ROBINSON CRUSOE AND THE PIRATES written by Alan P Frayn Directed by Rachel Bunting Tameside Youth Drama Group (Amateur) When one thinks of a traditional pantomime maybe this story is not the first title that gets brought to mind but it does have everything that you would expect and want: great characters, songs, opportunities to dance, jokes, slapstick and invitations for audience participation. The colourful and informative programme, designed by Steven Oliver- Grant, contains the synopsis which told us to buckle our swash and set sail with Robinson, Captain Seasalt and Nutty Nick into a world of adventure and met a host of colourful characters along the way. In my opinion, the opening number for any pantomime has to be uptempo as it engages the audience immediately and relaxes them into the show. The towns folk did exactly this and, accompanied by choreography by Victoria Husband and assisted by Katie Dearnaley/Hollie Godber, the audience settled into a show that would take them sailing the ocean waves to find treasure. Indeed, the choreography throughout the show showed imagination of different styles and shape on stage. For any pantomime we always have a good and a bad side and these were the first two characters that we met. Shelby Chandler embodied the part of Coral. Every entrance was perfectly timed with her signature tinkling chime announcing her arrival. On the other side of the stage, bathed in green light signifying the presence of evil was Leo Husband as Davy Jones. Both delivered their dialogue confidently, in rhyme and made the promises and threats that told the story of what was to come and how the resolution would happen. Pantomime is, for many young actors, their first foray onto stage and especially the first time that they get to experience the thrill and
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