Darnall Musical Theatre co
Humpty Dumpty
Director , MD, and Assistant Choreographer .. Janet Black
Producer & Assistant Director.. Jack Taylor
Choreographer .. Sara Kitchen.
Script by Alan P Frayn
Reviewed Wednesday 16th Feb by Philip Smith
Following a tough two year break, how lovely to be back with Darnall to see their return to the stage but also the milestone of celebrating 50 years of performing to their Sheffield audiences . Darnall MTC is the epitome of community theatre offering encouragement and opportunity to so many young talented performers . The strength in depth runs deep with members having been loyal for many many years and not just performing but forming the backbone of the society .
Like many societies Darnall have lost a number of members during the awful COVID enforced break, but delighted to hear that many of this season's cast are not only new to Darnall but also performing in their first shows .
Panto demands strong characters and seasoned performers and in Jack Taylor you have both ,with his many moments of interacting with his audience and cast members alike .portraying the larger than life man in a dress Dame Ditsy Dither, His delivery daft enough to appeal to the youngsters sprinkled with typical innuendo for the adults .
Lucy Green as Fairy Souffle delivered her many storytelling speeches well with some lovely singing . Ava Quince as Humpty Dumpty showed her many stage talents along with Upsey Daisy played by Hannah Blackwell who between them performed some lovely scenes .
Egg-Nog the Bad -Natasha Blackwell played the baddy of the panto well and I'm sure will milk it even more once performing to full audiences.You should be proud of your lovely singing voice and the clarity and delivery of your lines .Topsey Turvey , the silly Billy of the panto played by Beth Black , your performances get funnier and funnier , your delivery and accenting really made us laugh and the years of experience shine through which I'm sure along with Jack would have helped many of your new cast members .
What a great team Lilly Twigg as General Mayhem formed along with Reggie Mental played by Emily Ballin, the little and large visual effects worked so well . David Kettlewell as King Egg Bert and Megan Green as Princess Petal played their parts well ,during the many and varied scenes they were in.
The young ensemble were a joy to watch , always focussed and giving one hundred percent in their singing, dancing and acting.The pantomime was full of the expected scenes all cleverly thought out and delivered with lovely timing and compliments must go to the production team for their vision and choreography making full use of the comparatively small performance area .The baking scene , nursery rhyme sketches , the UV scene all worked really well . We were privileged to be allowed to see the dress rehearsal , one of the most difficult evenings to perform when panto is so reliant on the audience interactions but well done to you all. Your opening night later today will at last give you the feedback you deserve with the booing and shouting only a full audience can give ..
As a society you should be proud of your achievements , family members producing the sets, props, costumes ,running the front of house , the sound and lighting ,promoting and welcoming the audience . I was thrilled to see so many family names ,Mums and Dads along with their children being involved and long may it continue
Overall a wonderful evening of fun , some excellent performances , lovely singing along with the well thought out choice and selection of music .
In these tough times I was so pleased to see your production sold out , a great tribute to the effort you all put in and I'm certain they will leave , as we did , having had a wonderful evening of theatre .
Thank you again for inviting Sylvia and myself and for the usual hospitality received .
Philip Smith
Noda Regional Rep District 6