There was something charming about seeing a younger cast embrace a classic old-fashioned musical, and the Hills Musical Company has leaned into that charm with their delightfully funny production of Once Upon a Mattress, a retelling of The Princess and the Pea.
The production is colourful and ridiculous and embraces the comedy wholeheartedly without ever slipping into pantomime stereotypes. Under the direction of Emily-Jo Davidson, the pacing, energy and emotional beats remain sharp throughout, with cheeky fourth-wall breaks and polished ensemble work keeping the audience constantly laughing and engaged throughout.
The Maleficent-esque costuming brought bursts of colour against the castle set, while the visual gag of a particularly undersized throne was a great touch. The shadow puppetry was an intriguing element that particularly shone during the duet between the Jester and his father, though a handful of moments felt slightly disconnected from the onstage action. The tableaux at the end of major numbers added polish and theatricality.
This show was excellently cast and they worked beautifully together, making individual standouts difficult to single out. Matthew Phillips as King Sextimus was hilarious (with a cleverly incorporated moon boot), while Matty Turner brought innocence, excellent comic timing to Prince Dauntless along with vocal sweetness. Their duet was a highlight. Ella Heywood-Smith threw herself into the role of Queen Aggravain with dramatic gusto, never once letting the rapid-fire dialogue lose momentum, while Molly Noel’s Princess Winnifred nearly stole the show entirely with strong vocals and wonderfully over-the-top comedy.
The ensemble sounded fantastic, supported by strong choreography, excellent lighting and superb balance throughout, although some lower notes were occasionally lost. As professional musicals are reducing the size of their orchestras, amateur orchestral pits may be the only place to hear fuller live orchestrations and Matt Redmond’s 14-piece orchestra handles the score well and even had the fog dancing along in the overture.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening and well worth the trip to Stirling amongst the autumn leaves. Although I did miss the sherry for patrons on opening night!
