had been hired from the Central Theatre.

Properties were very good and I would guess that Rebecca Cordier who was in charge of their collection, had relied heavily on John Endicott for the source of some of them.

The Band, ably led by Peter Cook, had just the right volume level for the singing. The percussion department made a very accurate job of banging the drum or other instruments in his collection to emphasise jokes and actions on stage. The bass guitar augmented the depth of the band nicely.

Costumes. Now I really thought that these were superb. Lisa Cook is to be congratulated in amassing such a colourful and brilliant collection. She dressed the large cast wonderfully. The programme didn?t state from where they came, or whether they had been made for the show or whether they had been hired. Whatever was the case, well done to Lisa.

Make up. If you would permit me to make a little constructive criticism, it would be in this area. The programme doesn?t state any overall responsibility and I guess from talking to some members of the cast that they mainly ?did their own?. The result from the audiences? point of view was a mixed effect. Some looked as though they had none on at all, others looked as if they had just come off the beach on the Costa Brava and so on. Do you have a make-up call during the dress rehearsal and do you have someone in overall charge of make-up? If the answer is no on either count, I would suggest that you take a serious look at this suggestion.

Lighting and Sound. Lighting was very well plotted and the use of the two computer driven lights located just above and either side the main curtain on the stage side added an interesting dimension to the overall effects.

Sound was disappointing in some respects as the quality was variable. Some of the younger members of the cast were speaking too quickly and this did not help for understanding or hearing of the words. Little Red Riding Hood?s cape for instance (synthetic material I would guess) caused crackling when she moved).

I note that the Brook Technicians are down in the programme as being responsible for the lighting and the sound. Is there anything you can do as a group to pressurise them into taking sound quality more seriously than they appear to have done with your production?

Stage crew. I make a special mention of the stage crew. They worked very efficiently in providing the back stage support that gave those in stage the confidence to perform well knowing that everything would be where it was supposed to be. Congratulations to Oliver Flanagan and his crew. Can I suggest that you find room to mention all of the stage crew in the programme, next time.

The production. Everyone on stage, principal, dancer or chorus, contributed their part in giving us a very entertaining afternoon. Clearly the main characters stood out by virtue of the parts that they were playing. All gave excellent performances from Martha (first on the programme) through to Lisa and Anna (last on the programme). The timing of the actions, the expressions and the direction all contributed to a slick performance. I must mention the dancing performed by the principals, the chorus, the dancers and the children, it was all skilfully created by Julie Price. Brian Skinner had obviously worked diligently on the music for the whole company and Julie Sayers? production set the seal on a good afternoon of traditional pantomime. I hope that you continue to provide this entertainment to the populace of Medway for many years to come.

If I may be permitted a further comment. It is often the case that cameo parts steal the show. In this instance the combination of Dame Dumpty (not a cameo part I might add) and Major Muffett (the cameo part) was bound to be a hit. However Brian , I advise you not to give up the day job just yet!

Bob Drywood

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