SHOWCASE FESTIVAL 2005-2006

ADJUDICATION

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INTRODUCTION
FRONT OF HOUSE
LIGHTING AND SOUND
SET DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
MUSIC
CHOREOGRAPHY
THE SCRIPT
PERFORMANCES
PRODUCTION
SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

‘The Legend of Jolie Rouge' is, I believe, and I'm aware I open myself up to correction here, an original story, dreamed up in the heads of the abovementioned Messrs Blane, Kimber and Murphie, While certainly not in the Grimm Fairy Tales bracket it nevertheless assumes pantomime form in the same category as the likes of Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, other tales of pirates and desert islands, and themselves popular pantomime choices.

Given the manifold challenges involved in producing a pantomime, to take the plunge with a home-written script always involves a certain degree of courage. Nevertheless BATS’ reputation for technical expertise is well-founded, the acting being backed up by some strong backstage work. As such the experience and capacity is clearly in place to offer firm foundations for such an original production. This was my first visit to Brantham Village Hall. Given all I have heard of them, I was looking forward to the evening, alongside my fellow adjudicators, with much anticipation.

FRONT OF HOUSE

I believe this is the first time I've been greeted by Front of House staff wearing sweatshirts alluding to the production under advertisement. Quite a first impression! Liz, Andrew and I received a friendly welcome from the FOH staff, all of whom were very helpful, ensuring a warm, cosy atmosphere in the hall. The refreshment bar, open at the interval, provided a good range of drinks and snacks. The substantial programme was very helpful - the list of nautical terms much appreciated!

LIGHTING AND SOUND

The village hall is blessed with a capacious lighting grid, and BATS, as mentioned, have a great deal of technical expertise at their disposal. This production was effusively lit. A lot of thought had clearly gone into this aspect: the variety of lighting stages helped create an appropriate atmosphere throughout. While it was left bright and clear for scenes of straight narrative, as soon as we reached a heightened state of drama, the lighting changed. For example, the green lighting in the doctor's surgery and the red glow underneath the cauldron.

The entrance of Captain Redd was similarly captured. Perhaps the lighting highlight was during the shipwreck scene, with the battle between the Queen of the Ocean and the Sea Fairy going on behind the gauze while the crew swayed to and fro on the main stage - very effective.

Special mention must be made of the underwater UV scene, which my colleagues and I considered the highlight of the evening. Well done.

Sound effects were used to good effect. They were not overdone, but added effective touches on many occasions. And, notably, were very well timed.
 
A disappointing aspect to this production was the use of miking for the actors.
My fellow adjudicators and I strongly felt that it removed a sense of intimacy between performers and audience, while, through feedback, proving distracting during some important moments in the narrative. This was a shame, as, in a hall of this size, such amplification is not necessary, and did a disservice to some able actors on the stage.

SET DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

The settings for this show conveyed a variety of scenes from the quayside, the doctor's surgery, to the ship's galley and the jungle on Jolie Rouge. Each of these had a painted backdrop. My colleagues and I felt that while the backdrops conveyed an adequate sense of place, they could perhaps have been more colourfully vivid in their detail. The fact that at times one could see the back of the backdrop hanging down did tend to take away from the overall effect.

The construction of the sets was, on the whole, very effective, for example, with the appearance in scene one of the ship towards the back of the stage, with items being loaded aboard. The dividing wall in the doctor's surgery was very well conceived. However, when it was actually pulled across to reveal the doctor at work, it was rather rickety and many in the audience reacted as if it were about to fall down. This was a shame, as the effect could have been very impressive.

Having the gauzed frames at either side was very effective adding an extra dimension to the staging area. This came into its own with the pre-interval scene involving the Queen of the Ocean and the Sea Fairy.

The props on show were very good. The cauldron in the doctor's surgery was impressive, although my colleague Liz mentioned that she felt it dominated the room a bit too much. The telephone, or telling bone' was highly amusing!

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP

These aspects were clearly well thought out and very effective. The costumes in a pantomime always need to be colourful, whilst leaving the audience in no doubt as to the nature of each character. From Captain Redd in his traditional pirate's coat, with tricorn hat and red beard, who received boos before he'd opened his mouth, through to the principal boy and girl, who both looked very much the part, the cast were very well presented.

It was perhaps a pity that Captain Redd's beard was of the unfitted type, as it prevented us from seeing the movement of his mouth as he spoke. However, it did have impact!

Miss Ann Thrope looked spot on as the receptionist, complete with tied-back hair and glasses. Dr Bazonga's exotic outfit likewise created the appropriate effect.
It was noted that the doctor's make-up stopped short of actually 'blacking up' the face, to fit in with the rest of the characterisation. In today's politically-correct environment, this was perhaps the sensitive way to proceed.

Dunny Plunder's dresses were particularly extravagant! Her first dress, with the ships and lifeboat, together with a hat which appeared to have a swan on it, was particularly striking.

Together with a well-dressed chorus, this represented good work by the wardrobe department.

MUSIC

The musical accompaniment for this production was provided by a very accomplished band, led by Patience Ling. They started the action with a mini overture, echoing the sea shanty style of the front of house music that preceded it. It is very notable what difference percussion makes to a production. Either in giving added weight to the songs, beating the time, or in adding punctuation to a moment in the dialogue - such as the punchline to a joke - it adds a great deal.

 
With regard to the singing, my colleagues and I felt that the opening chorus number was difficult to hear. As the opening number of a show, volume is at a premium, and this didn't come across - perhaps the one time in the evening when amplification was justified!

This aside, there were some good singing performances. Captain Redd's I'm Such a Wicked Fella, though never perhaps likely to win awards for melodious content, was sung fully in character. And with gusto. His duet with Dr Bazonga - You Ain't So Bad - was notable for its impressive counterpoint singing.

The musical high point was the singing of Emily - Say Goodbye But Mean Hello - very strong and confident. My colleagues and I considered it a shame that her singing talents hadn't been used more during the evening.

CHOREOGRAPHY

There were some good examples of choreography. The children had clearly been well-rehearsed in their routines. The chorus of cooks for the song in the ship's galley was a good touch.

The songs themselves, written by Andy Kimber, were always appropriate to the moment in the show. They generally captured the spirit of the drama, and took due advantage of singing talent where possible. I did feel there were times, particularly in You Ain't So Bad, that the beautiful tonality of the harmony was slightly at variance with the character singing it. I'm not sure that the character of Dr Bazonga is best represented by the wistful and flowery counter melody she was given.

But perhaps this is to quibble. The variety of styles on offer, from the sea shanty to the calypso and the love songs was impressive, and speaking as one who always loves to hear original songs, very welcome. 

THE SCRIPT

I have mentioned already that providing an original script is to provide another variable element to the mix that makes up a pantomime production. It is clear in this case that the writers have much experience in this genre. The presentation of the script, which I was able to read beforehand was very impressive. It was clear that this was written by people with an awareness of stagecraft, and of the need to give a script, whether straight play, musical or pantomime, a clear and strong structure.

Pantomime is such a mixture of comedy, slapstick, music, audience participation, dancing and special effects, that it is easy to forget that it has a story. If the audience aren't held by the story, then all the colour and light in the world will not be anything other than a meretricious front.
 
The feeling of my colleagues and I, was that this pantomime certainly had a story, but that it often got bogged down in very long scenes. The script went to great lengths to create interesting characters, and to introduce lots of clever ideas and dramatic pictures. However, somewhere along the way, the story seemed to get a little lost. Until, suddenly, at the end, all was well again.

This is certainly not to knock the quality of the writing, which was clever and witty, and provided some good characterisations. The principal characters all had lines commensurate with their part in the proceedings. Indeed I particularly liked the         spoonerism-uttering Captain Bowson - "It's all a lack of pies" , "Poxtail and Arsenip"!! There were other funny lines which got deservedly big laughs. One which particularly tickled our contingent was " ....he said he wanted you to prick his boil''!!

For a pantomime, it did seem to lack much audience participation. Audiences are all too willing to join in with the 'He's behind you' and 'Oh no he isn't' business. There was the business with the ghosts and the snake and spider which the audience tried to warn the actors about. But this was a little laboured in the delivery, and lacked the sharpness needed to bring it off effectively.

But, as I say, this script demonstrated a clear knowledge of stagecraft and a decent variety of scenes and characters. The story may have failed to grab the audience's attention as much as one would have liked. But this is incredibly difficult to do effectively, and Joyce Blane, Andy Kimber and Neil Murphie deserve much credit for their original script, quite apart from their all round involvement in the production.

PRODUCTION

Pantomimes invariably have a large cast and tend to involve a number of children, and thus, by definition, a great deal of hard work. The direction of this show displayed the same knowhow as the writing of the script. Care and attention had been paid to ensure some good stage pictures and natural movement, with one or two very good touches. I particularly enjoyed the shipwreck scene with the slow-motion swaying across the stage while the Sea Fairy and the Queen of the Ocean did battle.

The children had cleared been well drilled, so as always to look lively on stage.
There were times when they were standing around with little to do, but it was noticeable that they were always keeping busy, always trying hard to stay in character.

Overall, we felt that the pace was a little laboured. This was the third night of the run, but it had the appearance of an opening night, with some uncertainty over movement and lines, and a general lack of crispness to the performance.
 
Nevertheless, there were many areas where this production scored highly, and, as I have mentioned, the UV scene was a particular highlight.

As with most local groups, casting is based on who is available. Generally, most characters looked about right for the part. I did feel that perhaps Captain Bowson would ideally be an older, white haired, white-bearded Captain Birdseye type. This is not to criticise the actor, but simply to make an 'in an ideal world'-type observation.

PERFORMANCES

There were a number of noteworthy performances in this show. As mentioned, I felt that the cues were picked up a little slowly and generally, the acting lacked punch. But within this, the individual performances had much of credit.

CAPTAIN REDD - Keith Raby
Keith made a real impression with his first entrance. As I've said, he was booed even before he had opened his mouth. He looked the part and he hurled abuse at the audience, something I love to see, and relished the role of villain. He coped with the vast beard - even while putting his all into his singing - and kept up the now traditional Robert Newton-style accent.

EMILY BOWSON - Sian Naylor
Sian looked every inch a principal girl. In her beautiful dress and with the flowing blonde hair she came across just as the programme states - a sweet young thing. All innocence and pure goodness, she perhaps could have shown a little more animation, particularly later on when she is held captive. The big revelation however was her singing, which was strong, confident and tuneful. A real shame that this talent wasn't exploited further.

CAPTAIN BOWSON - Steve Hutley
As mentioned above, I felt perhaps that Steve wasn't quite old enough for this role. However, this isn't his fault, and he gave a good performance as the 'spooneristic father'. Speaking in this style is not easy, but he carried it off well, getting some good laughs into the bargain. A worthwhile performance.

NICK DA SILVA - Mags Humphrey
Mags was very well cast as the principal boy - tall and leggy, and well-costumed, she certainly looked the part. She came across well to the audience and sang effectively. My colleagues and I sometimes felt that her movements didn't look 
quite as spontaneous as they could have done. Indeed, the thigh slapping almost looked as if it was being done under sufferance! But she worked well with Sian, and as a representation for righteousness, and a force for good, as all principal boys are, this was a convincing performance.

DUNNY PLUNDER - Rob Warne
Rob looked very striking in his dame's costumes and showed a certain amount of bravery when appearing scantily clad after the shipwreck scene! The dame is a pivotal character in any pantomime and Rob worked very hard and managed to maintain a good energy level throughout. Not easy. I didn't feel that he engaged with the audience as much as a dame should do, and thus, wasn't able to maximise the situations he was presented with. Nevertheless, a good effort.

DEAD-LEG DICK DIBSON/DANGEROUS PETE BOGGS - Sean Walsh/Grant Borroff -
I've grouped these two together for obvious reasons. As the silly, comedy baddies they appeared virtually to be never off the stage. They contrasted nicely - Sean being the more canny of the two, while Grant adopted a silly, John major- ish voice and played the 'stupider sidekick'. Apart from trying to help the real villain, these characters provide a great deal of the comedy, often slapstick, to be found in the pantomime. My fellow adjudicators and I felt that in this, they lacked pace at times, slow to pick up on cues and, in trying to develop and portray their characters and the situations, a lot of the comedy was lost. Nevertheless, they certainly looked the part, and their characterisation was appropriate for the roles.

DUNCAN DISORDERLY - Ian Southgate
A small part for Ian, but one he carried out effectively. As the programme says - a gratuitous character - and this he did well.

NELSON - Bronwen Morris-Denholm
Bronwen had a key role in this show. As one of the main players in this story, she had lots of opportunities to show off her good speaking voice. To her fell the job of explaining why Captain Redd was on the island, a key part of the story. It was unfortunate that with her pacing up and down, we weren't able to catch this important information. This was a pity, as generally, she looked confident on stage, with good facial expressions, and a blessing to discover that not all young people nowadays have to speak with Essex accents!

MISS ANN THROPE - Lesley Raby
Act one, scene three was one of the most enjoyable of the pantomime. This was in no small part to Lesley's portrayal of Miss Ann Thrope. She looked absolutely spot-on as the receptionist, with the tied-back hair and the glasses. Her delivery 
of lines was well-timed, getting some very good laughs, and she generally enlivened proceedings when she appeared. An enjoyable performance.

DR BAZONGA - Lesley Mercer
Lesley worked extremely effectively to create this role: using facial expressions, posture and of course the accent, to convey this character. As mentioned earlier, she stopped short of actually blacking up for the part. However, every other facet of this type of racial stereotype was present. Would anyone objecting to blacking up have been any less offended by this depiction of a Caribbean woman - and a witch doctor at that? I'm not sure. I mention this purely as observation, rather than criticism, but it is as well to bear all this in mind. Lesley has a lot of ability as an actress and this came across very well. She also has a pretty singing voice, shown to good effect in her duet with Captain Redd and in her Jolie Rouge solo. A worthwhile performance.

THE QUEEN OF THE OCEAN - Fran Davies
Fran played the wicked Queen very well. Most of her appearances were from behind the gauze, so she had little opportunity to use her movement to convey her character. However, she used her voice and face to good effect, and played the crucial shipwreck scene very well.

MINI ANN - Annabel Kimber
Annabel Kimber had only a very small role, but portrayed her character well and looked the part. It's never easy just to come on for a small part, but she did this well.

BOSON BULLHORN - Alex Warne
Another small role but one of note. As with Annabel, he played a small role well and looked the part on stage.

THE SEA FAIRY - Elaine Green
As with her rival, the Queen of the Ocean, Elaine made the most of her face and voice to convey the good qualities of her character. She spoke well and was a clear contrast to Fran's wickedness.

DESPERATE DAVE - Ben Dunne
Ben played this role well, looked and acted effectively, playing his part in the key scenes.

SMILER - Luke Chapman
I assume the moniker is an ironic one! Again, Luke played his part well, doing his best to look as unlikely to smile as possible - very fierce! Another good cameo.

SAILORS, PIRATES AND MONKEYS - Amber Chapman, Luke Chapman, Poppy Cunnell, Ben Dunne, Abbie Frost, Maisie Macdonald, Ruby Macdonald, Hannah Mayhew, Stephanie Mayhew, Lauren Mercer, Alice Pembroke, Lucy Pembroke, Natasha Smith, Megan Walsh, Alex Warne
As I've mentioned, all the children worked hard in this production to stay in character, even when they had little to do. They had clearly been well-drilled, both in the acting scenes and with their dance routines. They adapted well to the different requirements of being sailors, pirates and monkeys. It was a shame that the singing for the opening number was so very light. But nonetheless, they all deserve credit for the hard work they undoubtedly put in to this production.

SUMMARY

This was an original pantomime in more than one sense. It was colourful and technically strong; and included some memorable moments and entertaining performances. Overall, it lacked sparkle and vitality on the night my colleagues and I attended. However, no doubt it got stronger as the week went on, and was not without its bright moments.

Thank you very much for an enjoyable evening.

With best wishes

Will Hooper (adjudicator)
North East Essex Theatre Guild