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The Davis Hall, West Camel
It is always a delight when new societies join us and enter the Cinderella Competition. Although this company has been entertaining for over quarter of a century, I must confess that I had never heard of Little Barn Theatre Group, so in anticipation I was looking forward to watching this troupe as I trundled along the A303 heading for West Camel.
What a lovely venue the Davis Hall is. With a warm welcome, a cosy hall, a beautifully lit stage and even a ‘Royal Box’ it was evident that your local audiences were going to be in for a real treat. And up to a point they were not to be disappointed.
I admire the talent of anyone who can put pen to paper and write a pantomime from a blank canvas. This is exactly what Nigel Armitstead intended and achieved.
Although this was a bright and colourful production, tighter script editing throughout would have made way for all of those traditional comedy expectations and musical numbers that the audience come to appreciate. It was disappointing there were so few of these.
A pantomime without a Dame is like gin without the tonic! Both blend perfectly together so it was a pity that the most famous character of all time – Widow Twankey – did not make her appearance in this well- known pantomime.
I guess this was the writer’s intentions as many of the characters were unfamiliar to the traditional storyline. For a while, I struggled to work out who was who!
Without ‘well timed’ comedy, pantomime cannot flourish. The fun has to be delivered with confidence and can only be achieved with experience.
As we were not treated to a laundry scene it may have been an opportunity to have included a slap stick decorating moment considering you had two decorators on hand! The adorable camel could have performed a sand dance routine or an ‘it’s behind you’ ghost moment would have added comedy and audience participation to this production. I really enjoyed Wes the Postman’s cameo role though.
The show moved along at a relatively good pace although much prompting was required. Most of the costumes were society made, modelled well and looked tremendous under the lighting but please remember to remove all of your personal jewellery – or at least cover with a plaster – before you tread those boards. I observed numerous wedding and signet rings alongside three watches!
Sets were all society made and added great visual appeal to this show. In particular the market place was painted creatively.
It is clear you all work as a dedicated team and have some good actors within your society.
It is a joy to read of a new generation of children taking part each year. You were a pleasure to watch and it was evident that you had done everything the director asked of you.
I enjoyed watching this performance but was aware of a strong detachment between the audience and cast. Pantomime is about ‘all togetherness’. Less dialogue and more action. At times this production appeared to be more of a ‘play’ rather than ‘show’.
Thank you for inviting me. With an almost full house on the opening night it is evident that the future is certainly bright for the Little Barn Theatre Group.
I look forward to watching your next production in 2020.