THIS dazzling show gave us two for the price of one.
We were delighted by the children and thoroughly entertained by the adults.
The adults in the form of the ugly sisters (May Jappy, Maureen Gillie) and the evil stepmother (Christine Henderson) hammed it up beautifully, creating a riot of colour and rattling off the gags with superb timing, and sending the Brownies almost apoplectic when they bullied Cinderella or refused to notice the ghost behind them.
And the children! I defy anyone to claim that they were not moved by the sight of all those bairns on the stage, particularly when they were decked out at the ball and in The Land of Wishes. They worked their socks off supporting a Cinderella (Dion Boon) who moved so expertly from the downtrodden stepdaughter to glorious princess that at first I thought it was somebody else.
What a little trooper Jamie Grant (Baron Hardup) is! Hardly half the height of his domineering wife he carried the role off with consumate ease. Brooke Dougal was everything Prince Charming should be. From the moment she and Eileen Chapman (Dandini) stepped onto the stage resplendent in red they made their mark.
If I had a fairy godmother I would want it to be Amy Clement, tall, glittering and beautiful and talking in rhyming couplets she awed the Brownies into silence – and if you think that is easy you have never tried it. Lewis Davie and Angus Watt took their first steps on their way to a comedy duo as Bodget and Legget, cracking their gags and getting more laughs out of a couple of wheelbarrows than I thought possible. Commendable too was the neatly sketched cameo performance of the sprightly Chambers (Nathan Smith Marshall). And, of course, we had to have a horse – Hagan! Well done, Lilian Smith and the back half, Eilidh Wilson. Strictly Come Dancing next, d’ye think?
Stitching the show together was the work of Katie Blatchley (Buttons) who first trod the boards, I recollect, as fairy godmother when she was not yet into double figures; nervous and courageous then, confident and accomplished now.
The chorus of children of all ages who appeared as villagers, trees, animals, ball dancers, and fairies in the Land of Wishes brought a delight (and, no doubt, a lump in the throat for mothers, fathers, grannies and other assorted relatives) to the show that nothing else could supply. And it is good to see that many of the youngsters are learning the craft of creating the atmosphere of the piece without actually saying or doing anything. Whilst on about dancers I think we should thank Tasmin McKechnie for her lovely ballet sequences. A nice touch (and a clever use of space, too) were the dancers that appeared amongst the audience in the palace ball scene.
With so many children on stage, inventive sets and stage management were crucial – and delivered. It is credit to the team (Border Studios, EVG) that the stage never looked cluttered, yet we knew where we were. The backdrop curtains were particularly effective. And the coach! What a triumph of ingenuity!
Thanks too, to The Dream Team backstage (Joan, Leigh, Alison, Hilary) for, amongst many other nerve-racking activities, marshalling the battalions of children on and off the stage. It was smoothly managed. Moira Gillie as prompt had little to do but no doubt gave assurance to the younger members of the cast.
The sound (John Peakman, Pamela Toward, Reckless Productions) and lights (Karen and James Battison) were so good we did not notice them.
Songs, perhaps, were the weakest part of this show, none of which remain in the memory, apart from the G and S and the catchy “Never Had A Dream Come True,” which the children sang with great gusto. Mind you, the bairns from the audience enjoyed sha-la-la-laing along with Buttons.
The costumes were particularly pleasing, ranging from the charming villagers, through to the magnificent palace ball and the ingenious trees and the animals to the ludicrous ugly sisters and the baroness. What a work! Many thanks, Lilian Smith, EVG, Utopia Costumes. The make-up and hair team – Wynd and Wave (hair), Karen Smith, Sarah Queenan, Linda Thompson and Jemma Landels (make-up) chipped in by adding that pizzazz without which a pantomime would not be a pantomime.
Thanks are due to Alan P. Frayn whose script once again supplied all the elements of a good old-fashioned pantomime and gave the children on stage something to shine at, and those in the audience something to shout at.
Thanks too, to those who looked after front of house (Joyce Birne and friends) and those individuals, firms and organisations in the background that support the Youth Theatre Group. Much appreciated too, were the new style programmes and bills, the work of Steve Sadler of Intimation Creative.
So we enjoyed a night of whimsical charm, tingling excitement, rollicking humour, and superb talent all wrapped up in a well-loved, well-told old story. Did I say two for one? Make that four – or more!
CAST
Chorus: Sophie Affleck, Camae Aitchison, Louise Aitchison, Kirsten Battison, Carly Black, Naomi Black, Calum Blair, Molly Bogle, Lewis Boyes, Rachel Boyes, Zoe Burns, Shona Chapman, Chloe Clayton, Shannon Clayton, Kieran Collin, Joelle Craig, Alana Crowe, Clare Dalgity, Isla Dempster, Kirsty Doogan, Ruairidh Fairbairn, Allison Flockhart, Lynsay Flockhart, Rachel Frater, Georgia Giacopazzi, Shannon Gillen, Kirsten Hood, Amy Laidlaw, Ailsa Landels, Rachel Lauder, Zoey Martin, Caitlin McBean Tasmin McKechnie, Hannah McLeman, Aaron Millar, Saskia Nicol, Imogen Penman, Alex Redpath, Hannah Ritchie, Erin Robertson, Hayley Robinson, Max Rutherford, Fiona Scott, Holly Simpson, Mirren Sinton, Ashleigh Smith, Heather Smith, Lewis Smith, Shannon Smith, Leoke Spouse, Connor Tait, Alice Taylor, Emily Turnbull, Tamara Turnbull, Daisy Watt, Chloe Wilson, Rhona Wilson and Daisy Young.
