ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

At the other end of the spectrum is the evil character, in this case Fleshcreep, portrayed by Stephen Moss. The makeup and costume reminded me of the Child Catcher from ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. The performance had us all booing and hissing at the dastardly deeds he did. With a character like this the actor can easily lose control of the audience but this didn’t happen, and he commanded his scenes with authority. David Livesey was our Silly Billy and acted his socks off throughout the pantomime. He engaged the audience and invited them to shout out at every opportunity and wasn’t afraid of going back and doing it again if he felt there wasn’t enough noise. Amanda Simpson, as the hero Jack, was engaging and brought the humour and innocence of the character. Sophie Taylor was demur as Princes Apricot and yet there was feisty side to her character. I really enjoyed how she portrayed the character, it was very Disney Princess and indeed some of the moves, shrugs of the shoulders were very similar. Both these actors delivered their dialogue with confidence though vocal projection during musical numbers needed to be a little stronger. I would just say, go for it and carry the audience with you, it’s pantomime! The silly duo of PC’s, Cloak and Dagger, otherwise known as Sarah Osmond and Amelia Newman-Butler, worked well together to provide some very silly mayhem as they tried to protect King Crumble from the evil giant. Nigel Smith as the bumbling monarch was every bit as dotty as you expect this character, and Rob Livesey was the Wizard of Oz type of giant, hidden behind a curtain and speaking through a mega phone. The chorus members, though small, were all enjoying themselves during their scenes and had big smiles on their faces. “Not now Bob…” or rather, Andrea Berger, was a good running gag. The central driving force of any pantomime is the dame character. Simon Fletcher is an experienced player, and this was evident as his alter ego, Dame Dolly Trott, commanded the proceedings. Simon knows how to work an audience. He never stopped working throughout his scenes, whether that was in the delivery of dialogue and comedy or during the quiet moments when others were talking, he was listening, putting in adlibs and forever reacting. He made everything look effortless and you