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Once
again the Playhouse team of Michele Hardy and Paul Knight will be
making Christmas happier for the thousands of children who will be
streaming into the theatre for this year's pantomime - Puss in Boots.
The usual star free / talent rich cast which the Playhouse assembles
gave 110% throughout and the song and dance numbers would easily have
graced a West End stage.
The plot follows a young Spaniard, Pablo, off to seek his fortune,
with the help of his cat, who can talk, and the useless assistance
of his brothers, Costa and Brava. On reaching Castille he falls in
love with the beautiful Princess, daughter of Queen Leftfeeta. His
plans for love are nearly thwarted when the evil El Ogre kidnaps the
Princess but, as you can guess, everything turns our all right and
they all live happily ever after.
As Pablo and Princess Isabella Rupert Ward-Lewis and Kate Tydman make
a great Panto romantic couple, both have excellent singing voices
which were used to good effect in their duet - a version of Elton
John's Your Song. It is good to welcome Russell Davies back as the
Dame after his Mother Goose last year and in dual roles as the brothers
Costa and Brava, and the valets Vida and Loca, Nolan Frederick and
Ben Stock showed good comic timing and nice audience interaction.
There is no doubt though that two of the cast really took centre stage
- as Pussy Catto Aimee Thomas was wonderful, not only can she belt
out a song with the best but her physical acting was terrific. However,
few things are as much fun to watch as a real Panto villain in full
flow and, as El Ogre, David Delve had it just right. His musical numbers,
including an inspired reworking of Bohemian Rhapsody were delightful,
and the children in the audience were never in doubt that this was
a man to boo and hiss.
At the end of the day one can only judge Panto by the reaction of
the children and those near to me were enthralled, totally captivated
by the singing, the sets and the entire experience. Well done Playhouse.
David
Wootten
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