Author: Keith Lowe

Horbury Pageant Players go from strength to strength…

Sinbad the Sailor was a pantomime containing all the traditional much-loved ingredients, with a great helping of spectacle, song and dance to a very high standard.

Zoe Parkin’s direction gave the production pace, engaging the delighted audience throughout; every member of this team, on and off stage, gave their all.

The chorus were lively and committed in every scene; the excellent choreography of Emily Ritchie, assisted by Maddie Mersini, was modern, energetic, and precise, from the big, bright, opening number to the vibrant finale, including a dance of balletic beauty in the mysterious Valley of the Diamonds.

The story had Sinbad, the classic principal boy, played by Emmi Huffinley, Prince Said (Maddie Mersini) and Princess Miranda (Bella Haigh Butts) in a kind of love triangle; the highly skilled interpretations of these three roles did the plot justice; the Prince was noble, willing to sacrifice himself for his friend Sinbad, the Princess was at first unsure of what she wanted from life, yearning for adventure, and the eponymous hero was, of course, noble, brave and true. When Bella duetted first with Maddie then later with Emmi, and when the three sang in trio (in a wonderfully produced summation of the Princess’s quandary) the harmonies were sublime.

Allan Jones was a very saucy Dame Norma Snickers; his experience affording him the freedom of the occasional well-placed ad-lib, especially when swapping repartee with Tinbad the Tailor, played by Dan Allatt with a wonderful broad Yorkshire accent.

Jess Allatt as Silly Sally had impeccable comic timing, which appeared so natural as to be effortless (so often the product of hard work). The ‘broker’s men’ debt-collecting team of Trace and Snaffle, played by Joanne Hamilton and Tom Allatt were a great double act; consistently funny in a pantomime packed with fun.

Barry Ottewell played the Caliph of Constantinople with stentorian gravitas, aided with the officious pronouncements from the fearsome Wazir (Brighton-Rose Spearritt).

Of course, the pantomime was ultimately all about the battle between good and evil, and who better to embody them than Rose Cratchley as the poetic fairy Fortuna, and the outrageously wicked Evilena (Sue Pickering)? Evilena enlisted the services of the monstrously fearsome Demon of the Sea, played by Dan Watt; hilarity ensued when the two of them engaged in a ‘wicked laugh-off’ at the end of one scene.

There are no small parts on stage; exemplified by Emily Hall as a fast-talking slave-seller, MJ Morris as Winbad the Whaler and Harvey Nicholson as Jinbad the Jailor. All lines delivered with commitment and pace which went in no small way towards the overall success of the piece. Great teamwork by a great team.

The production values of the company were second to none; imaginative sets were beautifully lit (Grant Rayner and Matt Roberts) the sound was very well-produced, the clarity of speech of every actor, young and old, adding to the success of the whole. Patricia Jones and Margaret Kershaw created a vast array of spectacular costumes.

Horbury Pageant Players will be rightly proud of the excellence of direction, production, and performances across the whole company. Great night in Horbury, and many more to come!