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NORTH EAST ESSEX THEATRE GUILD SHOWCASE FESTIVAL 2003-2004 ADJUDICATION Group: Brantham Amateur Theatrical Society Jump to...
Having now watched several Pantomimes I was looking forward to seeing something different and having received the script to read, I knew this was going to be different. Do not get me wrong, I love Pantomimes; they are for the most part magical, being a mixture of fairy stories and legends and full of mythical figures. The Pied Piper of Hamelin according to your authors has its feet firmly fixed in the genre of fairy tales, but I was surprised to learn that there may be some factual information that this story was based on. It is a very moral tale that is still relevant in this day and age; anyone not fulfilling their promises will rue the day by being punished, why don't politicians ever listen? It is quite a drive from Colchester to Brantham, but it is a nice hail, old fashioned in design but very useable I would imagine. The atmosphere was very friendly, the audience was chatting to one another and the children were getting quite excited looking forward to the production about to begin. So amidst the rattle of sweet papers and crisp eating the magic of a live stage performance began and as the story wove its way round the audience quietened and became involved. There was a very warm welcome from the box office ladies, plenty of
programme sellers and very pleasant raffle ticket vendors. The raffle
tickets are nicely printed and will be drawn on the last night of the
production; an impressive list of prizes was also supplied. I have to admit to having no knowledge of anything vaguely technical, so I am limited in explaining myself clearly in this section. To me the lighting of this show was some of the best I have seen this season. Bright "day" light was used for the outside scenes and slightly different for inside the Council Chamber. The clever part was the changes made for certain pieces of action. Whenever the Pied Piper appeared the lights changed to red, when he played his pipes blue and white shades made it very magical and when the Rats appeared the lights flashed and dimmed giving them lots of impact. A mirror-ball was used to good effect, as was the follow spot for the songs and the action at the mountainside opening. When the Piper threatened the Council the lights flashed and a very loud heartbeat was heard, this was very effective. I noticed that nearly everyone was using a microphone for speaking as well as singing; was this necessary for such a small hall? There was very little interference heard considering the amount of microphones used, so well done to the team juggling with them. Congratulations to the lighting and sound technicians, the result of your hard work was as near to professionalism as any amateur group can achieve. On first impressions when the curtains were closed, Tudor style buildings could be seen at the side of the stage, a small dockside was stage right and a lifelike constructed mountainside with an opening on stage left. The first set was of the Town Square of Hamelin. The Council Buildings were at the rear, with an impressive pair of wooden double doors opening from middle back. The other main set was the interior of the building, the Council Chamber; this was a wooden effect panelled room with a large picture of the Burgermeister prominently displayed on the wall. A large table covered in an impressive cloth with five colour co-ordinated chairs behind. A table stage right was piled with huge brightly coloured books, a very good dressing for this scene. The Mountainside was a very realistic construction of rock with a workable entrance, when used this opening was filled with smoke causing an eerie effect. This was a well-constructed collection of sets with good doors and realistic and attractive designs. Some of the scene changes were a little noisy, obvious only because there was no other action going on. Of mainly a medieval style the costumes were beautifully designed and made. The problem I had with them was the plain material and the lack of colour used. There were so many greys, browns, beiges and dark blues I was a little disappointed with the effect. The Burgermeister looked very regal in his maroon coat trimmed with fur and some gold frogging and bejewelled collar, his hat looked magnificent in brown fur and maroon trim and with his white stockings and buckled shoes he cut a fine figure. His wife Hilde was nicely gowned in blue with a red overdress and an impressive white upstanding headdress. Their daughter Anna wore a lovely dress of blue with lurex sleeves, a plain underskirt and some more fur trim, her headdress was very flattering, a band with a back veil. Her loved one Hans is a poor farmer, this was clearly depicted by his costume, a beige sacking-like top with brown tights and sweet brown boots. The Town Clerk was seriously dressed in black with a lovely four cornered hat, very officious looking. The Councillors looked good in their matching maroon gowns with black breeches and white stockings. Klutz looked deliciously dirty and grimy in his sacking top and torn tights, his hood gave his character an untrustworthy air. Even the Pied piper's costume, although colourful, was not bright, the red was but the gold was dull, the design of his costume was inspired, his jacket was quilted half red, half gold and this corresponded with his tights, shoes and hat. Very effective. The Townspeople's outfits were nice, but some variation of material or patterns would have made them more attractive to look at, the same goes for the children's outfits. The Mice outfits were good, black leotards and tights with hoods and tails. The Rat make-up was very good and looked attractive. When they were dressed their smart hairstyles with the single plait looked neat and well coordinated. Overall the effect of the costumes was of style and good design but for me lacking in colour. The music used was fabulous, I could have listened to it for ages, but in relation to this production I found it a little solemn and heavy. Written by Andy Kimber it was in the medieval style and great to listen to, the pipe playing was particularly lovely and mesmerising in content. Of the musical numbers I particularly liked, the pompous rendition of The Burger's Gavotte was very amusing. I also liked both the duets sung by Hans and Anna, both were love songs with a touch of sadness in the second, the Farewell Duet. There was some nice singing in what seemed to me some fairly difficult musical numbers. My only disappointment was that all the music was pre-recorded; possibly it was too complicated to reproduce live. I would like to add that many of the productions I have adjudicated this season have used pre-recorded music I think this is such a shame as live music adds so much to the atmosphere. Whether this is a modern trend or there is a shortage of musicians willing to give up their time I do not know, but I think it may be the later. A C.D. of the music was offered for sale, I do hope lots of people take up this offer, as the music deserves recognition. The children did most of the dancing, as themselves a short dance with the maypole was an attractive touch. When they were Rats they moved with intent of mischief, circular movements and threatening gestures, showing their nasty characters clearly. The adults moved with grace and lyrical steps, the ladies that is, the gentlemen Councillors looked very pompous and amusing in their Gavotte. It was a pity there was not more dancing in this production, or that the dances themselves were not longer in content, I felt they were over almost before they had begun. This would have added so much more variety and a lighter touch to the overall finished production. BURGERMEISTER GERHARDT GROBERFEHLER (Richard Heath)
FRANZ (Jason Pembroke)
I really did enjoy this production, but for some reason found it a little lacking in magic. I cannot exactly put my finger on what was missing, sorry that is no help to you, perhaps whatever it was it corrected itself by the end of the week. The direction was tight and disciplined, the cast certainly looked as if they enjoyed themselves, I do not think the script had enough humour in it, I know of course the story itself is quite dark, but it needed a 1ighter touch. The same goes for the music, which I thought was great, but a little solemn. There were some lovely touches of magic when the Pied Piper did his stuff, but even this was a little understated. Thank you very much for the script, I enjoyed reading it and found it very informative. I feel that in this production you aimed for realism but the children in the audience and I wished you had perhaps included a little more fantasy. Congratulations to all who contributed to this musical play, I enjoyed it and thought it was very professionally produced Best wishes to you all and thank you for inviting me. Anne Sexton |
