Beauty and the Beast |
| The Aberystwyth Wardens , Aberystwyth Arts Centre , January 14, 2016 |
This is my favourite time of year as a reviewer as I get to write about one of my favourite subjects - pantomime! In Aberystwyth we're very blessed to have the Wardens' panto as year on year they put on an amateur production to professional standards and such is their quality, that the Theatre Y Werin auditorium is now packed to the rafters during the entire run with certain nights being sold out many months in advance.With this in mind I booked my tickets in good time and as usual, I took the view that you're only really getting the full experience if you watch the show three times. I always go on the first night as this is the only night you get to see the full picture of what this amazing company have been working on for a large proportion of the preceding 12 months. Yes, there are mistakes and yes, some of the scenes don't ever see the light of day again; but it gives you an excellent foundation for the second viewing, somewhere towards the middle of the run, when the show has been trimmed to perfection and the cast are now in autopilot, skilfully steering every audience through an equally enjoyable experience. Finally, the panto journey would not be complete without attending the last night when the company are uninhibited by the prospect of director's notes before the next performance and the audience are at their most raucous and interactive due to the fact that they are, well, rather inebriated thanks to the theatre bar's G&T's and themed cocktails! This year's festive fare is Beauty and the Beast, directed as usual by the irrepressible Richard Cheshire and set to music for the tenth consecutive year by Elinor Powell (or "Aunty Elinor" as she is referred to more than once during the performance). The comprehensive notes provided in the programme by Wardens’ Chair Julie McNicholls Vale are significantly more sombre than usual for very good reason as she reflects on the passing of a Wardens legend - David Blumfield. Of course, the question as to whether the company would do David's memory proud in their performances this year was never in doubt. The story begins with Prince Florizel being cursed by an evil Enchantress and it's worth pointing out at this stage that as daft and insane as some aspects of panto (deliberately) are, the Wardens always seek to retain a modicum of 'truth' in their telling of the story which is the key difference between panto and out and out cabaret. Once we've established our plot however, the frivolity can start and we are treated to a typically energetic opening number in the village of Petit Pois, a market town where the most prominent stall is "Helena's Baps". Tone set! Next we meet Wardens stalwart and crowd favourite Ioan Guile who this year plays Professor Nutty. In his opening scene there is a technical hitch with one of his inventions - a wheeled cart - and as Guile tries to exit he is stranded on stage for a good 15 to 20 seconds before help arrives. I mention this for two reasons - firstly because it demonstrates Guile's ultimate professionalism as he charms the audience during his predicament and secondly, because despite the problem there is not a second of awkwardness. The reason for this is not as obvious as you might think and I shall reveal all at the end of this review! Guile is like a fine wine but he is not the only performer who gets better with age. Richard Cheshire is not only a director par excellence but he is also one of the main reasons why people keep coming back year after year. They know pretty much exactly what they're going to get - but they can't get enough of it and there is a huge cheer as soon as he enters the stage to a typically audacious song wearing an even more audacious costume. I'd go as far as to say that the costumes this year are probably the best ever seen in a Wardens show with my favourite being Cheshire's parachute ensemble. He is the only person in Aberystwyth who could get away with it and we love him for that fact. This year he plays Dame Cherie Trifle and he sums his character up nicely - "I'm a little bit fruity and I like trifling with men's affections!" The title characters are (ironically) often bit-part players in panto with the bulk of the lines, songs and gags reserved for the more amusing protagonists but this year both our Beauty and our Beast feature heavily and it's no surprise when you hear each of them sing. Hannah Priestly as Belle is a true leading lady but as good as her vocals are, she is narrowly pipped to the post by Alex Neil as the Beast. This is Neil's fifth Wardens panto and undoubtedly his best. Now every panto needs a baddie and in the past the Wardens have had some good 'uns. The late great David Blumfield was so adept at his role that he could instil genuine fear into mesmerised youngsters before skilfully injecting some humour or vulnerability into the part, just before they were hauled out in tears by their Mums and Dads. In later years Alex Neil has also played the typically gruesome male baddie, portraying both Abanazer in Aladdin and King Rat in Dick Whittington and the Pi-Rats of the Caribbean. Last year Julie McNicholls Vale bucked the trend somewhat by playing (the equally grotesque) Queen Cruella in Snow White and so it was perhaps no surprise to see a further progression this year, with the casting of Kedma Macias as Frostbite. Kedma is well known in Aberystwyth as a powerful and glamorous singer and she inevitably nails her vocal with consummate ease but despite not being what you would describe as 'classically gruesome', I have to say I was mightily impressed by her very polished debut. Other principles of note are the ever-versatile and charismatic Carl Ryan who plays Monsieur Chandelle. Ryan is instantly recognisable having had audiences in tears of laughter over the last few years with his extravagant and flamboyant performances - usually involving lycra. He is always 'flaming' but this year he takes it to new levels - literally! Ryan is ably supported by Thomas Mutton (Tick Tock), Theresa Jones (Madame Grand Robe), Julie McNicholls Vale (Pot de Te) and, on the first night, Miriam Llwyd Davies as 'Chip'. All play inanimate objects but their performances are anything but. Wardens regular Marcus Dobson is typically on the money as Willie and Angus Marshall re-joins the Wardens after a four year gap to play Gassbag, a muscular cross between Elvis and Flash Gordon. Donna Richards completes the main roles as she treats the audience to her classical voice in an accomplished performance as Rosebud. As ever the chorus perform to an exceptionally high level and crucially all look as though they're having a jolly good time. Similarly, the children performers are clearly in their element and I cannot recall a younger set of children having such elaborate dance moves which they pull off most of the time - but are incredibly endearing even when they don't! Special mention has to go to Caitlin Louise Crowley who would have brought a smile to the faces of everyone sat in the audience - despite being knee high to a grasshopper. I mentioned earlier the potentially 'eggy' moment when Ioan Guile's prop failed and he was left stranded on the stage. Guile improvised brilliantly and within 15 or 20 seconds it was all over and the next scene had started but after the performance I gave it some thought and counted to 20 out loud. It seemed like a very long time. So, why didn't it seem like a long time on the night? The answer is simple - the Wardens play with a live band of professional musicians and as a result, if anything goes wrong they can gloss over the cracks without an additional note in front of them. This goes unnoticed to most of the audience - but that's actually the biggest compliment I can pay them. I think it's fair to say that having live music emanating from the orchestra pit in pantomimes and other shows of this kind is now the exception rather than the rule. Technology nowadays makes it so cheap and easy to use recorded sound but not only does that mean that something 'real' is lost, it also removes the skill of the musician to deal with whatever is thrown at them on the night. Indeed, on the first night a pre-recorded voice is used for a scene involving a radio and due to a misjudgement in timing, there is a noticeable pause. Imagine if the Wardens panto was totally reliant on pre-recorded tracks and voiceovers? Actually, I can't. This production uses six musicians playing every piece of music every night - a testimony to the local music service providing lessons in schools for all pupils from a very young age and who hopefully one day, will all aspire to use their talent to play live just like Elinor and her wonderful band. The show's climax is the 12 days of Christmas which is revived due to popular demand. Chaotic, full of 'permanent improvisations' but a party piece that invokes belly-laugh after belly-laugh in the audience. This, as well as the rest of the show does something very special - for a couple of hours you completely forget that Christmas is over and can spend that time without a care in the world, totally immersed in something very magical. If this isn't what life in Aberystwyth is all about, I don't know what is. |
Reviewed by: Alan Rock |
This review has been read 3375 times There are 2 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
