CAPACITY audiences at Dalton Village Hall were thrilled to watch members of DADS (Dalton Amateur Dramatics Society) take to the stage with their annual pantomime, a swashbuckling performance of J M Barrie’s classic tale Peter Pan, jointly directed by first time duo Adam Wallis and Rebecca Blenkiron.
The storyline took the audience over the roof tops of London with Peter Pan (Rebecca Blenkiron), Wendy and John Darling (Alice Knox and Edward Storrow) to Neverland, the home of the Lost Boys (Lena Russell, Ann Myers, Anna Tallentire and Elissa Brown), where they encountered pirates, Myrtle the Mermaid (Elissa Brown), a crocodile and two very feisty fairies, Tink (Amber Richardson) and Bell (Hollie Wilkinson).
Rebecca Blenkiron gave an excellent performance as Peter Pan, particularly for her rendition of the song I believe I can fly which left the audience in stitches.
The “evil yet incredibly gorgeous” (according to Tiger Lily) Captain Hook was wickedly played by Adam Wallis, who fabulously put his own twist on Taylor Swift’s Ooh, look what Pan made me do with his Revenge List.
Tiger Lily, played by the talented Stephen Longstaff, was a sight to behold, a larger than life Indian Squaw, and chief of the Red Skins Tribe (Ann Myers, Anna Tallentire and Elissa Brown). He had an eye for the sailors, most notably Pirate Smee (Jackie Hodgson), who on one occasion appeared noticeably flustered and dishevelled by Tiger Lily’s attentions.
Ross Hutchinson gave a great performance as Starkey, a drunken pirate, who hilariously took the saying walking the plank to a different dimension.
Martin Wallis performed multiple roles from the very proper lullaby singing Edwardian gentleman, to a rather dozy pirate, but perhaps his star role was as the giant crocodile, who was only ever a step behind Captain Hook.
The versatile Lena Russell also turned her hand to numerous roles in this fast moving panto.
The cast were fantastically supported backstage by Susan Stanwix in her first ever panto. She had everything under control from the word go and after working with L-plates on her back for three nights was presented with a pass plate and certificate from the cast at the end of the run.
Tony Hill, assisted by Janet Paterson, provided the musical background, with Stephen Richardson on lighting and sound.
Clare Richardson had the unenviable job of prompt. For three nights she followed the script with dedication but only had to speak once when opening night nerves crept in.
The superb all round production was well received with audience members already asking: “What is next years panto going to be?”
