ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

in this case Dolly Dumpling (Kevin Kay) and Danny Dumpling (Sam Parker). Both Kevin and Sam commanded their performances with ease and bounced off each other. They knew how to work the audience and to act on cue to the audience reactions. They gave it their heart and soul. Then appeared Prince Frederich (Michael Wright), looking for his true love. In most pantomimes, this pivotal role is usually portrayed as a Principal Boy role by a female actor. However, this performance showed you can break from tradition and can be equally performed by a male actor. This is not anything new as Cliff Richard portrayed Dick Whittington in the 1960s. Michael was ably cast in this handsome role. Two bumbling idiots then appeared in the guise of henchmen, namely Bogwort, portrayed by Gary Leonard and Stinkwort, portrayed by Leighton Hunt. They very much reminded me of Laurel and Hardy with Bogwort very much being Hardy and Stinkwort being Laurel. To work as a double act, they most certainly must be likeable and at the same time laughable: they both achieved this with artfulness. The other titular characters, namely the Seven Dwarfs appear towards the end of the first act, appearing out of the auditorium to their infamous tune. I loved their costumes from their initial dungarees to their onesies – they were all unique to each other. I loved every one of their performances. They were TD (Isla Standing), Grouchy (Jasmine Bird), Snoozy (Leo Berry), Sniffly (Amy Foulds), Cheerful (Becca Swinburn), Dozy (Louka Miller) and Disney (Rosie Chadwick). For such young performers, they did not show any nervousness. There was also a traditional scene, very much in the same vein as a ghost scene but this time with a bear. These scenes are cleverly written to help the stage crew do scene changes and at the same time entertain the audience with laughter throughout – this version was no exception and worked well. The final scene where everyone lives happily ever after was lavish and sparkling bringing an end to the evil queen’s spell. The production was accompanied by Chorus with members of BPS, choreographed by Jess Whittaker, and Dancers from Lynne McCheynes

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