THERE were some fantastic comedy performances in the Norbury Theatre’s annual pantomime Babes in the Wood.
Among them were great Dame Trott Andy Brown, Thomas Collen as Much the Miller’s Son and Grace Duggan as Rosie Apple.
Brown delivered a multitude of witty one-liners and double entendre perfectly, leaving the audience giggling throughout.
And the majority of the laughs went to the two audience favourites – Much and Rosie. These two bounced off each other impeccably and they, along with the traditional pantomime animal Dudley the Donkey and a brazen picnic-stealing hand-puppet snake, were involved in the most hysterical scenes.
The vocal performances of the evening went to Charlotte Mortimer as Maid Marian who sang two superb solos.
Other great moments included Marian and the babes (Matthew Tennant and Daisy-May Evans Lochlin) escaping from the tower and a beautifully choreographed sword fighting scene between Robin Hood (Sophie Davey-Over) the Sir guy of Gisborne (Alex Stallard).
Glyn Diggett as the Sheriff of Nottingham was unbelievably good at being bad and you will struggle to find someone who relishes so much playing the villain.
He had the crowd booing and hissing throughout and lapped up every one before antagonising the audience again to get even more.
The cast’s own version of The 12 Days of Christmas which had the audience singing along was also lots of fun.
The only improvement that could be made would be for a more energetic performance by the chorus in ‘Sunshine in my Pocket’ at the end of the first half.
But this production directed by Tony Boardman and Anne Lane, like all good pantomimes, was like a fantastically festive variety show with singing, dancing, audience participation, ballet and tap, plenty of spoken and visual comedy and more.
The next performances will be from Thursday to Sunday, January 18 to 21, and between January 25 to 27.
Performances will be at 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinées each Saturday. The Sunday performance – on January 21 – will be at 2.30pm only.
Tickets, at £12 (£10 concessions), are available online at www.norburytheatre.co.uk or by calling 01905 770154.
