Review

Mother Goose, Ferndown Phoenix Musical Society, Barrington Theatre, Ferndown

IF panto is for children then I guess this one hit the spot, as the little ones sitting near me shouted out comments that proved they were engrossed in the story, bringing the house down at the same time. Well, would you like to be told you look like a sausage?
The more discerning among us might have felt that things needed to speed up somewhat, and that more atmospheric lighting would have helped, particularly in making the Demon Discontent (Bill Mason) even more demonic.

But there were plenty of positives to outweigh the negatives, and it was especially good to see so many young people involved in both chorus and principal roles. The excellent ‘batty bailiffs’, Mangle Wurzel (Tom Humphries) and Hayseed (Christopher Carr), came close to stealing the show, and there was a lovely performance too from Anna Pearcy, who showed plenty of stage presence as the Good Fairy. Jackie-Ross Lavender (Colin) and Georgina Osborne (Jill) also impressed, as did Hermione Mason as Priscilla the Goose.

And the cookery scene between Mother Goose (Ray Adnett) and son Silly Billy (an energetic Lee Neal) went down a treat, with flour, water, exploding sausages and misunderstandings galore.

Linda Kirkman

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