Darnall Musical Theatre Company
Goldilocks & The Three Bears
Darnall Education Centre
16th February 2024
It is always a pleasure to attend a Darnall MTC’s production whether it be a panto or another show, as always there was a very warm welcome when I arrived at the venue with everyone giving very welcome smiles.
Darnall MTC is Community Theatre at its heart, all youngsters in the area are welcomed and indeed encouraged to join and have a choice of whether to go on the stage or work behind stage at one of the many other roles in theatre.
In the title role of Goldilocks, we had Maiya Green who not only looked the part she was able to carry it off with ease, both in the dialogue and the songs.
This panto is set in a circus run by Sophie Sawdust who was brought to life by the lovable Jack Taylor who each time he entered the stage, which called for a different costume, he/she entertained the entire audience with both his/her singing and comedy quips.
In the circus we saw Jocko, the Circus Ringmaster played by Megan Green, and she was perfect in this role, being able to command the stage with ease and ensure the show went on.
Bringing the magic to the circus was Tommy the magician played by Annabelle Taylor, who played the character brilliantly throughout with both dialogue and songs.
Also, in the circus big top we had Gloria played by Lucy Green, again another accomplished young actor who was able to show off her skills.
As the title of this panto suggests, we have three bears, Daddy, Mummy and Baby Bear, under the furry costumes we saw Elissa Jahangir, Millie Warhurst and Molly Braud respectively and I am sure there were many in the audience who could have taken them home. Not only were they very cuddly they also delivered the goods to bring their characters to life.
The story goes that Sophie’s circus is in a bad way so she has to borrow money from Gaspar Gray who has a Ward of Court who he plans to marry and get his hands on her father’s riches, the ward in question is of course Goldilocks who runs away to the circus, however when Gaspar comes looking for her, Sophie and Tommy take her to the woods where she enters the Three Bears’ cottage.
The role of Gaspar is not an easy one to play for anyone let alone a younger actor but Charlie Betts was perfect, he was able to deliver the lines with ease as well as giving a good command of the stage.
Gaspar, as with all good pantos, has a couple of henchmen, although I am not sure if they would be able to “rough anyone up” if it was called for!
The two henchmen were Swindle and Filch played by Mia Hull and Lola Hull respectively and they were great, just the right amount of being funny without going over the top.
Also in the circus was Zarina, a fortune teller who tells Goldilocks about her ancestors, Darcey Allen made an excellent Zarina, she looked the part, delivered her lines in the characteristic way you would expect of a Fortune Teller.
Goldilocks goes to her ancestral home where we meet some of her ancestors, namely her grandmother, Edmund, Ermengarde and Rufus, played by Wray Williamson, Imogen Harris, Amelia Taylor and Isla Overend-Hogg respectively. All these were quite difficult roles as they all appeared in the various paintings in the house, however the thought of having to walk around the stage with a very large frame around them did not faze them in the slightest and they were all very at ease on stage.
There was lots of great singing in this piece and suffice to say each and every one on stage was able to ensure all the notes were perfectly hit.
There was also an excellent UV scene which depicted all the circus acts including an elephant which walked on a rolling ball, it was brilliant, and I loved the Tina Turner medley which culminated in Sophie Sawdust playing the star complete with fringed dress and wig, it was outstanding.
With a chorus made of mainly youngsters this was truly a young inspired show, however this does not mean the performances were anything less than perfect as all the youngsters proved.
There were plenty of stallholders in the circus who were Poppy Smith, Elsie Overend-Hogg, Noah Overend-Hogg, Elliot Wooliscroft, Jackson Timmins, Boden Flynn and Mille Green, plus the dancers, Isela Fairclough, Tilly Betts, Martha Green and Millie Simpson who all added to the enjoyment.
Congratulations to everyone involved, especially the creative team headed by Janet Black who directed the piece, Janet was ably assisted by Sara Kitchen as choreographer and Mille Simpson as assistant to the director. The whole piece was produced by Jack Taylor.
Les Smith
NODA NE
Councillor