On a blustery Friday night in beachside Mount Eliza, there was no doubt: the opening night of Hansel and Gretel (The Pantomime!) was the place to be!
Presented by the Village Church, Mount Eliza, and starring minister Rev Cameron McAdam as you’ve never seen him before, this show absolutely brings the house down.
It was so much fun watching the littlies in the audience realise that this performance breaks all the rules – they could shout to the characters on stage, and often those characters would answer back! Parents and grandparents in the audience were having just as much fun – maybe more! – introducing a new generation to the hilarious conventions of the good old-fashioned Panto.
Directed by Mandy Mannion, this is the Mount Eliza Pantomime’s fifth year running, and many of the cast and crew are performing arts veterans returning from previous years. The show runs like a well-oiled machine, and the jolly vibes between the performers are those of good friends who’ve been working and laughing together for years. This year, they’re the village of Schottunpickenschnoz, who find themselves under threat of destruction by an evil coven of witches, whose wicked plans hinge on one missing ingredient.
It’s a rare treat in theatre these days for a show to be accompanied by a live house band, and with a great mix of musical numbers like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ I Put a Spell on You, Sarah Bareilles’ Brave, and Toploader’s Dancing in the Moonlight, the four-piece made up of Bill Baxter, Keith Gledhill, Peter Robb and musical director Gina Reimers keep up a witty musical commentary that makes the performance shine.
While Hansel and Gretel is proudly an amateur production, the outstanding makeup by Louise Jenkins and costuming overseen by Laura Horton-Brown and Christy Nash punch far above their weight. In fabulous drag-style makeup, Damian Perry as Dame Ploppy Schmidt and Shirley Bowen as Hexema the witch are a pair of hams who absolutely chew the scenery every time they’re on stage, fielding boos, cheers, and banter with aplomb. Dame Ploppy Schmidt’s costume is a hilarious pastiche on all things German – and just wait till you see where she keeps her pretzels!
If awards are being given out, though, first place must go to the costume for Queen of the Twilight Fairies, Amalthea (Alannah Guthrie-Jones). Her surreal dress is the epitome of ethereal, glittery magic and it’s delightful to hear the children’s exclamations as Amalthea dazzles under the stage lights. Guthrie-Jones meets and exceeds the challenge of a costume this beautiful, delivering a gorgeous musical number in which she also plays the harp, which is such a special and magical treat. She manages all this while delivering a hilarious performance as the increasingly strained Amalthea, determined to keep order while chaos unfolds around her.
As Prince George, Rev Cameron McAdam is just the right blend of Straight Man in his physicality and Eurotrash in his fabulous accent, and the comedy of the moment Prince George and Dame Ploppy Schmidt fall under a misdirected spell will have me giggling for days.
Buffoons Pilsner (Max Stockton) and Stein (Village Church’s Playgroup Coordinator, Kate Driver) are brilliant comedians, shining most of all in their crowd work as they deliver hysterical slapstick, silly puns, and manage to get the whole room dancing and singing along with them.
As Daphne, a down-on her luck fairy who’s doing her best at a new job, Robyn Walker steals every scene she’s in. Her comedic timing is spectacular, and Daphne’s duck-footed, well-intentioned interjections are a scream every time she’s on the stage.
Speaking of the stage – Mount Eliza Hall is well-equipped for a show this big, with a good sized, raised proscenium stage which makes it easy to see the action from any seat in the house. The sound fills the hall nicely, but the space doesn’t echo, and the howling weather outside didn’t make it in at all on Friday night. Littlies are welcomed – and encouraged! – to participate and make noise, and there’s a generous intermission for toilet breaks and yummy themed snacks, with a running time of approximately two hours.
Packed with frenzied farce, silly slapstick, and madcap mistaken identity, this rollicking romp will have the whole family in stitches. With tickets only $30, including free glossy colour programs, and so many laughs for the whole family, you’d be mad to miss Hansel and Gretel this King’s Birthday weekend!
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