THE WOLDINGHAM PANTOMIME

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

3rd - 9th January 1999

In this year's pantomime it was pleasing to see more children than in latter years for, after all, they represent the future of the genre here in Woldingham or wherever else they may roam. In this respect, it was unfortunate that the script should contain so many dubious double entendres; for my taste, these are a cheap and easy way to get laughs and bad enough when uttered by the adults, let alone by the kids. That said, the cast threw themselves into the performance with gusto and produced great pace from the opening chorus number through to the final curtain.

Our hero, Jack, ably played by Lorraine Keeble in true thigh-slapping panto style (a pretty girl for the principal boy) is sent by her mum, irrepressibly portrayed by James Peacock (a not-so-pretty boy for the dame), to raise funds by selling their beloved cow. This is necessary as they are about to be evicted by the wicked Squire (Tony Dent and pretty nasty, Oh yes he was!). Jack is diddled by the wide boy Honest John (Chris Chaplin, as dishonest an honest John as you could meet) who gives him a bag of beans for her. The beans grow into the beanstalk, Jack thus makes his way to the giant's castle, finds a bag of gold and falls for and rescues the giant's daughter (Caroline Westmarland, a silver-tongued songstress) and the rest, as they say, is history.

There were a number of well -played "cameo" roles, notably the Squire's daft duo Watt and Wye (Sarah Greenwood and Fiona McNally), Jack's grandma (Zoe Hay), the policeman (Louise Martin) and the giant, although not very large in size, large in presence, portrayed by Krili Keel (ed note: actually an anagram of Ellie Kirk).

The authors scattered other strange characters throughout the script and much as I enjoyed the antics of chef Emil Forteux (get it?) (David Kiely), Harry (Andrew Hay), Les (Tom Longley) and cowboy Glyn Teasewood (Zbigniew Szafranski), I did wonder how they got there!

The costumes were excellent, as usual. It is amazing what Joan Oliver and her seamstresses manage to produce. The music, under the direction of Michael Burbidge and with James Drummie, was of a very high standard and helped the singers to produce some pleasing songs and choreographer Tracey Wainwright to get good movement from the cast.

With sixteen scenes, the stage crew, as ever ably managed by Simon Aggiss, did a great job. There are two difficult technical matters in Jack and the Beanstalk, namely, the beanstalk climbing and the entry of the giant, and I thought that the production did well in their approach to both of these.

The Woldingham Pantomime is a great tradition and one which affects our lives way beyond the first week in January and far outside the confines of the Village Hall. It is in my view an essential part of our community and one which we should all do our utmost to preserve.

I applaud the director, Kevin Piper, and all concerned for undertaking this extremely difficult and time-consuming task and thus producing a most enjoyable 31st (sic) Woldingham Pantomime.

Gary Pollack