Jack and the Beanstalk

Muni, Colne

THE opening performance of Jack and the Beanstalk was a crowd pleaser for all who attended last Saturday's matinee at the Muni in Colne.

The highly entertaining and visual pantomime, presented by PMA Productions Ltd, began its two-week run with a bang.

The story focused on Jack, played by Joshua Dawson, having to rescue Princess Jill (Nikki Horsburgh) from the clutches of the giant Blunderbus and his evil sidekick Fleshcreep.

The villain Fleshcreep, played wonderfully by Darren John Langford, reminded the crowd early on: "Remember maggots, baddies just love boos" and constantly teased his audience by saying "Aren't I just gorgeous!"

But it was the quick wit and fast paced style of Karl Greenwood, who portrayed Jack's brother Silly Billy, which gave the panto an injection of energy.

Keith De'Winter was also brilliant in his reprising his role as Dame Dolly Dimplebottom, the mother of Jack and Silly Billy.

The antics of the lavishly-costumed De'Winter, fresh off his role as the alien Goss Toowers in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, frequently had the audience in stitches.

The high pitched voice of Shorelle Hepkin was perfect for the part of Fairy Cupcake, who introduced and narrated the story.

The panto, written and produced by George Critchley, really came to life after the interval, kicked off by a rendition of the Rocky Horror Picture Show classic "Let's Do the Time Warp Again".

The appearance of the formidable and larger than life giant Blunderbus, played by Ricardo Castro, brought about quite a few wide eyes from children in the audience.

But the vegetarian giant was a reluctant villain who was "tired of being wicked", resulting in some very funny scenes leading to the climax, which featured a sing-along of the children's nursery rhyme "There's a worm at the bottom of the garden".

The panto runs until Sunday, January 22, with matinee and evening performances.

Daryl Ames

Encore

Langcliffe Village Institute

IT is a tradition in Langcliffe that there is a Twelfth Night Celebratory Concert held in the institute to mark the end of Christmas and to enliven the dark days of winter.

This year was no exception and the institute committee organised the return of the group Encore last Saturday evening.

The group comprises six members; each individually talented but also able to blend into a very tuneful group.

The programme was well suited to the audience, especially as it had been crafted especially for the Langcliffe audience.

It included a variety of songs from the musicals and sing along numbers from the sixties and seventies.

There were two dramatically delivered numbers, ‘Little Girls’ from Annie and ‘Adelaide’s Complaint’ from Guys and Dolls, sung by Donna, which were both very well received.

The cast had apologised for their own ailments before the show, and there was an occasional ‘frog’ or shortened note. There was also a slight difference of opinion between the accompanist and striking soprano, Julia, over the key for ‘Tonight’ from Westside Story but compromise on both parts ended in a tuneful solution and Julia hit all the high notes expertly.

The drama of the night occurred off stage when a small conflagration lit up the audience when a candle and some serviettes came together, but this was speedily extinguished by the rapid application of soft drinks.

This caused a small interruption to the medley from ‘Me and My Girl’ but no lasting damage was done.

The highlight of the concert was in the second half when the group performed a medley from ‘Forbidden Les Mis’.

It was very funny and had the audience rocking with laughter.

It was an excellent night’s entertainment and anyone who gets a chance to see Encore in the future are strongly advised to take it.

Helen Jarvis