ACT in Action Issue 17

Hanson and Peter Vint’s music to give this musical fable its charm. The choreography complemented the narrative and was an integral part of the overall presentation. The ensemble and cameo roles immersed themselves into their characters while the evil witches’Ravens were led by the capable Kieran Lever, as Skarp. Two of the fairies looking after the princess well-being are Fairy Willow and Fairy Tulip. Rachael Booth was enchanting as Fairy Tulip. Her opposite number was the humorous, wingless, Willow, play to the full by Jordanne Woodward. The icy black-hearted Hellisent wants to rule but this can only happen if the King and Queen are childless. Giving a chilling performance, Leanne Wharf captured the fantasy of the iconic fairy- tale wicked witch. Beauty, Princess Aurora, is the much-loved daughter of King Henry and Queen Catherine. After the evil Hellisent cast her spell on

the baby Aurora, she is taken secretly to live and become the Beauty of the Wood. She is accompanied by her mother, Lisa Kay in fine voice, portraying a heart-warming, Queen Catherine. King Henry left in the palace to rule but has had no contact with his daughter because of the spell cast so that when it is the child’s 18th birthday, she pricks her finger and becomes the Sleeping Beauty. Jon Crebbin was impressive as the heavy-hearted grieving father. The Prince Perrault does not know that he is in love with a princess, at least, not until the spell has been broken. Every inch the hero Samuel Reid crooned and fought his way into Aurora’s heart. The fight scenes, set by Renny Krupinski, gave our hero an extra quality. Our quintessential heroine, the innocent, unspoiled and plucky, Princess Aurora was creditably portrayed by Hannah Goodwin. Hannah found the core of the character to create a real princess. “If you “Make-believe, you can achieve all that you see through your dreams ….” characters, - plus two dance groups! - brought Medieval England to life with a range of colourful and appropriate costumes. From tabards and tunics to robes and gauntlets, the wide array of costumes on the stage was excellent – especially a change for the Dame every time she came on. (I would’ve liked to have seen a traditional ‘finale change’ though, as most characters kept the same costume all the way through). Costumes were complemented effectively by make-up, with the team did an absolutely superb job in creating some brilliant characters. My particular favourites were the diamante Unicorns, who alone must have taken hours to decorate; the over-the-top Dame makeup -with no glitter spared and also Valerin’s ridiculous tan and beard. Great characterisations and detail from the make-up team. An interesting set design kept the stage mainly open with very minimal black-out scene changes. It’s a shame we saw some set shifting happen in the light, which took away from the Pantomime magic a little, but on the whole all changes were executed quickly and efficiently. This is thanks in the main to Adam Greenwood’s moving digital screen with projections of castles, dungeons and woods, as opposed to a traditional pantomime cloth, working very effectively and stylishly.

CAMELOT: THE PANTO Director: Michael Haworth Bacup Royal Court Theatre

“Camelot” is not one of the ‘Big 5’ Pantomimes of the festive period but it is always nice to see a society tackle something different – and Bacup Royal Court Theatre Group, produced by Nick Daye, presented the tale of King Arthur and his Knights in a superb way. The rather thin plot of Ben Crocker’s script was fleshed out by directors Claire Ashworth and Michael Haworth, who rounded up their company to extract the very best out of each performer – whether new or experienced. Adding new parts and ideas even into show-week, the duo have worked brilliantly to bring a high-quality Pantomime to life. With a full and very colourful stage, the audience were treated to a first-rate Panto, full of enthusiastic performances, dazzling effects and appropriate song choices. Containing all the characters you’d expect to see from King Arthur’s story (although no Excalibur!) the impressive company of 31

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