The tradition of English Christmas pantomime (aka Panto) goes back to before Twanky was a widow and Mr Twanky was probably still alive (Oh No, it doesn’t – Oh Yes, it does!). This introduction just shows how delightfully funny and silly Panto is.
Let’s be honest, it’s fun to let our hair down and cheer the hero, boo the villain, groan at all the ‘dad’ jokes and laugh hysterically at the Dame. Venture Theatre’s latest venture into the Panto woods, Hansel & Gretel, allows us to do all those things. Based vaguely (very vaguely) around the Brothers Grimm tale, this version is anything but grimm (pun and spelling intended).
Director Shelley Carman has a fairly firm grasp of the mechanics of pantomime and seems to have taken on the daunting task of handling 21 cast (9 of those new to the group) quite well. The revolving set pieces by Steve and Andrea Smith look great and are seemingly noiseless to move. Considering that the stage being worked on has no stage lighting above, the company have handled the situation well with side and front lighting. However, on Opening night the spots on the actors were a bit hit and miss. Also on Opening night the pace of the show was slowed at times by sloppy entrances and exits. I’m hopeful that this will improve with familiarity of the stage.
Because of the huge venue area that the Company are performing in temporarily, the acoustics are quite bad. Most performers either come across as very quiet and extremely hard to hear (and this reviewer was in the front row) or very loud. I believe that the company are trying to rectify this by trying to find mics.
The script by Alan P Frayne is everything a good Panto should be with a huge emphasis on fun and laughter. However, the slight social comments on racism and ecology seem unnecessary as does the inclusion of two characters, Basil and Nutmeg, who don’t seem to add to the story.
Whilst the strengths of the cast vary, as one should expect in true community theatre, there are some noteworthy performances. Jonah Reed plays a nicely naïve Hansel, with Amelia Press a slightly more with it, but still innocent Gretel.
Holly Hancock as the good fairy, Bluebell gives a lovely little ditsy feel to her role but could be a little louder. Kristy Pace as evil Nightshade has no problem with volume and is one of the best nasty villains this reviewer has seen. The woodchopper father of Hansel and Gretel, Fritz is played with a fantastic West Country accent by Ash Harrington-Brown. In fact, the accent is so good that it is a little hard to understand what his dialogue is at times. And where does young Matthew Kuss as the Prince get that wonderfully deep voice from?
Every Panto is held together in the long run by the interactions of the Dame (in this case, Peggy Pumpernickle) and her sidekick (in this case Wally) – with each other and more importantly with the audience. I think it would be safe to surmise from his well honed performance that David Giles (Peggy) has played many a Dame. He has a ball with the role and carries the audience in the palm of his hand. Also deftly carrying the audience along is little Energiser Bunny James Harrington-Brown as Peggy’s son Wally. This young man never stops and is loaded with joyful energy and enthusiasm. We all just loved him.
Whilst with the small little hiccups mentioned, Venture’s production is exactly what a good panto should be – loads of fun for the cast and loads and loads of fun for the audience. Ideal for leaving your cares at the door and just enjoying the moment.
