Noda Review January 2015
I looked forward to my visit to Octopus and the first Pantomime of the season. As usual with this group it had been written and directed by a member of the company, and it was of a high standard. This was an interesting adaptation of the story of the Nutcracker Soldier brought to life in Pantomime form. It is Christmas Eve and the Winkelhoff family are hosting a party. The children Clara and Fritz eagerly await the arrival of Herr Glockenspiel who always brings exciting gifts for them. This year he has brought a Nutcracker Soldier for Fritz and Koh-Koh the Furby, for Clara. There is magic in the air and when the `humans’ have gone they come to life. This then becomes a tale of abduction, rescue and romance. This was packed full of pantomime fayre with a good dose of dastardly deeds from the Mouse King and his entourage; heroic acts from the Nutcracker soldier and his supporters, including Sugar Plum Fairy; silly nonsense from the dame Frau Wiener; and a large helping of delight from the Gingerbread children.
The set had once again been designed to give the flexibility required by this small stage. It was easily adapted to the various scenes; had been well painted and was well dressed. The Throne Room of the Mouse King was particularly impressive. The stage was well lit, helping create the appropriate atmosphere for the settings, the transformation scene, when the toys and Mr and Mrs Gingerbread came to `life’, was very effective. The sound technician was certainly kept on his toes with all the effects and bringing in the music on cue. This company usually uses backing tracks for the songs which works well, all of the songs had been chosen to suit the characters and people playing the roles. The costume department had dressed everyone well and had created lovely outfits for the Mouse King, the Nutcracker Soldier and Koh-Koh the Furby. The makeup team had also helped create the visual appearance of the characters.
Choreographer Sian Bagnall had devised dances which suited the abilities and ages of the cast. The Mouse dance was fun, the young goblins were suitably angular and relishing their mischief, the gingerbread children were a delight, performing with such concentration to make sure they did not put a foot wrong.
The company performed the musical numbers with enthusiasm and performed to the best of their ability, it makes a nice change to hear the songs coming directly from the performers and not through microphones and a sound system. I cannot remember all the songs but I made a note of the Dames ‘Hero’ number and ‘Mother Knows Best’ as being enjoyable.
Everyone had put a great deal of thought into bringing their characters to life and worked well together, with the less experienced members being well supported by ‘old hands’. There was a good contrast between good and evil from Sugar Plum Fairy and Mouse King. A rather zany performance from Herr Glockenspiel; a most amusing performance from Mr and Mrs Gingerbread with all those names of sweets; and Frau Wiener did not disappoint as the outrageous dame. The Nutcracker Soldier maintained the ‘military’ stance and discipline at all times. The audience enjoyed disliking the Mouse family and all the mouse entourage had developed individual personalities which they portrayed well. Scardy-Cat Mouse told his story very well. Mousella had many ‘mousey’ characteristics whilst remaining different from the others, which was explained by her enchantment. Hans worked the audience well encouraging them to respond although, there were a couple of times when he paced across the stage a bit too much. Koh-Koh the Furby, babbled and bounced her way through the whole Pantomime enthralling children of all ages as the life sized toy.
The thing that always impresses me with this group is how generous in sharing their talents the more experienced members are. This is so true of Writer and Director Alison Bagnell who had written a well-rounded story, enabling performers of all ages to take part. This was a colourful production plenty of opportunity for audience participation, the audience enjoyed. It had a real feel-good factor to help rid us of our post Christmas blues. Thank you Octopus for a most enjoyable evening.
Written and Directed by: Alison Bagnali
Choreographer: Sian Bagnali